The demons charged the four of them, and Lilith yanked on my neck, forcing me to meet her heated gaze.
“You think that was smart? You think your friends can remove that feather from my castle without my demons killing them? You’ll listen to your friends die one by one. Give up before you murder your mom.”
I gathered my saliva and spat at her.
Her nostrils flared, and she electrocuted me, shocking my gathering power. My body spasmed, but my mind stayed sharp, waiting for the moment to strike.
“You probably shouldn’t have said that, darling.” That was what I’d wanted to say, but my teeth were clenched so tightly, my words wouldn’t come.
An explosion rattled the ground, along with excited shouts somewhere to the left.
“Yes! Throw, then shield!” Oliver shouted.
Another explosion rocked the hall, shaking loose bits of stone from the vaulted ceiling, threatening to pull my attention from the ruby-hilted knife appearing in Lilith’s hand as she stood over me. She tightened the hold on my leash.
“Let’s begin where we left off,” Lilith purred, “and I’ll be one step closer to avenging my coven.”
She plunged her knife toward my chest. I could’ve stopped it. But as shockwaves continued to disrupt my powers, I needed the blade to finish this. Taking a lesson from Oliver, I moved at the last second and let it sink into my shoulder—then ripped it from the searing wound and sliced it through her vine, releasing me from her hold.
She conjured more, but it was too late.
“Never surrender,” I whispered, and unleashed my Hellfire and Glory.
It was like my mom stood here—coaxing me, steadying me, giving me strength for what came next. I infused my soul with her unwavering love. Her laughter. Her soothing touch. Her annoying jazz music. Her ridiculous chicken obsession that had made her giggle. The steel in her spine. All our trainings. All our nights wishing to the stars. I wove every memory of us into my heart as I pushed my power at Lilith.
My combined flames slammed into her quick smoke barrier. She held me back for a second before I destroyed her shield. She erected it again, reinforcing it while throwing water, lighting, vines—all her stolen powers—at me. But Hellfire and Glory were a bottomless void of destructive power. They burned hot and fast—hot and torturously.
After breaking through again, Lilith smirked. I’d expected fear revealing the whites of her double-ringed irises, not a smug smile. She raised her hand, and a masculine groan sounded behind me.
My heart stilled.
Ronen.
Her powers flew over my shoulder toward him, and something inside me snapped. A feral, merciless harbinger of death ruptured from my chest. It pulled every ounce of Hellfire and Glory from my core and poured out of me. Ravaging black flames, eradicating white flames—they swarmed Ronen and Rune, burning away her attack.
Pins and needles climbed up my legs and torso, and still I called more.
Divine Wasting pushed behind my eyes, threatening to close them, and for one moment, I thought Lilith would win. I thought she’d take them away from me.
Then—a jolt.
Energy swept through my limbs, sweet and euphoric. It filled every inch of me, healing my wounds, giving strength to my muscles and life to my soul. It was like I’d been living with half a working body, and now the other half had come back to life. I shoved that energy into my flames, and it burned through Lilith’s power and sank into her skin like an unavoidable infernal parasite.
She shrieked, and I thought she’d burn immediately. But my powers had other plans.
Her flesh ruptured, spilling hissing blood and black ash into the air.
She fell to her knees, screaming and clawing at her neck. Her flesh oozed from multiple gashes as my flames ate her from the inside out. Water shot from her hand, blasting into the fiery cuts. My flames hissed softly, then grew in size, dancing in her water and mocking her attempt to extinguish them.
Her eyes melted, hollowing into charred craters. Feces and some other unnameable scent filled the air, making me gag. Her screams turned into wet gasps, then nothing, as her dress dissolved, revealing organ mush pushing through her burst stomach. My flames consumed the gory mess and every inch of stone where her blood or skin touched, until there was nothing left of her. They devoured every minuscule bit.
I leashed my addictive song and humming Glory. I stared at the corroded stone, the only evidence of Lilith’s death. The ground trembled with explosions. Fissures cracked through the hall. Shouts rang out. And yet I couldn’t lift my eyes.
Warm, calloused hands cupped my face, and golden eyes filled my gaze. “Lucille, are you okay?”
She was dead.
I opened my mouth to tell him, but nothing came out. My ears rang. My heart faltered. My knees buckled.
