Page 15 of The Road to Hell

We were going back to Hell. And I needed to focus on what mattered: keeping her alive.

A pulse of energy tore through my thoughts, snapping me back to the present. My head lifted, eyes locking onto the gate. Its power thrummed in the air, a familiar, unwelcome presence pressing against my senses. Like an old wound aching before a storm.

This would be my third time opening it. And honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d survive it.

The first time, I’d done it for her. A last act of defiance before Lucifer ripped me apart for my betrayal. I hadn’t hesitated. Hadn’t cared what it would cost me. I’d thrown everything I had into forcing the gate open, shoving Lily through, then sealing it behind her before my body failed. It hadn’t taken long for Lucifer to find me after that, nor had I been able to put up much of a fight. He’d dragged me to his dungeons and unleashed all his cruelty on me.

The second time, I’d been equally desperate. To find her. I’d torn through the fabric between worlds, my strength draining with every second the portal held. But I’d done it. I’d found her.

Now, I had to do it again.

This time was different. This time, I wasn’t sending one being through. This time, I had to hold the gate long enough to senda celestial, a siren, a vampire, an imp, and a cat through. And I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to pull that off. The gate fed on our power. The more who went through, the more power it required. I was a fallen angel turned vampire, but my power wasn’t limitless.

I wasn’t sure I could do it.

But what choice did I have?

If I didn’t make it—if my body gave out before the last of them crossed—Lily would have to face her father without me.

And that? That wasn’t an option.

Which meant failure wasn’t an option either. I’d find the strength.I’ddig deeper than I ever had before. I didn’t care what it took, how much it hurt.

I’d hold.

Because she mattered.

And I didn’t.

“You all right?” Lily’s voice broke the stillness, rising softly against the night air, her breath misting in the cold.

I jerked my head toward her, her silhouette stark against the pale glow of snow-covered ground. “Yeah,” I said. “Just thinking.”

She studied me with a calculating look I’d come to know so well. The one that meant she was trying to piece me together, figure out what thoughts were rattling around in my head.

I hadn’t told her the full truth about what opening the gate would cost me. She didn’t know how much it demanded, nor did she need to know. All that mattered was getting her—getting themall—through. I could deal with whatever came after.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, suspicion creeping into her expression. “You’re sure?”

I swallowed hard, glancing away. But before I could respond, footsteps crunched across the snow.

“Hope I’m not interrupting something,” Eliza said as she strode toward us, her pack secured to her back. She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, her gaze flicking between us.

Lily glanced at her friend. “You’re late.”

Eliza shrugged, flashing a brilliant smile that supposedly brought men to their knees. Not me, though. The only smile I was interested in was Lily’s.

“Fashionably late,” Eliza corrected. “Don’t worry, I’m here now. Ready to kick down some fiery doors?”

Before anyone could respond, something pressed against my senses.

It was subtle at first—just a prickle along the edges of my mind. Then it sharpened with a pulse of power so strong, it hummed in my bones.

Unfortunately, Iknewthat feeling.

I swore under my breath and whirled around, scanning the darkness.

“Rathiel?” Lily asked, her voice quiet.

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