Page 119 of Hell-Bound

“Insidea volcano? Azur, you might be immune to fire, but I certainly amnot.”

He leaned down and touched her nose.

“Yes. You. Are. My. Dear.”

He emphasized each word with a tap before taking her hand and kissing the ring Jester had given her.

After everything that had happened, Ren hadcompletely forgotten about her little jewel.

“The hard part will be arriving. I still can’t portal, but there should be a shortcut after we reach The Lacerated Valley.”

“TheLaceratedValley? You thought naming something The Lacerated Valley wouldn’t encourage people’s negative opinion of this plane?”

He glowered at her.

“It’s called that because it is a cavernous valley. Additionally, I never said I didn’t like instilling a modicum of fear.” He flashed a wide smile. “You should try it sometimes. You’re about as terrifying as a daisy.”

She gaped at him.

“I am veryterrifying! You should have seen the look on those guards’ faces! They were basically pissing their pants!”

Azur looked at her pityingly.

“Yes, yes, my dear. I’m sure you were quite monstrous.”

Ren stuck her tongue out at him.

“Very mature,” he said, raising an eyebrow and slinging the rucksack over one shoulder.

He leaned down and opened his arms.

“Okay, Elfy, time to go!”

She stomped over to him, and he scooped her up before launching into the sky.

They flew for several minutes until Ren’s mind began to wander.

“Azur, why did you save Gabriela?”

Azur looked taken aback by the question.

“Because she was being held against her will. She was being mistreated and abused. Why wouldn’t I help her?”

“I just mean—you said you’d given up—on being anything other than evil. Saving an innocent female doesn’t sound like you’ve given up.”

Ren could feel Azur’s muscles tighten, but he didn’t reply.

Their flight continued in the uncomfortable silence foranother hour before the smog started to thicken, and Ren had to shut her eyes to keep out the ashy particles. Azur began to glide under the gray clouds, and the land below became visible. Streaked with caverns, some of which glowed red from the fire in the pits below. Azur was right. It did evoke the image of a giant beast that had raked its claws down the valley.

Azur slowed his descent before landing gently on a large bank divided by two massive craters. The air was stifling hot and Ren knew, from the way her body perspired uncomfortably, that the ring was the only reason why she was able to withstand the heat.

The terrain was all craggy rock and mountainous planes. Several, far off, were spewing black ashy smoke. Despite the distance from the smog, the air still felt gritty. This hell, with the threat of fire and brimstone, genuinely looked nightmarish.

“It’s…horrible.”

“Why would you say that?” Azur asked, stepping up beside her.

“This plane is so...dead. Nothing can survive here.”