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DIANA

I had no clue how long it had been since we entered our personal hells. Day in and day out, I endured the torture my psyche made for me.

Quelier explained that our “ deep seated trauma creates the playlist, and I’m just making sure you can hear it.”

After he realized the first Hellscape wasn’t torturous enough for me, he transferred Zaz into a separate one and dropped me into a never ending loop of when we realized Nonna was abducted in Las Vegas.

When we thought we lost her forever.

Having to relive it filled me with such an intense dread that I had gotten physically sick. I’m sure he had enjoyed watching me puke from wherever he monitored me. Even though we had saved her from the Fourth Realm—which itself was a nightmare come to life—it still impacted me. It sucked to climb and scrape myself out of those feelings, but I did. Because I had to get us home somehow.

The same thing happened with every Hellscape he deemed painful enough to break me.

My ex Danny browbeating me over being too sensitive? Or too fat. Or too smart. Or not having enough time for him. Over it.

Finding out my whole family lied to me about who I am? Forget-about-it.

Discovering how Lucifer had my mom in a random cottage somewhere in magical limbo? Lucifer is always doing shady-ass shit, next.

Mal stabbing me? Not traumatizing enough.

Desmond trying to kill me not once, but twice? Attempted unaliving is our weird little polycule’s way of saying ‘I love you’.

Ares, Bash, Zaz, and Desmond betraying me? Water under the bridge–forgiven.

At least this hellscape was more creative than the others. It ground my gears to no end, but it still didn’t torture me enough. I knelt on the floor naked with my forehead touching a cold tiled floor and a collar around my neck. The attached leash was held by Red.

If Quelier thought me being naked and on my knees was embarrassing, he grossly underestimated what it was like being in a poly relationship with five men, especially when one was a dom with a sadistic streak and another was obsessed with nudity.

What tortured me was how stiff my bones were from holding this position for so long. And how depressed and angry Red’s vitriol made me.

“You think they’re worth saving?” Red’s gravelly voice sounded just like it had when he pretended to be a patron at the jazz lounge. “Humans and paranormals are all aimless, worthless cogs in a big machine. They’re so stupid, they deserve to get trampled on. It’s survival of the fittest, and I plan on culling the herd when I take over. Everyone will know true sorrow and suffering!”

I had no doubt he’d do much worse than that. He would erase everything we knew and loved about the world and turn it into a military state to carry out his bidding.

“Hell will spread to all four realms, and when the dust settles, I will reshape us. Put the strongest magical beings on top again, where they belong. The weak have no place in my world, and neither do the Morningstars. You’ll all suffer a fate worse than death.”

I metaphorically held my chin high, reminding myself that no matter what it took, I’d escape this place. These Hellscapes weren’t real. Nothing said or done here could actually hurt me.

It was only a matter of time before I found a way to save us all.

“Do you have anything to say, usurper? Any words to defend yourself before I make you suffer a million painful deaths for eternity?”

I had ignored him every time he had asked a question, denying him the satisfaction of getting under my skin. This time, I responded.

“You’re not real. This is a waste of time, because no matter how hard you try to break me, you’re only making me stronger,” I shouted. “You’re honing the weapon that will save the realms, kill you, and reshape the world into what it was always meant to be—a place for everyone .”

Slow clapping from behind me got my attention. The invisible forces holding me in this position faded, and I sat up. Quelier stood before me in Red’s place.

“Bestie, you are hard core! Nothing rattles you, does it?” His strawberry blond was slicked back and he wore a blue suit with a stark white dress shirt.

I glared at him, refusing to answer. Once I realized asking him to release us wouldn’t work the first time he visited, I stopped talking to him because ignoring him got under his skin.

He sighed as he snapped his fingers. A soft baby-pink terry cloth robe wrapped around me. He sat next to me, and put his ever present tablet on his lap.

“I’ve been stuck in Pit 13 for ages. I knew of Red, but didn’t realize he planned on doing all this fucked up shit. Is he as dangerous as your psyche makes him out to be?”

“Yes, genius, I tried to tell you that.” He winced at the venom in my voice.

