Page 89 of The Road to Hell

“I told you once that I couldn’t leave with you.” His voice was quieter now, rough at the edges. “That I was bound to him. That I had no choice.”

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry.

“I have that choice now though. And I am yours, if you want me. But I need to know…do you want me?”

Heat flushed my skin as his question took root within me. It wasn’t a simple question either. I knew what he meant. He wasn’t asking if I wanted him as a soldier. He wanted to know if I wantedhim. Romantically. Intimately.

And it was a damn good question. One that I already knew the answer to, if I was willing to admit it.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My chest was tight, my stomach twisting itself into knots. I had never had to make a choice like this before. Not in war, not in survival. This wasn’t a battlefield where I could react on instinct, where I could swing a sword or summon hellfire and be done with it.

This was different. Because this was something that actually mattered. And that terrified me.

Rathiel didn’t move, didn’t push, didn’t rush me. He simply waited, his steady presence both grounding and unbearable at the same time.

I didn’t know how to do this. My father had taken everything from me. My mother, my one and only friend, my freedom. A large part of me feared letting myself havethis, that Lucifer would take it from me as well.

But I didn’t want to be afraid anymore. I didn’t want to let my fear of Lucifer control my life anymore.

For the first time in my life, I didn’t have to be alone. I didn’twantto be alone.

My hands trembled as I reached for Rathiel, my fists clenching in his tunic. Rathiel tensed for a fraction of a second before he shifted, closing the final sliver of space between us.

He rested his forehead against mine, his hands sliding over my waist with careful, measured ease, as though afraid he’d scare me off. And given how my heart was beating like a frightened hellcat’s, he wasn’t far off.

He stayed still, letting me hold onto him, letting me take however much time I needed.

Be brave, I told myself. If I could survive Hell, I could handle this.

I lifted my chin, tilting my face up just enough to brush my lips against his. A test. A silent confirmation.

Rathiel groaned softly, his grip on me tightening. He didn’t hesitate after that. His lips crashed against mine, hard and unrelenting, and I melted into him, into the fire building beneath my skin.

I broke away first, my breath ragged, and my pulse a wild, frantic thing in my chest. I forced myself to open my eyes, to meet his gaze.

His pupils had dilated, his lips were parted, and his expression was wild. But his hands never let go of me.

I licked my lips, my voice rough when I finally spoke. “Guess this means you’re mine, then.”

A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

I dragged him back down for another kiss. His hands slid up my back and pulled me against him. I didn’t fight it because I didn’t want to. I kissed him with everything I had, every ounce of heat and frustration, every question, every damn thing I hadn’t let myself feel until now.

Because I had spent my entire life fighting against something. Against Lucifer, against fate, against myself.

But this? This wasn’t a fight. This was a choice.

And I chose him.

ChapterTwenty-Two

LILY

The fire crackled, spitting embers into the air, as heat licked at my face. I leaned back against a large rock and took another drink. It burned in my throat, warm and heady, the kind of fire I wanted to drown in.

Laughter rumbled around me, rough and unpolished, the sound of warriors reveling in the rare sweetness of a real win. A big win. The kind that left Lucifer’s forces scrambling and our rebellion stronger than ever.

I stretched my legs out toward the fire, fingers curled loosely around a drinking horn filled with something that could strip paint off a fortress wall. Across from me, Gorr, Calder, and Varz sat in their usual spots—my most trusted, my first picks for every skirmish, the ones who had fought beside me for a year now and bled just as much as I had. Gorr, who had been gnawing on a massive bone beside me, thumped his thick tail against the ground and let out a happy chuff.

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