A shockwave of golden light rippled outward, knocking everyone—friend and foe—to the ground. The trees bent double, stripped of their needles in an instant. When the light faded and the dust settled, Adrian was gone, a scorch mark on the earth the only indication he ever existed.
Silence fell over the grove.
The remaining Boston witches looked at the smoldering spot where their leader had stood, then at the three demon princes standing tall amidst the wreckage.
“Run,” Mayhem said, his voice low and dangerous. “Before I change my mind about letting you live.”
They didn’t need to be told twice. The witches scrambled over each other, fleeing into the darkness of the woods, back toward the safety of the highway and far away from Salem.
“Is everyone okay?” Cinder asked, her voice raspy as she leaned against me for support.
“We’re alive,” Ember said, helping Shade to his feet. “Which is more than I can say for the asshat.”
“Good riddance,” Ash muttered, dusting pine needles from her jacket. “I could use a drink.”
“We are not done yet.” I turned toward the clearing, where a sickly red light pulsed through the trees.
The vibration of the Underworld hummed in my bones, calling to me. It was a song of home, but looking at Cinder, I knew my home was standing right beside me.
“The veil needs us,” I said, though I was loath to do what must be done.
We walked the remaining fifty yards to the edge of the clearing, our hesitation growing palpable. If my brothers felt a fraction of what I did for Cinder, they’d be averse to saving the realms as well.
What good was a universe…was life…without our soulmates by our sides?
We stepped through the tree line, and I stopped short, my breath hitching in my chest.
The rift stretched from the ground to the sky, a jagged, gaping wound in the fabric of reality. Through it, the obsidian landscape of the Underworld was clearly visible. In the distance, a horde of demons waited with bated breath for Lucifer to release his hold on them, but closer…just on the other side of the tear…stood Marshall Holland, looking small and terrified against the backdrop of Hell.
“Dad!” Cinder said.
The rift pulsed, widening with a groan that shook the earth beneath our feet.
It was time to pay the price for our misdeeds.
17
CINDER
“Dad?” Ash stepped toward the rift, tears welling in her eyes. “Dad, come home.”
She reached a hand toward him, but Chaos caught her arm. “Do not touch the veil. The energy is volatile at best. At worst, it could kill us both.”
“But he’s right there.” She cut her gaze to me, her eyes round and accusing, silently demanding I answer the unspoken question, How could you leave our father in Hell?
I opened my mouth to explain, but Ember strode straight toward the rift. “I’m getting Dad.”
Mayhem caught her around the waist, lifting her feet from the ground so she couldn’t do her classic deadweight drop and kick. Smart man. It almost felt like he’d sparred with her before.
“I won’t touch the edges.” She swung her legs, but he held her firmly. “Dad! Step through the rift.”
“He cannot cross over without Lucifer’s blessing,” Mayhem said.
“Cinder and Mom made it just fine.” Ash tried to pull from Chaos’s grasp, but he shook his head in warning.
Discord gave me a questioning look, as if he wondered whether I would try to dart through the rift too. I most definitely would not. I’d had my bones liquified and resolidified once, and that was more than enough for one lifetime, thank you very much.
I raised my hands. “We only made it through because you had the amulet. If you’d summoned Discord without it, I would have died. I almost did the first time.”