“Does he really plan to do all of that?”

“Yes, weren’t you listening on the plane? He’s probably taking over earth right now. And he may already have parts of the Fourth Realm. The entire magical community and humans alike are in danger. And we can’t do anything because we’re stuck here.”

“ We …You’d take me with you?” he asked with hope in his voice.

This was the first time he entertained the idea of us leaving this literal Hellhole. If taking him with us was our ticket out of here, so be it. Michael and Lucifer could adult-up and get along with him. He obviously possessed a good deal of power, and his Fae magic set him apart from everyone else.

It would be nice to have a personal assistant who could keep me organized. Someone who could make sense of the random things Lucifer shoved into my daily schedule…

“Yes, of course. I’d love to have you on the team, either as my personal assistant or in another role that suits you.”

“Hmmm, that does sound tempting…” he mused, a far off, dreamy look on his face. “I have no clue how we’d get out of here, and there are some things I have to tell you in the spirit of full disclosure.”

“Go on.” I sat up a little straighter. Please don’t say you’re in love with me or something, the guys will not hesitate to kill you, and we need to get out of here.

“Have you noticed how few Fae there are on Earth? Most of my kind resides in the Fourth Realm.” I nodded so he knew I was listening. “I was exiled for crimes committed against the Crown. Being sent here was supposed to be a punishment…but it ended up being centuries of vacations, fun, and more trouble than I know what to do with.”

His wide, slightly off center grin over the mere thought of causing trouble was another reason I firmly believed he was a fellow brat. Only we got that excited over chaos.

“What did you do, since we’re being honest?”

He leaned forward, as if he was telling me a secret. “About eight centuries ago, I was dating the Prince of my commonwealth, Georgier. I was from the lower rungs of the aristocracy, so we saw each other in private, mostly at his vacation home. He promised he’d do everything in his power to be with me, even abdicate the throne.”

Oh no. I read enough romantasy books to know where this was going…

“Turns out he never intended to do any of that. He was betrothed the whole time to some guy named Lance from a neighboring kingdom. So I burnt his whole fucking vacation home to the ground because I’m petty as fuck and he deserved it.”

“Do you regret it?” I asked.

“Fuck no. I sank his boats, let all his prize winning stallions out of their stables, sliced up all his perfectly tailored clothes, and threw them on his lawn. He had nothing by the time I was done,” he bragged.

“Good. I need someone who’s certified badass to deal with my crazy schedule, the million and one meetings it takes to run a war, and my…boyfriends?” The word boyfriends seemed to juvenile a term, but it would have to do for now.

“Diana, if you take me with you, I’ll be your adorable, badass sidekick for the rest of my days.” He balanced his tablet on his lap, stretching it to magically double its size. He pulled a stylus pen that magically appeared from behind his ears and got to work.

“First order of business is tearing your schedule apart and rebuilding it so it works for you.” He wrote it down on a to-do list. “The second is setting up some boundaries so you can keep those men in your psyche–I’m assuming they’re the boyfriends in question—in check. I’m going to make things happen for you, Head Bitch In Charge.”

“Go for it, Old Man. Make all of my professional problems go away.”

“Old Man? I’m 1900 years old, a young man in Fae-years. You’re practically a baby. I should get you a pacifier and some of those cute little bows humans put on their girl babies’ heads.”

So Quelier has a sense of humor? Good. He’d need it when he arrived at the compound.

I offered him my hand to shake. “We have a deal, Quelier.” Sparks erupted from our joined hands, and a weird magic blanketed us for a moment. It felt ancient, like something from a time long forgotten.

“Call me Q, if you prefer. That magic you’re feeling is the Fae deal. It’s the same thing as your dealmaking, basically,” he stood, pulling me up with him.

He snapped his fingers, magicking me into a perfect fitting black tactical suit complete with combat boots. He wore something similar, with a custom made pocket for his tablet, which was now palm-sized. With a wave of his hand, my boyfriends, fathers, brother, Judas, and Bain all appear in the center of the room. They split their attention from me to Quelier with varying looks of confusion on their faces.

