LILY
The outpost spread widebeneath us, all rubble and blood-soaked rock. I leaned forward to steer the dragon down, but he moved without any instruction from me, now aimed toward a massive patch of empty ground just outside the outpost walls. Unease whispered through me, one I wassurebelonged to the dragon and not me. I couldn’t hear his thoughts or see through his eyes, yet I knew his focus was on the cage near the southern wall—the same cage I’d spotted him in when Calyx and I first scouted the area.
I patted the dragon’s neck, though I doubt he could feel it through his thick scales. “Don’t worry, I won’t lock you up.”
A flicker of relief.
Alright. Good to know the dragon understood me. Of course, that led to about half a dozen more questions, such ashow? But I would focus on that later. Right now, I had far more important issues to focus on. Like Eliza.
I was no genius, but I’d read her expression back in Sulphur’s Grasp. She’d finally realized what Rathiel and I had been tryingto keep secret—that the darkness was gaining control of me. I’d managed to keep that hidden this morning when raising the hellspawn but hadn’t been so lucky this time. I’d asked her to kill me if this ever happened. And the heartbroken expression on Rathiel’s face told me that moment had come.
The dragon’s rough landing shook me out of my thoughts. I barely had time to collect myself before hellspawn flooded from every side, closing around us like sharks scenting blood. Their smiles were too hungry, too wide, too eager. They weren’t awestruck by my new mount, they were calculating how fun it would be to rip the beast apart.
Sighing, I slid off the dragon’s back, my boots crunching on the ash-packed ground. The second the first hellspawn inched closer, the dragon snapped his teeth next to the spawn’s face.
“Back. Off,” I said, voice flat but full of authority. “Touch my dragon and I’ll feed you to it, understand?”
The front ranks hesitated, hunger still gleaming in their eyes. Days—moments—like this made me want to kill my father all the more. He had created the hellspawn like this. Turned them into hellish beasts bred to fight and kill. They saw a dragon and simply saw a target. Something new for them to sink their fangs and claws into. They didn’t appreciate its beauty, power, or strength.
I shoved the closest hellspawn back, pulled Inferno’s Kiss, ignited my hellfire along the edge, and pointed the tip at the netheron’s throat. His eyes flicked to me before understanding finally dawned. One by one, the hellspawn stepped back, giving us some space.
Slowly, the crowd dispersed as they returned to their training. Only Calyx remained close, but he wasn’t staring at the dragon. He was looking skyward. I followed his gaze and watched as the others landed—Mephisar, Levi, Rathiel. Levi set Eliza down, and Varz, Calder, and Gorr dismounted fromMephisar. Only when Eliza stepped out of Levi’s arms did Calyx finally turn to me.
“I see I missed some fun.”
“Your choice,” I reminded him.
His lips flattened into a grimace, but he nodded. “Yet another pet to add to your collection?”
The dragon lifted his head and snorted, smoke pluming from his nostrils.
“He’s not a pet,” I said, though I did reach up and pat his side.
“Lucifer won’t agree with that,” Levi chimed in. “And he’s going to be livid when he learns you stole yet another of his toys.”
“Yes, well, that’s my father’s weakness, isn’t it?” I rebutted. “To him, everything is a toy or a tool. I don’t see things that way.”
“No, you never have,” Rath agreed.
After a moment’s hesitation, I finally met Eliza’s gaze. She stared straight at me, and I read the silent communication in her eyes. There was no avoiding the conversation she apparently wanted to have right now, if her tapping foot was any indication.
I nodded once. But the second I moved toward her, Rathiel cut between us, his sword drawn but angled low, and his whole body coiled tight.
Eliza simply sighed. “Calm down, fang-boy. I have no plans to kill Lily. Well, not right now.” She added a conspiratorial wink at the end, just to piss Rathiel off, I suspected.
My lips curved, a shadow of humour slipping through. I rested my hand on Rathiel’s forearm and squeezed. “It’s fine.”
“Don’t you think you should have this conversation in front ofallof us?” Rathiel asked.
“Nope,” Eliza said. “This is a best-friends-only chat. No boys allowed.”
Rathiel glared, but when I didn’t intervene on his behalf, he eventually lowered his sword arm.
“Come on, big guy,” Calder said. “You can come train with us. You clearly need to let off some steam.”
“Or maybe go find some hellcat to snack on,” Eliza suggested. “You’re getting a little hangry.”
His glower deepened.
