Not a moment too soon, we’re closing in on the exit point from the farm field. Sebastian hits the town line and fishtails on the asphalt before straightening.
“Shit. We’re coming in fast,” Wylder shouts.
I grab hold and tighten my grip, closing my eyes. We get air as we crest the rise of a small hill and my stomach flutters with a swarm of butterflies.
Wylder has to do some quick maneuvering to get us straightened out on the road. The Jeep’s suspension groans, but it seems to have fared better than Sebastian’s sports car. “How far from here?”
“Half a mile, give or take.” Sebastian says.
Okay, that won’t take too long.
I watch the sports car’s taillights blur as Sebastian accelerates, and his car takes off. The road here is empty—nothing but darkness and pine trees pressing in from both sides.
Asher’s grip tightens on my seat. “What exactly are we driving into?”
“You probably won’t notice anything, but the rest of us will feel the instability of the magical energy.” Sebastian’s matter-of-fact tone does nothing to calm the spike of fear in my chest. “The veil between magical realms and the reality of this world is like a heavy tapestry, but at certain times of the year, that heavy brocade thins to be almost sheer. That’s when I truly started losing ground.”
“Because Tharuzel’s been working on getting through from the Hell Realm?” I assume.
“Yes, and I think he’s been able to use the claim he has on the Hallowind bloodline to get a demonic foot in the door. He marked Zoe, but he claimed Poppy when he summoned her to hell and blood-bound her with that contract.”
Wylder’s head cranks around, and he pegs me with a look. “What the fuck is he talking about?”
“A blood-bound contract?” Orion says. “Yeah, I’m with Wylder. What the fuck, Poppy?”
My mind blanks out. “I, uh, didn’t know how to tell you guys.”
“And it can wait until later,” Asher jumps to my rescue. “We’ve got bigger problems at the moment.”
“Bigger than her being blood-bound to a Demon Lord of the Hell Realm?” Wylder snaps.
“More immediate, then,” Asher says. “Right now, we worry about a demon invasion. If we survive that, we’ll worry about Poppy being bound to a ten-foot-tall Hellboy without a face.”
Wylder’s glare intensifies. “He knew about this andIdidn’t?”
I frown. “Don’t look at me like that. Asher is my lifeline. We share everything. And up until that kiss an hour ago, I still thought you hated me.”
Orion sits forward in his seat. “What kiss? You two are kissing now? Seriously? What did I miss?”
“Enemies to lovers, baby,” Asher says, chuckling. “I’m telling you, that’s where it’s at.”
“Can you people fucking focus?” Sebastian brakes hard, and the screech of tires on asphalt comes through the phone as his brake lights flare. “The ley line convergence is just beyond those trees. From here, we go in on foot.”
Wylder pulls up beside the battered McLaren. As he kills the engine, all four doors open and we spill out.
Holy hell.Between the pine trunks of the forested area ahead of us, the air itself writhes. Purple-black energy pulses like a wound in our reality, spreading tendrils of shadow that claw at the night sky, the forest floor, and everything in between.
“That’s bad, right?” Orion’s voice drops to a growl.
Sebastian emerges from his car, backlit by that sickly light. His face is grim. “Yes. That’s bad.”
I step around to the front of the Jeep and stop beside the others. The ground feels wrong. It’s too soft, too yielding, like the earth itself has lost cohesion.
Rowan appears at Sebastian’s side, her face pale. “This is more than a tear in the veil, isn’t it?”
Sebastian stares at the pulsing rift and lets out a long sigh. “Yeah, it’s totally shredded. We’re too late.”
His words race down my spine like spilled ice water, but they don’t stop us. We’re in this until the end and now definitely isn’t the time to throw in the towel.
