I stepped through the archway and stopped short, my jaw falling open for the second time in an hour.
If the antechamber was the basement of Hell, this room was the penthouse suite of a high-fantasy novel.
The cavern opened up into a massive, circular grotto with smooth, obsidian panels embedded with thousands of crystals that glittered like diamonds under the light of a floating, magical chandelier. The floor was covered in plush, woven rugs in deep burgundies and golds, softening the harsh stone.
It looked less like a cave and more like the ballroom of a castle. A long banquet table and high-backed chairs with velvet cushions filled the space, and a massive fireplace stood tucked into an alcove. Tapestries depicting constellations I didn’t recognize hung from the ceiling, swaying gently in a breeze that shouldn’t exist this deep underground.
“Hecate has expensive taste,” Discord murmured, straightening slightly as he took in the room.
But my gaze didn’t linger on the furniture. It locked onto the center of the room where a massive, circular rift hovered in the air, crackling with unstable energy. It looked like a window made of lightning, the edges fraying and snapping. And standing before it, her hands raised, pouring streams of golden vim into the tear, was a woman with wild, graying hair and a spine of steel.
“Mom?” The word came out as a squeak.
The woman didn’t turn—she couldn’t. The strain on her body was visible, her arms trembling as she fought to stitch the fabric of reality together with sheer willpower.
But the man standing beside her, wiping sweat from her brow with a cloth, froze. He turned slowly, his eyes widening behind wire-rimmed glasses that were broken on one side.
“Cinder?” Dad’s voice cracked, raw with disbelief.
“Dad!” I dropped Discord’s arm and sprinted across the rugs.
He met me halfway, catching me in a bone-crushing hug that lifted me off my feet. He smelled like old parchment, peppermint, and sage—the scent of home.
“Oh, goddess, you’re here,” he sobbed into my hair. “Why are you here?”
“I came to find you.” My voice was thick, and hot tears streamed down my cheeks. “I told them I would. I told them you weren’t dead.”
“We are, though.” He pulled away, clutching my shoulders, his brow crumpling. “And if you’re here, that means you are too.”
“Semantics.” I half-sobbed, half-laughed. “We won’t be dead much longer.”
He shifted his gaze, searching behind me. “Ash and Ember? Are they…?”
“They’re still in our realm, searching for Hecate’s amulet so we can go home.”
He shook his head, his shoulders slumping as he released me. “The amulet is a myth. Your mother scoured the library.”
“It’s no myth.” Discord stepped beside me, his spine straight, his head high, but I could tell he was hurting. He needed rest. “I’m the one who took it to your realm.”
My father backed away, clutching my hand and trying to tug me with him, but I stayed by my demon’s side.
“Dad, this is Discord, Prince of Hell,” I said matter-of-factly, as if simply introducing an old friend.
Dad’s eyes widened, a series of emotions flashing across his features: shock, fear, anger. “He’s the one who…”
“Cursed your bloodline,” Discord said. “My apologies. Cinder has taught me the error of my ways, and I am trying to make amends.”
“It’s a long story, but…” I tugged from my dad’s grasp and slipped my hand into Discord’s. “He’s my soulmate.”
Dad cut his gaze between us, his skepticism finally fading to wary acceptance. “Apparently, your mother and I have missed a lot. How long have we been here?”
“It took me months to find you. I have no idea how long it’s been since I got here.”
Discord squeezed my hand. “Time runs differently in Hell.”
My mother wheezed, and Dad shifted his gaze from my demon to me before returning to her side. Resting his hands on her shoulders, he whispered into her ear, and a single tear trailed down her cheek.
My heart lodged in my throat at the sight of my mother, deep in a trance, the only thing holding the world together. Was she still channeling Hecate’s magic, or had the goddess abandoned her to deal with her loose cannon of a…boyfriend? Husband? Flavor of the century? I didn’t dare interrupt her to find out.
