Page 125 of Hell-Bound

Ren fingered the rough surface of her instrument.

“So…just another thing connected to my past.”

She huffed.

“Perhaps this is a question you can askNepheleonce you return home.” He grunted.

There was something new in his tone. Something outside of envy.

He offered his hand to Ren’s and gently guided her to standing. He flew them down to the dragon carcass. Ren retrieved her dagger, still buried in the dragon’s eyes, as Azur surveyed the path ahead.

“This way,” he said, once again taking Ren’s hand, and her head began to swim for a wholly different reason. His stride was more confident as he led her through the magma maze. Apparently, his memories of the volcano had returned.

They walked hand-in-hand in silence, and Ren didn’t feel the need to break it. It was peaceful despite their surroundings. She knew his hold on her was more utilitarian than affectionate, but she let her mind wander and enjoy the contact.

Eventually, Azur stopped in front of a large magma river.Her brain warned her to run as waves of heat wafted off its slow ripples.

But unlike Ren, Azur was not looking at the river. His piercing eyes were burrowing into her. Once she met his penetrating gaze, he lifted her hand and kissed her ring tenderly.

“Ren.” He swallowed, looking down at her. “Take off your clothes.”

At first, I hated her. She forced me to see the parts of myself that I had locked away and buried deep. She stabbed at the sensitive parts in my own soul. In due course, I was taken in by her after so many years of refusing to lend my power. Her request was simple: forget. Forget long enough to redeem herself. Live without the torturous memories haunting every waking moment. I had to help her the way I could never help myself. I thought about her and her journey on The Mortal Plane constantly, and yet I knew, deep down, that she would return to me. We are too connected, and neither can be forgiven.

“Azur! Now is not the time to—”

“As much as you’d like to show off for me again, darling,” he said with a wink, “this is purely practical. We need to swim across the lake, and though your skin is immune to fire, your clothes certainly are not.”

“Why can’t we just fly over? Or teleport?” she asked, sounding more whiny than she’d intended.

He sighed dramatically. “Would that I could, but the ceiling is too low. I’d end up dropping you in the lava, and it’s too far to teleport safely with the amount of magic I have.”

He was right. The ceiling was only about five feet higher than the magma lake.

Ren was mentally unprepared for the moment that Azur pulled off his tunic. She tried to keep her expression neutral. His body was glistening with sweat from the heat, and she had to bite her tongue to keep her mouth from falling open. He then began to slip off his trousers, and Ren prayed that he couldn’t feel her lust building.

“Do you need help?” he asked, noticing her hesitance. “I could oblige, but I’d hate to get you all bothered before we complete our mission.”

He gave her a false sympathetic look.

“Only you could be so crass after fighting a dragon.”

She huffed, pulling off her shirt and trousers.

Ren was not one for insecurity. Even her new scars didn’t bother her. Yet, standing there facing Azur made her feel completely exposed. It was intimate in a way that even their sexual encounters hadn’t been. They stood there for a beat, taking each other in. Her nipples hardened despite the warm air as she gave herself a moment to appreciate Azur’s powerful legs. When her eyes finally trailed up his body and to his face, she realized he hadn’t been scanning her body as she had been. His eyes were soft, and his face was pensive.

He lifted a hesitant hand and reached for Ren’s abdomen, right where the scars had sewn her back together. She didn’t recoil but rather breathed in deep—her breasts rising and falling. His hand lightly brushed the new red skin, a deep contrast to her usually pale complexion. The touch raised every hair on her body, and she closed her eyes briefly to savor the sensation.

“I hope you always remember, if you remember nothing else, that you are an exquisite creature,” Azur said, suddenly serious. “You are a warrior and a musician. Capable of commanding armies and souls.” He smiled to himself. “I hope these scars remind you that you are valiant—a survivor—and so much more than the things of your past. We carry scars, you and I, but for you, they don’t define you. I am…envious.”

She was stunned. His words were so tender and wholly incomprehensible. Before she could think of a response, he turned from her, folded their clothes, and tucked them and her piccolo under his arm before confidently stepping into the lake.

If it hadn’t been for the shocking way the lava flowed around him, she would have probably stood there, motionless, for several hours contemplating the significance of his words. Before, the opinion of the god of evil wouldn’t have meant anything to her. But his actions, as he had explained them,weren’t altogether evil nor altogether good. That felt too simplistic. There was a line there, a line Ren wasn’t sure she completely saw or understood. And who was she to decide where the line was, anyway?

She watched as the liquid fire coalesced and began to harden around his body before breaking away with his slow movements.

“This might be more difficult than I’d initially anticipated,” he said with a grunt, “you might not be able to make it across without help.”

Oh, fuck that.

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