Page 62 of The Road to Hell

He shoved harder.

And then something in my mindcracked.

Calyx gave a satisfied sound. “Ah. There they are.”

An agonizing pulse shot through me.

His fingers twitched. “Brace yourself, darling?—”

An explosion ignited behind my eyes, like a thousand knives carving through my skull all at once. The last thing I heard was someone shouting my name.

Then the world went black.

ChapterSixteen

RATHIEL

Lily fell.

One second, she was standing—the next, she collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. No sound. No warning. Just down.

I moved without thinking, catching her before she crashed to the ground. I laid her down, then my hands were on her shoulders, her face. I turned her toward me, searching for signs of life. Her skin was warm, her chest still rose and fell in shallow, unsteady breaths, but she didn’t react to my touch. Her eyes were closed, her expression slack.

Too still.

Too quiet.

A violent tremor shot through me, but I shoved it down, pushed it aside, focused on the immediate—the tangible. “Lily,” I said, my voice hoarse. No response. I shook her gently. “Lily. Open your eyes.”

Nothing.

My heart slammed against my ribs, a dull roar rising in my ears. I whipped toward Calyx. “What did you do?”

Calyx blinked, looking vaguely disoriented, like he’d just been sucker-punched. “That…was unexpected.”

Something inside me ruptured. A violent, twisting crack that split through my ribs and sank deep into my bones. My breath hitched, then vanished altogether. A cold void swallowed my chest, leaving behind something far more dangerous.

Something black. Something feral.

And Calyx was still breathing.

I didn’t think. Didn’t hesitate. I simply moved.

One second, I knelt beside Lily—the next, I slammed Calyx into the cavern wall with enough force to crack the stone. The impact reverberated through my bones, through the cavern itself. Dust rained from the ceiling, disturbed by the sheer force of it. But I wasn’t done. Not even close.

Calyx let out a grunt of pain, his head snapping back against the rock. Before he could recover, before he could flash that smug grin of his, I grabbed the front of his shirt and threw him.

His body crashed against the opposite wall like a ragdoll.

I was on him before he even hit the ground.

He barely had time to lift his head before I drove my fist into his face.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

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