Except… there was a chance I wouldn’t.
Chapter
Forty-Five
LUCILLE
“Why are you here, Lucille?”
I faced Aspen. My thoughts warred against each other. I wanted to leave and forget him, but I also wanted to reach out and soothe the exhaustion weighing down his shoulders.
His unruly hair lay tangled and limp on his head. His beard appeared bushy and unkept. But the most concerning was his lifeless, dull eyes, as if Lilith was sucking away his soul.
The invasive energy that haunted me surged into my toes, urging me to move. I knew what it desired. What it always desired—Aspen.
“Why the Immolation Circle?” I asked, forcing my boots to stay planted.
“Don’t,” he hissed through his teeth and clutched his wrists.
“Why does Lilith want me there?”
Aspen gripped his head, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’m begging you.”
“Stop fighting her influence and tell me.”
He crumbled to his knees. The Hell Runes peeking from his uniform strobed between black and red light. He was in pain. I remembered what it felt like to press my hand to those runes—and this time, he had two. Digging my nails into my palms, I refused to bridge the distance and help him. I didn’t want him to fight. I needed him to give me the answer.
Lilith wanted me badly. There was no doubt in my mind that she would’ve commanded Aspen to do everything in his power to either gather information that could help them steal me, or influence me to find them.
“Is there a way to the Tenebrous Kingdom through the Immolation Circle?”
“No,” he gasped. But his face twitched like the time I asked about Michael.
He was lying.
“Where’s the entrance?”
He groaned, trying his hardest to fight her.
“Tell me!” I shouted. We didn’t have time for this.
“P—” He stopped, shaking his head and clamping his mouth shut. But the harder he resisted, the darker his runes grew. “Portal!” he blurted.
“Where’s the portal?”
He pressed his hands against his mouth, trying to muffle his words. Sweat slicked his forehead as he curled into himself. “Caves.”
“Where are the caves?”
He said something, but it was too muffled. I bridged our space and shoved his shoulders back.
“Where?”
“Past fire field,” he whispered. “Use the Ember Metal.”
I said nothing, ripping myself from the dream-walk. I opened my eyes to Oliver snacking on some food a maid brought to our rooms.
It was time for our next step.
