Page 34 of Her Twisted Sinners (The Seven Sinners of Hell's Kingdom 5)

Anger explodes through me, and I gather hellfire in my palms. “You need to give me time.”

“No.” Mikail grinds his teeth and blasts heavenly light at my protective ring. The other angels take his command, joining him and trying to knock me out of the mortal plane.

I close my eyes and use Raven’s tether to drag myself back to her plane and into the basement of our new home. The angelic army hollers and shouts, but their voices silence as I find myself standing in front of Raven and Elias.

She jumps at me, and I scoop her into my arms and snuggle her close, careful not to hurt her in my devil form. She’s much smaller, and I know her mental state is fragile. I’m afraid to add to her stress by mentioning what happened.

“I’m going to take Raven to my kingdom. I need you to find the other devils. The angelic army knows what Raven is capable of, and they will come hard and fast at us. They’ll do whatever it takes. We need to get everything set. This is war.” I stomp my hoof into the ground, opening a Hell portal to my kingdom.

Without waiting for Elias to respond, I jump into it, taking Raven with me. It takes everything in me to keep calm. All I want to do is build a protective wall around her and return to the Mortal Realm to fight. I want to destroy every angel I see, but I can’t. I’m anchored to Hell.

Raven clutches onto my tusks, dragging my attention away from the onyx walls growing even taller around us. I summon souls to circle the place, ensuring that if an angel tries to infiltrate my kingdom by falling from grace by choice, I’ll be ready.

“Tell me everything that happened, Micah. Did they hurt you?” Raven runs her fingers over my tusks and to my cheeks, waiting until I get my act together to suppress my devilish nature.

Her eyes shine with tears, and I force my darkness away, returning to the form she fell in love with. She caresses her fingers over my short, curly hair, tracing her way to my orange eyes, glowing with the fire of my kingdom. She draws her way down, mapping my body until she presses her hand over my heart, feeling the power radiating from me.

“Please, Micah, I know you’re afraid of stressing me out, but your silence is more harmful than you just telling me what the fuck is going on. You weren’t gone very long.” Raven leans in, kissing my mouth, waiting for me to react to her closeness.

I shudder, my muscles rolling with the fury still clinging to me over the situation. “The angelic army wants us to make a deal with them. They said that if we allow them to keep your soul without a fight, they’ll end the war and not reset the universe. They’ll not come out for the twins when they’re born, and if we bow to them, they will keep things as they were before.”

Raven’s mind races, a dozen thoughts swirling through her head. She thinks about my words and also the universe. Unlike me, she’s not selfish. She has been wanting to protect humanity and create Purgatory since discovering her place. She wants to ensure the safety of the twins regardless of what it means for her. She wants Hell to be able to rise, and she wants us devils to unite. She wonders if complying with the angelic army is the right thing to do. She can’t stand the thought of them destroying everything because of her. She carries the weight of their actions on her shoulders.

“Micah...” Her voice hitches as she says my name.

I shake my head, fire erupting around us and stretching toward the ceiling. “Don’t even consider it, Raven. It is not your responsibility to make such a sacrifice because the angelic army is trying to test our power. They know we are stronger than them, and they realize they are about to face defeat. That is the only reason they have tried to make a deal. Angels do not ever make deals with devils. It is absolutely unheard of. This is to save themselves, not the universe. Not the world. None of us. They are selfish, and I will not let you be a martyr. Do you understand?”

Raven opens and closes her mouth, her body tensing as she groans and bows forward. I feel her pain as if it’s my own, and I hug her tighter.

“This is so fucked up. I just want a future with you. I want to be able to raise the twins. I don’t want to leave you. But—”

“But nothing.” I jerk my attention to where the other devils enter my kingdom. Raven follows my gaze, and she starts bawling the second she sees them standing before her.

I stride closer, holding her out. Zade breaks away from the others first and gathers her into his outstretched arms, tapping into his kingdom and his connection to Raven to try to steady the intense emotions crashing through her.

I meet Kase and Dante’s eyes in silence before looking at Andre and then to Cassius and Lucian. Blinding light flashes as Elias uses his connection to Raven to portal here.

Raven’s crying fades after another minute in Zade’s arms. No one moves or speaks, watching our queen break before us. This is pure torture. This is what I imagine the souls of Hell experience. Even the ones that don’t deserve it. Just like Raven doesn’t. Anger swells through all of us. I can feel our rage growing by the second as we all stand together.

“Raven, I need you to do your best to keep faith in yourself. The angelic army is trying to get to you. They are trying to destroy your confidence so that you don’t progress in learning to control your powers.” Cassius breaks the silence first, and I watch as he steps closer and finally meets Raven’s eyes after what feels like days avoiding her.

“I hate fucking admitting this, but Cass-hole is right. They are chickenshit bird brains, and they have nothing to save them. They are no match for us. And we still have Elias’s connection to Heaven. He will help you pluck every last one of those bastards from the safety of their plane. Starting now. They’ll regret fucking with us. Now be my good little princess and follow my instructions.” Lucian stands beside Cassius, flashing his impressive horns as he summons the power of his kingdom into his being, setting his heart aglow. I realize in this moment that he tethers himself to the plane.

He looks at Cassius next. “Your turn, brother. You need to access all the power possible.”

“I will do the same,” Kase says, gathering his red power in his hands. “We only need one of us with access to the Mortal Realm. Who is it gonna be?”

“I’ll do it,” Dante says, expanding his black wings. “The legions bow to me and will fight to keep control over humanity’s domain.”

I nod my head, gathering more hellfire in my hand until I set the palace aglow in a ring intended to cage in celestial assholes.

Raven runs her fingers through her hair, calming down and wiggling in Zade’s arms until he sets her on her feet. She straightens her shoulders and turns her gaze upward as if she says a silent prayer. But not to heaven. To herself. To the universe. To the twins. It’s taking all of her strength to face what is about to come. And I plan to give her all of mine.

I close the space to her and lift my hand, pressing it over her heart. “I want you to take part of my tether. You need to ground our beings together in your realm.”

Kase strides forward and rests his hand on top of mine. “You need to connect to all of us, Raven. It’s going to take every ounce of power in Hell to crack the heavenly plane.”

She slowly nods her head. “Do whatever you have to do. I can handle it.” But she doesn’t look so sure. Reaching down, she pets her hands along her belly, closing her eyes as she feels the babies move inside her.

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