Page 75 of The Road to Hell

Something about him seemed… I didn’t want to say eager, but he was definitely engaged. And not in a ravager’s usual bloodthirsty way.

I narrowed my eyes.

Something wasn’t adding up.

I turned my gaze back to Varz and Calder.

Korrak had given me a netheron who looked like he hadn’t seen real battle in ages, a vampire who clearly had no personal investment in this mission, and a ravager who was weirdly attentive and maybe even, dare I say it, friendly.

I groaned.

Oh, that bastard.

Korrak hadn’t provided me any three hellspawn. He’d given me his problem children.

I stretched out my neck and let the realization slide off my shoulders. Whatever Korrak’s game was, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t about to fail just because he’d saddled me with the camp’s misfits.

“All right,” I said. “Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t care why Korrak sent you with me. I don’t care if you’re the best or the worst. But you’re here, which means you’re mine now. And we are taking that outpost.”

Varz’s lips curled slightly, just short of a sneer. “That’s an ambitious statement, celestial.”

I smiled. “Well, I’m ambitious. Achieve the unachievable, I always say.” I’d never in my life said that.

Calder chuckled, shaking his head. “This should be entertaining.”

Gorr just let out a low huff and thumped his tail against the ground.

Great.

I turned back toward the outpost, ignoring Calder’s smug amusement and Varz’s thinly veiled disdain. Let them think what they wanted. I wasn’t here to impress them—I was here to get the job done.

And preferably not die in the process.

My hellwyrms shifted restlessly behind me, their long, sinewy bodies curling slightly. Mephisar let out a guttural growl and Sable flicked her forked tongue in anticipation.

I sighed. “Yes, I know you’re hungry. No, you can’t eat anyone—yet.”

Calder chuckled under his breath. “Your pets and I have that in common,” he mused. “Always hungry.”

I didn’t correct his “pets” comment. Instead, I levelled him with a glare. “You bite me, and I’m setting you on fire.”

His grin widened, as though my threat only intrigued him. “Noted.”

“Are we going to stand around all night, or do you actually have a plan?” Varz demanded, his tone stark with annoyance.

I arched a brow. “Oh, I have a plan.”

Varz crossed his arms. “Which is?”

I studied the outpost again, taking in every detail. The layout. The guards. The vantage points. Then I looked at my so-called team.

Yup, it would be a miracle if we pulled it off. Thankfully, as a celestial, I believed in miracles.

“We’ll do what’s expected of us,” I told them.

Varz narrowed his eyes. “And that is?”

A grin came freely to my lips. “We’ll fight.”

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