6
CINDER
My breath came out in a rush, my entire body slumping in relief despite the fact that we stood in the center of Lucifer’s death trap. We’d done the impossible. We’d survived his deadly game and freed the goddess from her chains…but there was still one impossible thing I had left to do. And it had to be done with grace and diplomacy, no matter how badly I wanted to demand it.
“May I see my parents now?” I pressed my palms together and bowed my head, flicking my gaze to Hecate and hoping to…well, to her…that she’d show a little mercy.
Lucifer flinched, his posture stiffening as he turned to the goddess. “You are the traitor who helped them escape?”
Her nostrils flared, and she tightened her jaw, her brow arching. “Mind your words, lover. You and I have much to discuss when this is through.”
Lucifer lowered his gaze, his shoulders inching toward his ears, and I stifled a laugh at the absurdity of it. The King of Hell…being scolded like a child.
You go, girl.
Hecate’s eyes softened as she regarded me, the tension in her jaw relaxing a fraction. “I will take you to them, Cinder. Your courage has earned it.” She turned to Lucifer, her gaze steely once again. “Do not mistake my mercy for weakness. I grant this only because the fates demand it, and she deserves it.”
“I do not doubt your strength, my love,” Lucifer said, tentatively at first, his voice growing more commanding as he continued, “but until the amulet is returned and the veil is mended, their souls belong to me.”
“But—” I started to protest when a flash of silver light engulfed me, yanking me from the arena and dropping me at the mouth of a massive cave.
Discord appeared beside me in another blinding flash, and he stumbled, clutching his chest as if the goddess had tried to turn him inside out.
“Are you okay?” I gripped his shoulders, steadying him, and searched his eyes.
“Hecate’s magic isn’t meant for demons.” His voice was strained, but he straightened and took a deep breath. “My body requires respite before we can finish our quest.”
“We don’t have time,” I said, but the desperate look in his eyes stopped me short. My demon was in no shape to walk half a block, much less save the world.
The energy around us vibrated, raising goosebumps on my skin, and the air thinned, the pressure dropping and making my ears pop. Hecate glided toward us, literally out of thin air, her silver hair flowing like a supermodel in the path of an industrial-strength fan.
“Your parents are stationed inside the cave.” She waved a hand toward the entrance. “Scorsha is the only thing holding the veil together, and her vim is waning quickly. I can feel it weakening as she channels my energy.”
“But you can help her now. You’re free, so you can fix it.” I took a few steps into the cave, but Hecate made no move to follow.
“I am helping her, but I cannot fix what I did not break.”
My heart sank, and I fought the side-eye I really wanted to give her. She was a goddess for eff’s sake. She could do anything. “You can’t, or you won’t?”
The ground rumbled, echoing the sounds of the shredding veil, and she pressed her lips into a hard line. “I must return to Lucifer. He will need help keeping his demons at bay. I hope your sisters find the amulet soon.”
In a final flash of silver light, she disappeared.
“Thanks for nothing,” I muttered, and Discord groaned.
“Okay, let’s get you inside.” I draped his arm over my shoulders, and we stumbled through the entrance.
The antechamber was exactly what you’d expect from a hole in a mountainside in the Underworld: damp, smelling faintly of sulfur and despair, with jagged stalactites hanging like teeth in a massive maw, ready to snap shut on its unsuspecting prey. Slick black moss that squelched beneath our boots coated the uneven ground, and the shadows seemed to cling to us, heavy and oppressive.
“Mom? Dad?” I called as we crept farther into the cave.
Silence answered.
Discord leaned on me, his breathing ragged. Whatever Hecate’s magic had done to transport us here, it had scrambled his internal frequency.
“Just a little farther,” I whispered, though I had no idea how far we needed to go.
We rounded a bend where the tunnel narrowed, forcing us to squeeze through single file. Ahead, a soft, pulsating light spilled from an archway carved in the stone. It didn’t look natural; the edges were too smooth, the curve too perfect for nature to have created it.
