Page 36

Dove

The cell door creaked open, and I snapped awake, too weak to even look up. How many days had it been? It was impossible to tell in the constant darkness of Hell. All I had to keep track of time was Akanksha’s longing for sex and my own for water.

My new succubus friend cowered back in the corner, whimpering and holding her broken wing. The two demons—Pit fiends, Tier IV—grabbed hold of me and dragged me from the cage, down the hallway, their whips threatening me into subservience.

I closed my eyes as we reached outside of the dungeon, the bright blue fire like staring at a million suns after my time in the darkness.

I coughed at my dry throat, no energy to walk, so I let the demons lug me along.

Soon, the smell changed to something almost pleasant. A smoky fireplace, maybe.

The pit fiends tossed me to the ground and I coughed again, crawling up onto my hands and knees. I found myself on a hard floor, a clean red rug beneath me. The room was nicely decorated, given that it was in Hell.

“Pathetic,”

said a voice. Horns, purple skin, black eyes. Tall. Able to order around Tier IVs. It could only be one thing, though I didn’t recognize him. Archdemon, Tier V. “A deal has been made for your release.”

“What deal?”

I demanded.

“Fated,”

came a familiar voice, and Seven’s ruby eyes stared down at me like my guardian angel. He reached forward, but Enko’s big arms wrapped around me, not caring about the filth covering me, even though I knew I didn’t smell or look good.

Enko held me close, “Little fox, don’t worry, you’re safe now.”

“Let’s get her out of here,”

Kairos ordered. “Before this fucker changes his mind.”

Kairos glared at the demon.

“Rhys couldn’t come, as the Archfox, archdemons fucking hate him,”

Seven explained. “He’s waiting for us outside.”

Several Tier IV demons guarded us as we walked through Hell. When the blue fiery Hellgate came into sight, I saw the demons all around it, chiseling away at the ancient structure and trying to dismantle it from the inside out. Only kitsune could pass through the barrier unharmed. And it seemed very little progress had been made over the last thousand years.

We passed through it easily, into the same dark cave structure. After the days in Hell, it felt so cozy.

Maybe that’s just because the smell was mostly gone. Now it all permeated from me, my clothes, my hair, every part of me covered in it.

Enko carried me up the stone staircase, and they placed me into Seven’s Land Rover. Rhys reached over, stroking my hair behind my ear. “You’re okay now, vixen. We got you.”

The drive passed in a blur. The next thing I knew, I was carried up to a shower, where my Fated males helped remove—and hopefully burn—the sickening dress. Standing under a stream of water which I opened my mouth and drank in desperately.

A bath had been drawn in a large tub, red and orange rose petals floated on top and I quickly climbed in, still desperate to get the scent of Hell out of my nose.

And then, wrapped in the fluffiest robe, a plate of food rested before me. “Don’t eat too quickly, little fox. You’ll get sick.”

I followed his advice, taking a few small bites before exhaustion overcame me. And then I slept.

The time to recover could have been as long as my time in the dungeon, but I couldn’t tell. When I awoke, for the first time since I’d been taken, I felt aware, not confused. I remembered snippets of food being fed to me, being escorted to the bathroom, my Fated males surrounding me and comforting me during my short moments of awakening.

“She never deserved to be involved in any of this,”

Seven snapped from outside the door. “She’s an innocent.”

“So were you, Seven. Fate isn’t determined by fairness,”

Rhys responded.

“Rhys? Seven?”

I called out to them and they appeared in the doorway.

“We’re here, Dove,”

Kairos said, climbing into the bed next to me and holding me against his chest. “I’ll never let you get hurt again. It was so scary when we lost you. I can’t ever go through that again. I love you so much. I can’t live without you.”

Akanksha’s words came back to me. Do they love you?

“You love me?”

My heart swelled with so much love it was fit to burst as the four of them surrounded me in my fluffy bed.

“Of course we love you, little fox. You mean everything to us.”

Rhys nodded, kissing my forehead. “We’d be nothing without you. I love you, vixen.”

Seven nodded, raising his eyebrows as if to say, Told ya so.

“Seven,”

Rhys growled.

“Unlike you fools, I already told my Fated how much I love her.”

Kairos growled now too. “No harm in saying it twice.”

I love you, Fated.

“Wait, something’s missing.”

My heart stopped as though I’d forgotten something very important. Because I did. It wasn’t something missing. It was someone.

“Where is Damon?”