“Is this another torture scene? You’re going to have to up your game,” Michael huffed, rolling his eyes at Quelier.

Mal wrapped his arms around me, squeezing so tightly I almost couldn't breathe. Tears blurred his eyes as his lips pressed against my forehead in a tender kiss. “I’m so glad to see you alive.”

“The Pit used the same scene on me,” I commiserated with him. “We’re alive and well.”

“Torture time is over, folks. You’re looking at Diana’s new personal assistant. Get ready for synergy all day every day!” Quelier shout-sang the news.

“The fuck you are,” Lucifer growled. “You’re not allowed near my family, you Gods-damned lunatic!” He extended his arms, slashing them downward out of habit. He forgot our magic didn’t work in The Pit.

“We need to get over our issues for your daughter’s sake, Lucifer. I don’t want you like that. I just want to get out of here. You have no clue how awful it’s been being trapped down here for centuries…because you never came to visit me.”

Yeah, he’s a brat, one hundred percent.

Lucifer lunged at Quelier, knocking him onto the floor. Bash moved to join in, but Zaz held him back. Michael laughed, no doubt relishing in the karma that came to bite Lucifer in the ass. A crackling sound shot off, and Lucifer sat up, grabbing his hand as his face contorted in pain.

“With that attitude, I’m never turning the magic back on. You’re all going to see me every day, so learn to deal with it. Diana and I already made the deal,” Quelier informed everyone. His gaze swung to me, and I noticed his eyes were now a light violet. “What’s next, boss?”

You just started some shit. Good luck, sis, Oisín linked me.

I know what I’m doing, O. There’s no way we were getting out of here without Quelier’s cooperation.

“First order of business is giving us our magic back. Then we need to brainstorm a way out,” I decided.

I knew the second the magic was turned back on. Hot, crackling energy sizzled through my veins, lighting me up from the inside. I felt alive, ready to conquer the world in a way I never had when I was human. It was insane to me that I had gone so long without magic before meeting the guys. Now I couldn’t live without it.

Bash threw an indigo wave of magic in Quelier’s direction. My PA literally laughed, waiting until it came inches from his face before he raised his hand, turned it around, and hurled it back at Bash with a quickness that gave me whiplash. It struck him in the center of his chest, toppling him over.

“If you’re done acting out, we have work to do,” Quelier admonished, giving him the same expression an exasperated mother gave her child after a tantrum.

Bash grumbled, his eyes connecting with Zaz in what was most likely a silent conversation between them.

“Any ideas?” Michael asked.

“Is there any way we can use the ring to create a portal to leave?” Mal asked.

Michael closed his eyes, channeling his power through it. “I don’t think so. I don’t feel it drawing from my magic. I think Red cursed it to only work one way.”

“Quelier, can you get us out?” Zaz gave him a hopeful look.

“Do you think I’d still be down here if I could leave? Someone altered this place after I arrived and trapped me in here instead of breaking up with me…” Quelier gave Lucifer a cutting glare.

No wonder he hates him so much, Michael linked me. It’s going to be fun watching Luci get all riled up. Good job, Diana.

I smiled at Dad. At least he could see the silver lining of this impossible situation. I sat on the ground with my legs crossed in front of me and my palms on the ground behind me. Sometimes sitting still and closing my eyes helped me think.

I felt Bash and Judas’ magic weaving around the room as it searched for weak spots. Maybe they could find a clue that would lead us out of here. Doubtful, but worth looking into.

They all tossed ideas out there, ranging from getting the other occupants of Pit 13 to help us, to blowing the place up–none of which were viable options. Somehow the conversation got onto how the place was built.

“I’m not even sure how I did it. The party scene in the Medieval era was…insane. The way they fermented the ale rotted your brain out, and the medicinal herbs were better than any drug in the modern age,” Quelier reminisced.

An idea formed in my mind, like a crack of lightning through a dark sky. “Wait a minute,” I sat up. “This place was built in the Medieval times…” I repeated.

My men looked at me expectantly. I stood, then started pacing around them all.

“Yes…” Judas said, following me. “I can practically hear your gears turning.”

