I flipped Vol the bird—because I was classy like that—and crossed the scorched clearing to the far side of the camp, where my personal menagerie awaited.
Mephisar and Sable coiled together in a loose, lazy knot of black-scaled muscle, their infernal eyes tracking me as I approached. Gorr thumped his tail in greeting, his claws gouging deep rivets into the ashen dirt. I smiled at the sight of myfavourite ravager, all teeth and muscle and horns, who was really just a hellhound looking for a cuddle. And Purrgy…well, Purrgy still slept soundly. Cats and heat—a natural kitty sedative.
I crouched beside my favourite furball and gently stuffed the ginger sausage into his carrier. He and Vol wouldn’t be coming with us to the battlefield, but I couldn’t leave Purrgy unsupervised. What if he wandered off and never came back? He hadn’t yet, but I would hate myself if that happened.
My delightful kitty woke and unleashed a series of murderous yowls the second I zipped the carrier door shut. “Oh, hush. You won’t be stuck in there for long. We’ll be back in an hour at most. And Vol will be here to keep you company.”
Not that Purrgy understood me. I didn’t speak cat.
Gorr plodded over and lowered his massive head to peer through the mesh door, then sneezed directly at the carrier.
Purrgy screamed and swiped at the air, his aura that of a pissed-off kitty.
Before I could correct Gorr, Mephisar bonked him aside with his snout—gentle enough not to hurt, but firm enough as though to say, “Dude. No sneezing on the cat.”
I shook my head, barely hiding my smile. How I’d ended up with Hell’s most mismatched crew, I had no idea. Honestly, though, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. These were my people and beasties. My family. And I loved each and every one of them.
Well, except Calyx.
I tucked Purrgy’s carrier beneath a shaded outcrop, then rose and stared at the glowing horizon, lit by unending hell light. There was no sun here. No moon. No stars. Just endless heat.
The love-triangle drama had offered a momentary distraction, but once we started moving, my nerves kicked back in, cinching around my chest like a vise.
I could do this.
Ihadto.
Rathiel caught my gaze. Eliza did too. His said,I believe in you. Hers said,I’ll do what I have to. Hers was more reassuring, and the only thing that kept me walking forward instead of running off to the nearest cave, where I could suffer a meltdown in peace.
“Alright,” I said, lifting my chin. “Let’s go raise an army.”
It was time to find out what kind of queen I’d be.
Chapter Three
RATHIEL
I’d never hopedto set foot on this battleground again.
Time had changed the terrain—ten years would do that—but it still looked the same to me. Beneath the ash, scorched ground, and new craters, I saw what it had once been. I saw our forces lined up behind Lily, our allies at our back, ready to defend her at all costs. I saw Lucifer’s army across the field, twice the size of ours and just as ruthless. I saw the march, the clash, and the bloody end when every single soldier lay dead on the field.
And I saw Lucifer’s hand crushing Lily’s throat as he tore her wings from her back. Like she wasnothing.
So, I’d cut off his hand.
I still remembered the feel of my blade hitting his bone. The resistance. The snap. The hot spray of blood. I remembered his scream—more rage than pain—and his threats. He hadn’t expected my attack. Perhaps he’d forgotten what I was. What Iam. Maybe that was why he’d taken such pleasure in tormenting me for the last decade, as payment for what I’d stolen from him.
Well, it was my turn now. I owed him so much more than pain. I owed him death. And I’d be damned—again—if I didn’t deliver.
I turned my attention to Lily, who stood a few paces ahead, surrounded by her team of misfits. She’d tied her hair back into a no-nonsense braid, though a few strands had fallen loose to curl around her cheeks. She wore a dark tunic and leather-hide pants, both coated in a thin layer of dust, but the look suited her, as did the dual swords hanging at her hips. She lookedstrongand complete now that she had her memories back. Like the Lily I remembered.
She would never admit it, but she belonged here. The realm responded to her. Welcomed her. She was its true ruler. Or would be once we took the throne from her father. Where Lucifer ruled with fear and pain, she would rule with empathy. With every fiber of my being, I believed she would restore Hell to its rightful state.
As though to prove my inner thoughts, Gorr stepped up next to her and butted her side with his massive head. Lucifer had designed ravagers to rip, shred, and destroy anything that stood in their way. I’d never seen one bond withanyonebefore.
Yet, here they stood, side-by-side, a princess and her loyal hellspawn.
Without looking, Lily reached up and slid her palm between Gorr’s horns, her fingers finding the soft hide behind his ears. Gorr leaned into her touch with a contented huff and sat, his tail thumping the cracked ground hard enough to jostle a few loose rocks.
