Page 132 of Hell-Bound

“What?! You can’t!”

“Hecan,Ren. He has the power of two gods now.” His voice was quiet but strong.

“Learning, I see,” he said, tapping his nose.

“I know you’re ambitious, but why kill everyone?” Ren’s face was reddening with panic. “Don’t you want to…rule it or something??” she asked desperately.

“Too much work. I don’t rule, I receive.” He sighed. “And anyway, these Devils are too lost. Too dedicated to theirkingtogive me the worship I deserve.”

“Wait.” Azur paused as though something had occurred to him. “You won’t do it.”

Ren looked between the two males, utterly confused.

“Tell her what youreallywant, Nainaur. Tell her what you want for saving meandmy people.”

Nainaur looked pleased.

“Ah yes, you see, deals are your specialty, and I simply couldn’t help myself.” He smiled a toothy grin. “It’s very simple, really. I want Renata to go home, and in exchange, I will give her memoriesandallow the Devils to live.”

“Home? To Vergessen?” she asked, voice heavy with skepticism.

She freed herself from Azur’s embrace to look at the god full-on but kept a firm hold on his hand.

“Exactly, my dear! Back to Vergessen.”

Ren felt Azur’s grip tighten. The knot in her throat began to grow, sensing the trickery.

“I’m not falling for your lies, Nainaur. You would turn me into a sleeper!”

“Renata, Renata! There’s that naivety again! I don’t need to lie to you. If I wanted to turn you into a sleeper, I would.” He tutted. “What I want is for you to leave—I want you to remember, and lives will be spared in exchange. It’s that simple.” His grin did not falter.

“To further demonstrate my benevolence, I’ll even keep the moreunsavoryparts of your memories. Some of those you gave up. I wouldn’t want to cause you anyundeservedpain.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “All you have to do is go. Right now.”

“And my family!” she blurted, “you will make sure they are safe?”

“It’s always perplexing me,” he said, tilting his head, “the way Ziemia created you Mortals to care so much about such trivial matters. But to answer your questions, yes, your family is already safe. They won’t even remember their harrowingencounter.”

Ren let out a shaky breath in relief. But she couldn’t puzzle it out—it didn’t make sense. What was he hiding? She couldn’t see how this could possibly benefit him.

Then it dawned on her. Her family was safe. The reason she was determined to leave no longer mattered.

“Tell me why he wants this,” she asked pleadingly, turning to look into Azur’s brown eyes.

The expression they held was so much more excruciating than the acid burns. But those eyes, they knew something, and she wished she could read their language.

“I can’t, Ren. Not yet,” he whispered, voice cracking.

Ren’s heart felt the insurmountable weight of this decision. She wanted to rage against Azur. To demand that he reveal what he knew. It was the end of the journey—she had to go back, back to being someone she didn’t even know, and shedeservedto understand the truth—to understand why she had to go through with this, to give up another part of her. A decision that, in an instant, no longer became hers. She was once again blown by the winds of the desires of others. Saving a Plane? Someone she cared about? It wasn’t a decision at all. It was the only option.

And as much as she wanted to unleash her wrath upon Azur, to push him away in an act of self-comfort, push him away and deny that anything they had was real—she couldn’t bring that anger to the surface.

As she gazed at The King of The Hells, she noticed then that he was, without his horns and wings, really just a man. The same pain, love, and regret existed within him. She thought in that instant that—perhaps in another life—on another plane, if he had been Mortal, she could have loved him. Perhaps they could take their sins and let them dance to the music of a life spent together. Accepting one another and maybe even someday growing strong enough to accept themselves.

“And,” she rasped, “Azur will be okay?”

“I’ll be fine, Ren,” he said, lifting her hand to his lips to place a soft kiss there.

“Oh, he’ll be fiiiiiine,” Nainaur whined. “If I let him leave this chamber, he will get the powers he sacrificed back. Idoappreciate that, by the way.”