“If I can timehop before that time period, wouldn’t we have to leave this place? It wouldn’t exist…so we’d have to move…right?”

“That’s a thought,” Lucifer said as he ran his fingers through his black hair. “Azazel?”

“My friend Tempus would know. I don’t know a ton about the power itself,” he admitted.

“Lucky for you, I do. It's a more common, albeit rare, power for Fae. In theory, yes. We physically could not be here because this section of Hell did not exist back then. Depending on Diana’s level of power and how well she aims, she can theoretically even get us back to Earth,” Quelier explained. “BUT, time hopping is an unpredictable power. It takes years to hone such a gift if you’re not a Time Walker or Fae.”

“My time hopping isn’t as well developed as I’d like it to be. I think if we powershare, we can make two trips. One out of here, and one back to our present day. I’m just not sure how great my aim will be.” It hurt to admit, but it was the truth. I only had a couple of lessons with Tempus.

“Therein lies the problem,” Bain chimed in. He had been unusually quiet this whole time, and I almost forgot he was here. “How do we know we won’t end up somewhere worse than this?”

“We don’t know, but I highly doubt anywhere is worse than this,” O grumbled.

“Bain does make a good point though. What if we accidentally go forward too far and mess something up?” My face fell, because Bash’s argument was valid. “It’s not that I don’t believe in you, Birdie, but this particular power is finicky at best.”

“I can’t think of a better idea. Waiting for the others to find us will take way too long. We can’t afford to waste any more time,” I thought aloud as I continued pacing.

“Let’s put it to a vote. All in favor of time hopping,” Zaz said while raising his hand. The silence in the air was telling. No one, including myself, was sold on this idea. Eventually, every hand rose, including Bain’s.

“Okay, let’s do it,” I said on an exhale. I hadn’t even realized I held my breath during the vote.

I had to timehop us centuries backward in time, then hurtle us forward, but not too far forward least I irrevocably fuck up our timeline. No pressure or anything.

“Everyone take a breather. Diana and I are going to have a chat over here for a minute,” Quelier informed everyone as he steered me toward the other side of my personal hell, out of earshot of the others.

“Another really cool Fae power is gleaning people’s emotions. I can feel the nerves rolling off you. It’s gross,” he spat out, wrinkling his nose. “Get your shit together.”

“Easy for you to say! This entire plan is riding on my time hopping precision.” Which I barely had. “I’ve had magic for less than a year. Not nearly enough time to wield it properly.”

“What are you two talking about?” Bash gritted out, coming to stand behind me and weaving an arm around my waist like the territorial bastard he was.

Quelier’s face twisted, like he smelled something foul. “He’s a possessive one, isn’t he? You wouldn’t happen to be an incubus by chance?”

Bash’s indigo horns popped out from the crown of his head, curling slightly. “Yes, and she’s claimed five times over. We aren’t adding a sixth.”

I pushed his hand off my waist, stepping away from him. “Obviously. Be nice to my PA and stop posturing.”

Stop being an asshole and come back here. You’re going to make her nervous, Mal linked us both, rolling his eyes at Bash’s jealous nonsense.

“Fine. But I’m watching you, Fae,” Bash threatened before walking back to the others.

“I’m sure he will. Meanwhile, I’ll keep one eye on rockstar-vampire over there and another on that woman from your psyche with the big curly hair,” Quelier said.

I made a note to fill him in on the many romantic dynamics going on at the compound if we got back. No, when . I had to have confidence in myself. This had to work, for all of our sakes.

“I can do this.”

“Yes you can. Get it done,” he said, clapping his hands together once. “Okay everyone, let’s gather in a circle and join hands. Please refrain from singing any hippie dippy shit.”

Lucifer sat on my left, with Zaz on my right.

You got this, honey.

I felt Zaz send warmth through our soulbond. It smothered my frayed nerves and helped me center my focus. When I closed my eyes, I thought of the lilac field he took me to shortly after we met. The sweet scent of the flowers and the memory of his amber eyes assault my senses, and I suddenly felt less afraid of failure.

Zaz wasn’t a guardian angel anymore, but he always knew how to guide me right where I needed to be.

