When Devyl started forward, Valynda stopped him from grabbing Thorn and ripping out his throat. “It’s not final, Captain.” She turned to Nibo. “You can help her, can you not?”
Eyes wide, he exchanged a nervous grimace with his twin companions. “Is not so easy, ma petite ange.”
“But not impossible. Especially for you, Papa.” She reached up and caressed his cheek. “You can do this for me, can’t you?”
Nibo practically melted at her touch. “Oui. I will try.”
“Nay, love. You will succeed.”
*???*???*
In every culture, crossroads were significant. As an Aesir, Devyl had been taught to be wary of them, as they were oft haunted by the c?n annwn, cyhyraeth, Adoni, or Gwrach y Rhibyn, who preyed on unwary travelers, seeking souls or victims for nefarious ends. Nothing good ever happened in such places.
And this evening was no exception. For it was here in his grandfather’s kingdom that he was being returned to the hell Thorn had saved him from.
Nibo let out a tired sigh as he finished his chant. “You’re sure about this?”
Devyl nodded. “She doesn’t belong there. Are you sure this will work?”
“Aye. The parties have agreed. They would rather torture you, as you have earned damnation, while she has not.” He gestured toward his companion. “Masaka will lead you in and then return with Marcelina.”
Devyl narrowed his gaze on the loa. “No tricks?”
Nibo quirked an amused grin. “You are wise to be suspicious. But on this, I gave me word to Valynda. I assure you that I won’t break her heart.”
“Nor will he cross me.” Thorn cleared his throat abruptly.
The laugh Nibo let out contradicted Thorn’s arrogance. But that was all the loa had to say on the matter. “If you’re ready?”
Almost.
Devyl swallowed hard against the painful knot in his throat as he met the tear-filled gaze of his sister. “I’m sorry to be leaving you alone in this world, Elf.”
Sniffing, she nodded. “I understand. I just hate to lose you again.”
He kissed her hand and held it for a moment longer. “Tell Mara that I’ve always loved her. And that she’s never to feel guilty for this. I would rather she think of me fondly, if she’s able. And only smile whenever she does so.”
A tear slid down her cheek as she nodded. “I love you, Duey.”
“My precious Elf.” He kissed her forehead. “Take care.” And with that, he stepped back and glared at Thorn. “Let no harm come to my girls.”
“On my honor, Dón-Dueli. It’s been a privilege.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. You’re still a thorn in my arse.”
Thorn laughed, but his eyes were as sad as the others’ as Masaka placed her hand on Devyl’s shoulder and they faded back into the hell Devyl knew he’d be forced to endure for all eternity.
Think of Mara. This was for her. She was safe now. She had her life back. Free of him.
But that didn’t help. Not really.
Because in the end, the greatest hell wasn’t the physical agony he knew awaited him. It was the mental and emotional torment that came from knowing that she finally loved him and that now he would be forced to live without her.
Forever.
*???*???*
Kalder hesitated as he saw the dense crystal wall that kept Paden and Cameron imprisoned. They were frozen in a sheet so thick, they barely looked human. But the worst part of all was the expressions of horror frozen upon their faces—as if they were caught in the midst of a nightmare only they could see.
“What have they done to them?”
Rage darkened Thorn’s eyes to a vibrant green glow. “It’s not what’s there that’s terrifying, Myrcian. It’s what’s not.”
“How do you do mean?”
Thorn placed his hand on Kalder’s shoulder. The instant he did so, pain tore through Kalder’s head and ripped back the layer of this world so that he could see the reality where Cameron and Paden currently lived. The realm where their souls had been cast by Vine’s evilness.
Gasping, he felt a fiery chill that was so cold it burned. Felt Cameron’s despair and her brother’s terror that he was going to kill his own sister, and that Paden would be powerless to stop the hunger inside him that demanded her innocent blood.
Thorn let go and stepped away from him.
Kalder staggered as his vision cleared and he returned to this reality. His breathing ragged, he blinked rapidly, looking from Thorn to Michael and finally Gabriel. “Can you always see like that?”
They nodded in turn.
“Not fun, is it?” Thorn said bitterly. “To know what lies behind the human veil and not be able to interfere. It’s its own form of hell.”
Kalder wiped at the tears as he struggled to even out his breathing. “Is that why you came for us?”
Thorn passed a sullen glare to the other two. “Aye. Unlike some, I can’t abide injustice.”
Michael turned on him with a vicious hiss, exposing a set of fangs that Kalder hadn’t noticed before. “Never speak to me of injustice, demon! You’ve no right! You know nothing of me or mine.”
Thorn held his hands up. “Point being, I believe in second chances.”
Michael curled his lip. “Most demons do, as the second strike usually cuts even deeper than the first.”
Now it was Thorn’s turn to go for Michael, but Gabriel caught him and forced him back.
“Enough! Both of you! We’re not here to fight each other.” He jerked his chin toward Paden and Cameron. “Every second you bicker, we risk losing them forever.”
“If we haven’t already,” Michael said under his breath.
Kalder winced as he pressed his hand against the cold rock that kept him from Cameron’s warmth. How strange that he barely knew her and yet she’d sparked something inside him that he’d never known he possessed.
A heart.
He hadn’t even kissed her and yet here he was willing to die to save her. It made no sense whatsoever. But then life seldom did.
Perhaps it was that innocent optimism she held in spite of all the shite life had heaped upon her that had restarted the dead organ in his chest. Or the loving light in those hazel eyes that sparked whenever she spoke of her brother. The way she kept faith even when it seemed there was no hope whatsoever.
No one had ever held such regard for him.
He’d never wanted them to.
Until now. By all that was holy and not, he wanted her to look at him like that. To see her eyes light up and twinkle for him in the same manner as they did for Paden.
Nay, that was a lie and he knew it. He wanted much more from her than that. He wanted to have one woman, just once, see him the way she saw her brother.
As a noble hero.
As her noble hero and champion.
One she was willing to sacrifice her life for.
He wanted someone to love him like that. Completely and without question. With total loyalty and devotion. To love him the way his mother had loved his brother. To have someone mourn his passing and regret that he was no longer part of her life. No one had even shown up for his burial after his mother had gutted him.