“She is going to Hell to free the gods and their mates,” Brim said. “That's why I came; I had a vision.”
Mikel looked at Brim. “You two will never be allowed to see each other again. How long have you two been scheming this? I know why you didn’t tell me now—because I would have never allowed this.”
“Calm down, Mikel. Della and I have this handled. Besides, this will take care of the problem for good. If I’m being honest, Della wiped my memories so I couldn’t tell you her plan, but I know it was a good one.”
“You little fucking shit, I will fucking kill you.” Mikel stepped toward him. “That's why you have been hiding in that stupid shack.”
Brim stepped toward Mikel and gave him a sneer. “You can’t hurt me. Della needs me to help her finish that plan, and I won’t hurt you either, because she also used her magic on you."
“Damn it, Ardella.” Mikel snapped. “You two are in deep shit after this. When is she going to Hell?”
“Now.” Brim looked at me. “You should hurry up.”
Fear gripped me; she couldn’t go there. My siblings would kill her.
I immediately summoned my magic to go to the Island of Death. When I got to the opening of Hell, I realized Ezra, Thea, and Cassius came with me. I froze when I saw her. Della was on the rocky cliffside staring down into the chasm opening of Hell which glowed with angry reds and oranges. I swallowed hard as she turned.
“Haden?” she whispered.
“Storm, get away from there,” I begged. “You don’t have to do this.”
Tears filled her eyes as she looked over each of us. “Actually, I do.”
Della raised her arms out to her sides and fell backward off the cliff and into Hell without hesitating.
“Storm!” I ran for her even though I could hear Thea, Cassius, and Ezra yelling for me to wait. There was no hesitation as I jumped in headfirst. I could see Della falling through the bright flames of Hell; the farther down we made it, the darker it was becoming. I reached for her as she stared at me, her eyes never leaving mine. The wind from falling made her hair whip around.
I used everything I could to catch up with her. My fingertips grazed her clothing, and I gripped it for dear life before I yanked her up to me, my body slamming into hers. My arms wrapped around her back as I turned us so my back was toward the ground. Della’s face was buried in my neck, her hot breath warming my insides as she gripped me.
Our falling slowed down until we were a few feet above the black, charred ground. We fell quickly the last few feet, my back slamming into the ground. Della held onto me until the sound of others hitting the ground startled us. Della let go of me and turned to see Ezra, Thea, and Cassius.
“For the love of everything holy, I thought I was going to fall for the rest of my existence,” Ezra groaned.
“What are you guys doing?” I asked as I stood up.
“You think we were going to let you and Della save the gods without us?” Thea raised her dark brow and smiled. Cassius looked at Della and frowned at whatever he saw on her face. “We are family; we will help.”
Della had put space between us, and I hated it. I stepped forward and grabbed her face in my hands.
“Gods be damned, Storm—don’t ever do that again.” Her eyes flashed with a deep sense of longing that strangled my words from me. “Are you hurt?”
She looked at me oddly. “Physically, no,” she whispered. I knew that she was talking about the bond.
“I will fix our bond when we get out of here,” I promised her. “I was not going to reject you. Why did you force me to?”
She didn’t say anything; she just stared at me like it was torture to be this close to me. Della’s gaze moved from me quickly and stared at the ground.
“Della, please look at me.”
Her face lifted immediately, and I saw the black tears falling from her eyes. She looked like she was in pain.
“I love you. I’ll spend the rest of our existence making up for my stupidity. You are mine— my wife, my goddess, my everything. I will let you do whatever you need to as long as you do not leave me. Is that why you did it? You didn't want me anymore—you don't see me as worthy of you?"
She didn't say anything and I panicked.
“No matter what the cost is, Della, I vow I will bring our bond back. I will climb the heavens, and I will destroy the stars myself if they do not give it to me. You have always been my purpose. You have always been my reason for living. I will not waste or take this second chance for granted. I will build a life for us that even the heavens could not tempt you to leave. I vow that when I get all of you back, I will never let you go again. You are everything to me. I will make myself a man worthy enough for you. I will love you so intensely that we become one and your soul comes back, and if that doesn’t happen, I will rip my own chest open and give you mine. Please, let me try and change your mind before you decide I am not worth loving.”
Della looked at me with tears in her eyes. Her head tilted to the side as she frowned. There was a longing in them that I knew she saw reflected back at her. I wanted to hug her. I wanted to smell that familiar scent of home and safety.