After everyone joined hands, I felt power rise over us all like an ocean wave. It crested, crashing down on me so hard I almost broke the circle. I had never felt power so all consuming. It had to be the added Fae power.

I thought back to my history classes. What time period comes before Medieval? Not the middle ages…Oh! The classical time period. Ancient Greece. Ares’ time. I envisioned the Parthenon, but tried to see it as it would have looked in its glory.

Ancient Greece, Parthenon, I thought to myself, chanting it in my head like a mantra. Tempus told me staying true to my process was the best way to time hop.

I felt the room shake and heard time crumble around me like an avalanche of fallen rocks. The magic intensified, coursing through me so hard I felt myself burning from the inside out. Pain ricocheted down my spine, as if I were splitting in half. It was too much, but I held strong, keeping my mind on the prize.

Ancient Greece, Parthenon. Ancient Greece, Parthenon. Ancient Greece, Parthenon.

I opened my eyes, and we were plunged into momentary darkness. When light came into the space, I saw that we were outside at night at the base of a cliff. The moon was huge, and closer than normal. I could see every crater. I examined the sky more closely, and realized that the stars seemed out of place. I couldn’t find the Big Dipper like Ares had taught me to when we lived in the New York house. Actually, none of my favorite constellations were present.

Weird.

“Have you guys noticed the stars–” I started.

“Are in different constellations? Yes, I have,” Bash whispered as his head whipped around, examining our surroundings. “The moon is closer than it should be.”

“Something feels off…” Bain trailed off.

“This grass is amazingly plush. You can run barefoot in this stuff,” Judas remarked, crouching down to run his fingers through it. “This would cost a fortune to install in the gardens of Fortuna when we complete the rebuild.”

A moth flew by, its iridescent wings glowing in the moonlight. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from its remarkable opalescent coloring. It was larger than the moths I usually saw, but then again…I had never seen a moth like this before.

“Um, guys…” Mal whisper-shouted in a fearful tone. “I think–”

The ground shook beneath us, in steady thump, thump, thumps . We all looked at each other, as if someone would be able to stop what felt like short, sharp earthquakes. I lost my balance and fell onto my ass.

“HOLY SHIT!” Oisín screamed, pointing to somewhere behind me. “T-Rex!”

I looked over my shoulder, at a giant, tiny-armed dinosaur straight out of a documentary. Sharp white teeth gleamed from its gaping mouth. It was running straight for us and roaring so loudly, I felt my eardrums burst. My whole body seized. I couldn’t move…couldn’t breathe…could barely think anything aside from ‘ What the fuck’!

Bash threw me over his shoulder, taking off into a super speed run. My body bumped against his back with every step he took.

“Birdie, you landed us in the Cretaceous period!” he screamed.

“The what?!” Lucifer shouted.

“Guys! There’s a cave over here!” Quelier yelled.

We ran along the cliffside, but even with super speed on our side the T-Rex’s strides covered too much ground. The ground shook so hard Bash almost dropped me. I raised my hands, trying my hardest to aim for the scaly mother fucker’s underbelly.

Diana, you need to conserve your power for the next timehop, Lucifer shouted at me through our mindlink. He shot an extended flame at its clawed foot, and it barely made the dinosaur flinch.

We all huddled inside the damp cave. Bash plopped me down next to Lucifer while everyone else rushed to form a circle. ‘Death By Dino’ was right at the mouth of the cave pushing its snout inside, coming close enough that I felt warm, putrid air hit us as it screeched.

“Now would be a great time to snap out of it and bring us back to our time,” O shouted.

“Shut up! She needs to calm down!” Michael snapped. He erected a wall of clouds, which created a partition from it, at least.

I took a few moments to center myself. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Keep breathing. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

I was almost centered when I heard a much lighter, hissing screech from inside the cave. It was followed by a series of clicks and what almost sounded like…bird calls?

“You gotta be fucking kidding me!” Judas shouted.

