Page 113 of The Road to Hell

Vol scampered straight for me, moving with the speed of impish delight. Without hesitation, he hopped up onto Purrgy, who let out an aggravated grumble, then clambered up onto my shoulder, his little hands holding onto my hair for balance.

I turned to look at him, only to find him peering at my face. “You look awful.”

“Worried, were you?”

Vol scoffed, immediately offended. “What? No. I was worried about who was gonna feed the cat if you kicked it.”

“It’s good to see you too,” I said, chuckling softly.

“Well?” Eliza said, drawing my attention back to her and Calyx. “Check her out, will ya?”

“Oh,” Calyx took a large step backward, hands held up peaceably. “I like my hanging bits where they are, thank you. And I hardly think Rathiel would appreciate mecheckingher out.”

Regardless of his stupidity, I found Calyx’s words reassuring. That he referred to Rathiel meant he was here somewhere.

Eliza growled something under her breath, then gripped Calyx’s arm and hauled him toward me. “You know what I meant. Is she okay?”

Laughing, Calyx crouched down beside me, assessing me as one did when they found a particularly interesting specimen. His presence whispered through my mind, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, so I let it pass.

“Still breathing,” he said. “So that’s good. And your brain doesn’t seem fried—well, no more fried than it was before. Impressive.”

Eliza rolled her eyes. “She literally just woke up, Calyx. Could you hold off on the sarcastic commentary for two minutes?”

“I could,” he said. “But why would I?”

I pushed myself completely upright, ignoring the way my body screamed in protest. My head still felt like some enthusiastic hellspawn had been using it as a punching bag, but I wasn’t about to let that stop me.

Instinctively, I reached back—fingers grazing the space where my wings should’ve been.

Nothing.

Just air and scar tissue.

The absence of my wings hit harder than I expected. I’d lost them ten years ago. But thanks to Calyx’s magic and everything I’d just lived through, the memory of losing them was a lot fresher than I would’ve liked.

I took a moment and allowed myself to grieve their loss—again—then cleared my throat, which still felt like I’d been swallowing glass. “Where’s Rathiel?”

Eliza’s lips pressed together. The way her gaze darted away told me everything before she even opened her mouth.

“He’s…handling things.”

My stomach tightened. “Handling what, exactly?”

Eliza cursed and averted her gaze, clearly debating how much to tell me.

Calyx, on the other hand, had no such hesitation. “Oh, you know,” he said, tone light, “throwing himself into unwinnable fights, making dramatic, self-sacrificial gestures, generally being an idiot.” He shrugged. “It’s a real hobby of his.”

I clenched my jaw. “Enough of the quips.Whereis Rathiel?”

“The fallen attacked us when we were traveling here,” Eliza finally said. “We were about to fight when another celestial showed up. He had these…” She blew out a heavy breath, shaking her head. “I don’t even know what to call them. I’ve never seen anything like them before?—”

“They’re hellwyrms, darling,” Calyx supplied, waving a lazy hand. “And friends of your dear Lily here. I never learned their names, of course?—”

“Mephisar and Sable,” I whispered, my heart quickening. “They’re alive?”

The last time I’d seen them, they’d been falling. Plummeting to the ground. Motionless.

A fresh wave of urgency surged through me, shoving away the exhaustion, the ache, and the lingering fog in my head.

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