Page 49 of Red Ruin

“Fuck.”

“Yes.”

My first act as commander should be reporting the monster spawn, but Vhex’s desperate soul-cries tug my heart.

I chew my lip, debating.

Remy has the objectivity of a ball of steel wool, but he’s the strongest fighting force I can muster in a rush. We’d have to wait for back-up, and the power churning down below would steamroll most A-classes.

I swallow my jumping heart.I have to warn Cherise in case we fail. “Lend me your radio.”

“It’s in my other cape.”

Right.Right.

I need to lower my expectations far below that pit in the ground. I can’t expect help from Remy or anyone else.

With a sigh, I cup his face. “Do you at least remember my name?”

“Guide,” he says blissfully, closing his eyes to inhale my fingers.

Fan-tickity-tastic.

I give him a shake. “Just remember that I have your back. However far you fall into the dark, I’ll be right here to pull you out.”

Remy huffs my skin.

I shiver.

It’s still fifty-fifty who or what’s behind the wheel in his brain, but between his Sentinel and vampire instincts, I know he’ll jump on any chance to fight.

I shift my back against Remy’s chest and hold my glaive ready. “Take us down.”

“Mmm.” Remy hugs me tight, not missing the opportunity to run his nose behind my ear.

His cocooning shadows hide my shiver and block the sun.

There’s a rush and a tug. When the shadows peel away, flames singe my eyebrows.

As I choke on the smoky, raspberry tang of hellfire, Remy stops me from tumbling into the bowl of a godsdamned hell volcano.

No.

Half a volcano.

In a cavern big enough to stash the imperial capitol, half the ground is made of lava. The other half is a craggy shelf of rock and ice.

Steam billows where the forces collide, along with Vhex’s psychic screams and the skull-rattling roars of the giant rock trolls he has locked in an epic fight.

I will dieimmediatelyif I get in their way. My glaive would be a toothpick to these trolls.

“There.” I point to a cave low in the wall on Vhex’s side of the battlefield. “Set me on that ledge.”

Remy moves so fast my eyes water. Still hugging my waist, he lowers us to the rock shelf.

“Tell me your name.” He noses my throat.

I shiver despite the flames. “Iris.”