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My shoulders tensed at the mention of Cerilla. Her betrayal had cut me almost as deep as Riven’s.

“We need her to open a gate?” I asked, logic fighting against my reluctance to saving the person who tricked me into being here in the first place. She was a mage. Maybe the only one powerful enough to open a gate to get us out of the Seven Hells alive.

As far as I knew, only two gates existed—one at the barracks and one in Lumireth. But not knowing of another did not mean one did not exist. And if there was even the smallest chance she could lead us to one, then saving her was a necessity despite her betrayal.

Or would she open a portal like the one she used to drag me here?

“No, Sunshine,” Helion chuckled, shaking his head softly. “Cerilla will be far too weak for that now. The Seven Hells are isles, just another Kingdom separated by the Dead Sea, the same way Stonebriar is separated from Lumireth. The only way to escape is by ship.”

My brows furrowed. I had never considered that the Hells were only an ocean away.

Helion walked towards the door, putting a flaming hand against the door handle. The metal dripped beneath his touch, melting away in rivulets of lava down the oak door.

He gave the handle a gentle tug and the door swung open.

His magic burned through whatever force had been keeping us locked inside, the air hissing faintly as the last of it dissolved.

“Ladies first,” he said, a small smile curving his mouth.

I glared at him, wondering if he was ever going to tell me how to save Rythos, or if all of this were a waste of fucking time.

My gaze dropped to his hands, still ablaze, the flames licking up his corded forearms.

He noticed immediately and took a careful step back, lifting them in mock defence as if to prove he was harmless.

The gesture so familiar, my heart squeezed in my chest against my will.

But this wasn’t Riven. No. The male standing before me was a god, power bleeding from him in waves strong enough to churn my stomach.

His shoulders lowered, and the flames in his eyes flickered, dimming as if I had snuffed something out inside him.

His emotions slipped through the bond and my breath caught in my throat. They were not filled with the rage or resentment I expected.

Just a raw, endless longing, threaded with a grief that almost brought me to my knees.

I slammed my walls back down between us and pushed past him out into the hallway.

“Escapes are supposed to be fast,” I said over my shoulder.

Helion let out a small, almost strangled noise as he followed me, the heat of him making me cringe.

He strode towards the next door lining the hallway, setting every pastel canvas we passed ablaze without so much as slowing. When he reached it, he extended one flame-covered hand towards the handle.

Metal glowed red beneath his touch until it sagged beneath his fingers and collapsed entirely. Molten metal dripping to the floor and pooling at his feet.

Kaezlyn stood on the other side of the door, arms crossed against her burgundy-coloured leather jacket as if she were expecting us.

Her crimson eyes landed on me filled with a judgement so sharp in made my want to squirm.

“You finally fucked him, huh?” Her gaze trailed to the heart-shaped locket resting against my chest. “Yet you chose to stay oblivious.”

My lips peeled back from my teeth, the power shimmering in my chest begging to unleash on her.

I was already uncertain if I’d made the right decision, I didn’t need some unhelpful god rubbing it in my face.

“You’re more than welcome to stay here and rot for another century, Kaez,” Helion offered with a shrug, walking further down the hallway to the next door.

She let out an annoyed sigh, brushing her red hair over her shoulder as her heels clicked against the marble, following Helion down the hallway.