Page 113 of Hell-Bound

He kept his red eyes on the horizon.

“They knew what they risked when they sided with Xarek Wyvryn. They still have time to escape. But they’ll all be sentenced to death either way.”

Ren opened her mouth to object, to defend the beings inside, but that was hypocritical. She had killed several guards for only doing their jobs.

After all the purple had winked out, Azur landed hard in the middle of the Nahmir forest and set Ren down.

She immediately turned on him.

“Okay, Lord Pelegros. It’s time for some answers.”

Azur stretched his wings and sat down, leaning against a nearby tree.

“As you wish. But remember, I can’t answer anything about your past.”

She was slightly thrown at his serious tone and half expected him to make a lude joke. But he was all Azur now, Jester nowhere to be seen.

She joined him near the tree.

“First, my parents. Leo, The Gilded Triangle man who sent me here, is holding my parents hostage. Why would he do that? Why are they so desperate to find this tome?”

He sucked air through his teeth.

“I hope you can understand that some information cannot be shared. I have contracts.”

Her face turned skeptical.

His jaw moved as he looked up, thoughtful.

“I can only venture a guess as to why Leo would take your family. If he is working with my brother, then he is afraid of disappointing him. Of failing his holy mission.”

She blanched.

“He would go as far as kidnapping innocents?”

“As we’ve discussed, Ren, people do a lot of things when they are desperate.”

She clenched her jaw. “And why is this stupid book so important?”

“It isn’t just a book. It’s a holy relic written by my younger brother Faydir. It was…the reason he died.”

Ren struggled against her urge to interrupt with a litany of more questions.

“Vutar’ka Zhartun, in the old tongue of the gods, means The Ultimate Truth, and that is simply what it is. A truth so powerful that gods quake in fear of it. Sometimes, truths, like your memories, are hidden to protect. The Ultimate Truth was never supposed to be written. It was thought to be impossible. Faydir gave every ounce of magic he had—all his godly life force, to write it. Before he died, he gave it to me to read and keep secret lest it fall into the wrong hands and The Ultimate Truth be forever destroyed.”

“If the truth is so important, why don’t you just…tell it?” she asked, forehead creasing.

He breathed out.

“Who would believe me? I am the King of The Hells. The god of lies. My word means nothing, and The Ultimate Truth…” He shook his head sadly. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Ren’s mouth fell open.

“Ofcourseit matters—”

“But would it change anything? Would knowing about your past,yourtruth, help you? If you can’t change the past, why would the reasons why you got there make a difference!”

His voice was raised now and his eyes were on Ren’s, intense.