Six velociraptors popped out of an opening on the other side of the cave, eyeing us up like we were a suitable late night snack. They were smaller than they seemed in the movies, maybe the size of a large turkey, but their sharp teeth and sickle-shaped claws broadcasted their deadly nature loud and clear.

“Velociraptors are way more dangerous than T-Rexes,” Mal said as he stiffened, his back going ramrod straight. “They work as a team to bring down prey. I saw it in a documentary once.”

“Well we aren’t prey. These little shits can go fuck themselves,” Oisín hissed. He broke the circle, morphing into a bigger, orange velociraptor.

The small murder-dinos eyed him up, fanning themselves around him. They struck in pairs of two, and at first my brother had no issue fighting them, until one bit his thigh. His cry of pain made me want to snap their necks one by one.

“Fuck this!” I shouted. We were halfway there, and I refused to let these scaly motherfuckers keep me from my family. My men. The war we had to win for the sake of every human and paranormal being in all four realms.

I broke my father’s hold on my arm, springing into action. My clothes shredded off as I morphed into a pink, sparkly version of Oisín –just like the dinosaur toy I had as a child, but with deadly sharp talons and pointy fangs. I bit one of them on their ankle, ripping it’s foot off and spitting it on the ground. Dinosaurs tasted like a fishy, fatty chicken. Gross.

“Diana!” Black webbed lines spidered around Bash’s mouth and eyes. His wings flared as indigo horns emerged from his head.

He grabbed one by the tail, yanking it to the floor and breaking its neck. Three against four were better odds, but we were still getting our asses kicked. Which was somewhat embarrassing because they were extinct. Azazel’s wings flapped, creating a wind pressure that threw them off their game. One was still able to sink its teeth into my back. Those razor sharp dagger teeth hurt like a bitch, burning every second they stayed embedded in my scales. My arms were too small to remove it, so I ran around trying to fling it off in a panic.

“Watch out!” Bain bellowed as I ran right through Michael’s cloud wall, bumping into the T-Rex that blocked the door.

Oh fuck.

The monster peered down at me, drool dripping from its open mouth. His screech hit me like nails on a chalkboard, enough to get the velociraptor to let go of me. I stood at the giant dinosaur’s feet, gulping the spit that gathered in my mouth as bile raised in the back of the throat. My back was bleeding, and I doubted my immortality would hold up against being mauled by a T-Rex too. All the courage flooding by dumb ass moments ago was snuffed out.

I pushed myself to morph again, this time into a pink T-Rex. Oisín came to my side, but this time he was an orange dragon with wide, leathery wings.

We may be fucked, but let’s go out with a bang, he linked me.

Yeah, I'd rather die fighting than hiding, I agreed.

“Don’t start the fight without us!” a chorus of Quelier’s yelled. He and his clones ran out of the cave mouth in knight’s armor, wielding flaming swords. I wasn’t sure how effective they’d be, but I appreciated him all the same.

The rest of the guys followed him, ready to fight. Mal levitated a giant boulder from the base of the cliff, throwing it right into the T-Rex’s head. It roared so loud I swore I heard the sound barrier break.

“Get in the air, Oisín!” Lucifer shouted.

My brother flew into the sky, shooting blue-tipped flames at its neck. It swished its head low enough that one of Quelier’s clones threw his sword, hitting it in the side of the face.

“Score!” he screamed, doing a Superbowl worthy touchdown dance before running around to the beast’s other side.

Zaz flew figure eights around it, confusing it so much that it wobbled on its feet. I took my shot as I barreled into it, driving my teeth into its chest. I bit and scratched at it until it fell over, screeching as it bled out. When it seemed dead, I morphed back into myself and ran over to everyone.

“Quick, sit in a circle!” I screamed. Everyone hauled ass, plopping down in the most lopsided, misshapen circle I’d ever seen.

This time, everyone’s power was frantic, beyond chaotic. I felt their nerves as I channeled our magic and mentally picked a destination.

Present day, the Costa Coven Compound in California, USA.

The earth vibrated, shaking around us as the cliff slowly crumbled away. Right before everything went black, three small, scaly trespassers jumped into the middle of the circle, claws raised at me as they shrieked a shrill battle cry.