I indulged her, planting my foot against the demoness’s severed head. It rolled down the slope, leaving a slick, dark trail behind.
“Let’s get going,” I said, opening my palm to dismiss Deathsong.
Mistress, let me stay,the evil blade pleaded.It’s my first time in Hell. I want to look around—maybe write a travel journal later.
You want to join me for a lava bath?I asked.
It paused.No. I appreciate the offer, but…
That’s what I thought,I said, and let it fade back into the mist.
I trudged toward the crater’s edge. The heat hit in waves, each fiercer than the last. Every breath felt like swallowing fire.
Below, a lake of magma churned with raw malevolence. The surface broke in places, revealing glimpses of something burning even deeper—the heart of the volcano, where the pull of the heavenly artifact hammered in my chest.
Heaven’s Arrow was hidden at the bottom.
Was I really going to do this?
My feet froze at the edge, overwhelmed by the blistering heat and the roar of the lava. Every muscle locked. This wasn’t like our usual fights, where we could punch our way out. This was a mission of self-annihilation, or close to it. The pain would be unimaginable.
And once I jumped, there was no going back.
And Sy and I would never be the same.
But I had to do this.
My hands trembled as heat engulfed me and chills snaked up my spine.
I swallowed, my thoughts settling on Killian—on the way his storm-blue eyes held mine when he claimed me before everyone. He’d always been so angry, so brutal…until me. For me, he’d thrown away his engagement, his father’s plans, everything. If I didn’t make it back to him…
You’ll return to him,Sy cut in,and I’ll get back to my sugar. We’re not dying in a lava pit.
Tears welled, then vaporized before they could fall. I wanted to return to him more than anything.
I thought of the other heirs, too. Arrogant, merciless, yet every one of them had stood between me and harm without hesitation. Cade, with his disarming smile masking a blood curse. Rowan, the bastard fae prince who’d awakened something new in Sy. Silas, who’d bent over backward for me in the end.And Louis, still craving my blood, yet willing to walk through fire to keep me safe.
And Bea waiting on that train.
They’d all come through for me. Now it was my turn.
For them, I’d burn again and again.
My legs stopped shaking.
Now, before it blows again,Sy urged, her voice steady despite the fear we shared.I’m with you. Two peas in a pod!
I sucked in one last breath of air that tasted like sulfur and death.
Two peas in a pod!
And I jumped.
The air boiled around me instantly, even with my dark flame shielding my skin. Agony seared through every cell, but I forced myself to dive deeper, shutting down every survival instinct, drowning out Sy’s silent scream.
She tried to pull the pain into herself, but she could no longer bear it as she curled helplessly inside me.
I couldn’t tell whether I was still falling into the inferno’s abyss or if the molten river was dragging me down. All I knew was I was swimming toward liquid sun.
