RONEN
Finally, after having it out with the king, he released Saraqael’s body to be prepared, to be burned and buried in the Eternal Forest. Once it occurred, she’d be able to cycle to Hell or Heaven, and I think that scared him. He would either have to damn his cordistella to be tortured, or he’d never see her again as she ascended to Heaven.
It would be the most difficult judgment of his long life.
I didn’t think Lucille even had the chance to consider the ramifications of her mom’s death, and what came after. But with the amount of pain consuming her, I refrained from saying anything. She’d need to know eventually, but I needed her to have enough will to get up in the mornings. Rune stuck by her side these past two days, and all Lucille had done was cry and stare off into space.
It destroyed me.
But not as much as when she asked me yesterday to turn it all off, with watery, starry eyes. One look, one question, and she completely gutted me. Of course I wanted to take away her devastation. But turning off her emotions would only prevent her from healing. When I told her no, I had to take out my helplessness on a punching bag with Alexei.
His wounds had shaken me when I watched him stand and stumble in Lilith’s castle. But Sam did a good job healing him. He’d had to rebreak parts of Alexei’s wings to save them. He’d need a couple more healing sessions and physical therapy before he’d be cleared to fly. For now, he sported a pair of patched-up, semi-featherless wings that still hung weakly at his back, and somehow stillmanaged to use them to lure in the females. Of course, the sob story he gave them helped. Nothing got him down—the insufferable male. But I needed his strength; my own waned.
MJ found me in the hall later. I was happy to see she’d finally had Sam heal her.
“Ronen, with Lilith dead, does that mean the infection died with her?”
“We’d be foolish to think that without more evidence.” Every infected soul I’d interrogated saidwe.Unlesswereferred to the infected demons as a whole, Lilith wasn’t their only creator. “If she was the source, then what’s left of her demonic creations should be mindless without her control, and hopefully incapable of continuing to spread the infection. Regardless, we’ll continue to search and kill what’s left in our domain.”
“And the Tenebrous Kingdom?”
I shook my head. “Once Oliver wakes, we’ll regroup, speak to the king, and make a plan before heading back to find his sister. Hopefully by then we’ll have more answers.”
MJ nodded. I was about to leave for my room, but she stopped me.
“I saw Lucille leaving the castle alone. Just thought you should know.”
I sighed. “In what direction?”
“Toward Portal Lake.”
I found the nearest roof, manifested my wings, and flew off to find her. It didn’t take long. She weaved between the Eternal Forest and the Verdant Forest. I maneuvered into an open spot, scooped her up, and shot us into the skies.
Her yelp of surprise was a breath of fresh air after all the pain I continued to feel from her.
“What are you doing?” she asked, pressing into my body to keep away from the forceful wind.
For once, I didn’t use my shadows to create a barrier. She shivered in her leggings and baggy sweatshirt. I gritted my teeth, refraining from protecting her. I wanted her tofeel, and if that meant forcing her to endure the harsh wind, then fine.
“Flying. What are you doing?”
Before, she would’ve narrowed her eyes in annoyance. But now, there was no expression.
“Walking.”
I gazed down at her, finding her staring out into the cloudy sky. Her eyes were still puffy and red from this morning. I had to look away, feeling my helplessness rise again.
I wanted her out of this state. But it would take far longer than two days. It didn’t help that Oliver had sustained a severe brain bleed and remained in a coma until he healed. Sam said he could wake up any day—we just had to wait. I wished that day were today. Maybe that’d give her some joy. Some hope. Fuck, I’d takeanything.
Flying to Portal Lake, I touched down on the cliff. We sat, our legs dangling over the edge.
“We’re preparing your mom for tonight,” I said softly.
She flinched, and I cringed. She needed to know.
We were quiet for a while longer, and then she spoke.
“I visited Aspen today,” she said, holding out the key to the dungeons.
