Page 128 of Hell-Bound

Every muscle in his body was trembling. Tears streaked his dusty face. He did not look at her—his face jerking back and forth, searching.

“Renata—I had to, he wouldn’t—I couldn’t—”

“Where are they?” she bellowed, pulling out the dagger and positioning it at his throat.

“Yes. Yes!” Leo exclaimed, excitement filling his face as he finally met her eyes. “Kill me, please,” he squeaked. “It will be nothing compared to—now that I have—I failed him! failed him!”

Ren hesitated, trying to make sense of his words, but kept her dagger poised to carve him open.

“Ren, wait.” Azur’s eyes darted around the room. “He shouldn’t be here. No one should be here.”

From behind the dais, a figure emerged. His face was transformed, but it was indisputably the same being.

Nainaur.

His hair was still gray, eyes still blue, but depravity was now present there. His smile was wicked, and his brows were perked up malevolently. The shadow of the flames underneath flickered about his face, giving him a ghostly halo.

Leo wrenched himself from Ren’s grasp, indifferent to the dagger, which trailed a shallow slice across his throat.

Ren didn’t move to pursue, too stunned by the scene in front of her.

Leo threw himself at the base of the dais, raising his hands in supplication.

“My lord, my king, I have been nothing but a loyal servant to you. I have brought you the girl—please have mercy!”

His voice shook, and Ren noticed the wet spots trailing down the back of his robes.

“You didnothingfor me, Leonardo,” Nainaur muttered, sneering. “You begged me for a task, and you, of everyone, should know the consequences of being such adisappointment.”

“But—you told me—you promised a place near you in The Heavens!”

“Leonardo, I owe you no thanks or credit,” he seethed. “However, I have decided to show you the depth of my compassion. I will not kill you for your insolence.”

Relief passed over Leo’s face before Nainaur raised two hands in front of him.

“My savior, thank—”

But the words were cut off and replaced by a gagging sound. Leo’s body twitched and writhed.

Ren didn’t move. Her head swung back and forth between the god and the man. What should she do? What was right? Leo appeared to be a victim of the deity, but her heartclenched in rage when she thought of the deplorable choices Leo had made. She could kill him herself, it would be so easy, and she doubted she would feel even an ounce of remorse or regret at her decision. She might even enjoy the satisfaction of feeling her wrath manifest.

There it was again.

The question of whether these feelings or lack of feelings for this male teetered her across that line of malevolence.

A hard grip on her elbow stopped her wavering inaction as Azur stepped forward.

The two watched as Leo continued to writhe, golden light, like beads of sweat, began to trickle off his skin and float toward Nainaur. The god inhaled deeply, beckoning the essence, which swirled around his open palms and entered his nostrils. Nainaur’s skin began to glow. He smiled and exhaled—making a contented sound while the light began to dissipate.

Leo collapsed.

“Sloppy, that one,” Nainaur said, taking two steps off the dais.

Though prone, Ren could still see Leo’s chest moving.

She pulled herself free from Azur and ran towards his body, turning him over.

His eyes were still full of tears, and they stared at Ren’s face, looking past her.