Page 87 of Hidden Sacrifice
“You should at least wait until after we have this Fachnan business squared away,” Jace suggested.
“Or you don’t, because I wanted it. I asked for it,” I huffed, placing my hand on Jace’s back. Jax’s eyes zeroed in on my hand as something resembling envy wafted from him.
“A promise is a promise, Babe,” Jax said with a cruel smile.
“It didn’t take an hour. I was practically healed the moment I stepped into Hell. It wasn’t like he was chopping off pieces of me. Just some bruises that I got to hold on to for a few more fleeting moments rather than them healing right away. Don’t shame me for wanting that,” I bit back. He had specific things he needed, and so did I. Or maybe I should remind him how he nearly face fucked me in a coma when he had his way with me.
Jax frowned, seemingly torn between my wishes and instinct to chop off hands or whatever made him want to hurt Justice.
“I like the pain Jax, and I needed it. I needed it after being held back in the hunt, unable to protect any of you. You could have died, Jace too. I needed something to take the edge off.”
I felt Jace’s body turn; my hand slid to his shoulder and then slowly down the corded muscles of his arm as he faced me. He brought his hand up to touch my face, and I leaned into the cool touch of his palm before my eyes slid over to Jax.
“She needs the pain Jax, just as much as she needs a power-up. I can head into the human realm and drain some humans while the two of you get all healed up,” Jace offered.
I frowned, not wanting him to leave the Hell realm. What if Fachnan’s accomplice was there waiting to finish what Fachnan started? What if they killed him or took him hostage? Images of their dead bodies bubbled back up in my mind again. For a few fleeting moments out in the woods today, Justice had pushed those images from my thoughts. Now Fachnan was back out there, and it didn’t even end there. How many demons were out there trying to kill us now?
“Babe,” Jax’s voice broke me from my thoughts as I felt a hand on my shoulder. He stood shoulder to shoulder next to Jace, looking at me with broken expressions.
“What?” I asked softly, wondering what I must have missed.
“You don’t have enough power to block your thoughts well, Darling. You might need to sit down and explain the images we just saw,” Jace said softly as I felt Jax’s hand squeeze my shoulder.
A deep sigh escaped my lips. “Might as well go back to the bedroom for this one. But I demand a threesome for my story. Figure it out, but that’s what I get, or I refuse to tell you shit,” I said firmly, meaning every word. I knew they were concerned, and who wouldn’t be after seeing that sort of fucked up shit from someone else’s mind.
“I told you negotiating with her is fun,” Jace said with a smile as he looked over at Jax.
Jax wasn’t smiling, but he wasn’t rejecting it either. He must want to know why I have those images in my mind. Or else he loosened up quite a bit after his injury.
“Let’s talk,” Jax said, releasing me to head back down the hallway.
Jace and I followed along, none of us breaking the silence until we were all seated on the bed facing each other. Jace sat across from me to the left while Jax took up residence on the right. They both looked at me expectantly.
“That was my soul test in the veil,” I whispered. I didn’t want to relive it again, but maybe if I finally said it out loud, the images would stop haunting my dreams. “I followed the sand path until I met a little girl. She said she was lost, trapped on that island. She led me towards a pilar, there was writing on it, but I didn’t know the language.”
“Of course, she gets the language puzzle, and I got a mouse. That I left,” Jace scoffed before his eyes went wide, and he looked over at Jax. “Was I supposed to do something with the rat soul?”
Jax’s eyebrows bunched together as he shrugged. “I think it might be a good idea if we all share what happened to us in the veil.”
Jace nodded before his gaze returned to me.
“There was a language I couldn’t read on it. The little girl said it required a sacrifice to open the doorway to the next area. I asked her what kind of sacrifice, and then she pointed.” I took a deep breath, letting the magic of Hell fill my lungs and push power through my veins. “That’s what she showed me; the images in my head. The sacrifice required was the death of each of you. I screamed and yelled that there had to be another way.”
I looked up to Jace, remembering what he looked like, dead in the veil. His dark eyes clouded over. Purposely, I pushed the image into their minds before switching over to my memories of Jax in the veil. They both frowned.
“I refused to believe that was the price. But then I got another idea. The cost to open the door was everything I had. But maybe the doorway would open if someone who had nothing was sacrificed. The girl was dead already. Lost and alone for eternity. I pushed her into the pillar and watched as she was sucked into it, screaming. The writing started to glow, and I was standing with Jax.” I shrugged at the end, unsure what else they wanted me to say.
“You sacrificed the innocent soul?” Jax asked after a moment of silence.
“Rather than give up one of you, let alone all of you. Absolutely. I’ll bring down every realm to save you,” I said, looking at Jax.
He shook his head in disagreement. “You already know what happens,” he breathed out.
Jace looked between us, confused.
“It’s not my story to tell, sorry,” I shrugged.
“It damn well is your story. It’s his as well. After all, I kill him, right. I kill all of you,” Jax growled out, making my head snap to him. I could feel waves of confusion and anger coming from Jace.
