In that hut, I’d learned that the hound-shifter was a kind and docile man. Because Abaddon couldn’t use him as the terrifying hell beast, he punished him by sticking him in the middle of those wastes. Then Lucifer had saved him from that horrible existence, in thanks for saving us. It had been a long time ago, but I doubt the chef had forgotten his old life and probably trusted the archdemon as little as I did.
Cerb’s bewildered expression took in the way Abaddon had me pinned against the rock, his gaze taking in the way the archdemon’s claw held my jaw possessively, how my dress was torn at my thigh.
Cerberus may not know the exact depths of the archdemon’s betrayal, but I could tell he was putting two and two together by the disgust etched in the creases of his face.
I thought for a second that Cerberus would play it off, pretend he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary and then sneak off to find Lucifer and guide him here. But by the rage on the chef’s face, I knew he wasn’t going to play that route.
Unease coiled through my whole body like my veins were threaded with barbed wire. He was going to get himself killed. While Abaddon’s true form barely squeezed into the tunnel, Cerberus’s true form was three times the demon’s size. There was no way he could shift here.
“You bastard!” The basket dropped to the chef’s feet and his fists balled at his sides. “How dare you put your claws on the king’s mate!”
Abaddon’s lips contorted into a vicious sneer as he spun to face the hound. “She wasmymate. AndIwas her king!”
“Not anymore.”
“Your loyalty to that celestial is cute, but his reign is over. Time to get back on my side, mutt. Otherwise, I’ll rip off your balls and feed them to all three of your heads.”
Cerberus was usually a jittery, twitchy man. It was supposed to be his nature to be intimidating and vicious, but it wasn’t ever really something he cared for. Much to the displeasure of the old king and the pleasure of the new, he preferred baking cakes for his master rather than ripping off heads.
But right now, I was seeing a side of my old friend I’d never seen before.
The chef’s eyes locked with mine, and somehow, I knew he was about to do something incredibly stupid. And incredibly brave.
“Run!” he mouthed. At least, I thought that’s what he said. But there was no time to ask him to repeat himself because he suddenly lunged at Abaddon. The archdemon couldn’t have been expecting the nervous chef to suddenly go on the attack because he hesitated. But the brief beat was all I needed to throw myself behind Cerberus, who shifted as he flung himself at my captor.
It was true that the tunnel would be too small for the hound to fight, but it was just big enough for the three-hounded beast to block it off. He now was wedged into the small area, blockading the space and barring Abaddon from reaching me.
My heart lurched into my throat as my gaze fell to the basket of split mushrooms. Cerberus had launched himself into harm’s way, protecting me with his mass while earning me time to run. But how much time had he bought me?
I stumbled down the winding tunnel, descending into the deepest bowels of the mountain. My heart rate began to climb, pounding hard in my ears as the sounds of snarling, growling, and the pained whimpers of the three-headed hound carried down to me.
Then there was silence.
A fist-sized lump swelled in my throat, making it hard to breathe.
Cerberus could be really hurt. He could be dead for all I knew. But if The Fates were no longer here, his sacrifice would have been for nothing.
Thank fuck for the torches lining the tunnels because there was no way I would be able to see without them. But they did nothing to chase away the chill. It may have been as hot as a sauna outside, but in here, it was freezing, probably because it was so close to the Ninth Circle.
Not that I was cold. Abaddon’s hot, sickly sweaty breath still had me sweating bullets. I would give an arm and a leg for a damn shower so I could wash his stink off me.
All thoughts of getting myself clean were flung to the recesses of my mind when a guttural, bone-rattling roar made its way through the tunnel.
“Lilith!”
The thud of my heart slammed in my ears as I frantically stumbled into the deepest and largest cavern in Devil’s Head.
Home. Or at least, it had once been. In another time, another life.
The place was mostly dark, lit only by the torches at the mouth of the cave. There was just enough illumination to see that the place was completely empty save for some random bones scattered to the outer edges of the cave and the stone slab in the center.
Like that, any hope I had bottomed out of my stomach and fell onto the cold, damp floor at my feet.
They’re not here.
What in the fuck was I supposed to do now?
Another of Abaddon’s hell-deep bellows tore through the tunnel—closer now.
