Page 41

There was a collective gasp from the small crowd.

I glanced up at Della, who moved her hands and caused blood to begin pouring from a wound on her stomach. Before I could even move, though, Thea waved her hand, a golden glow emanating from her palm, and quickly healed her. Relief filled me as I turned back to Elra.

“If you thought that saying something so completely fucking stupid would make me angry enough to kill you quickly, you were mistaken.” I lifted my palm, and a dagger made of ice appeared in it. “I was hoping you would be difficult, Elra.”

With a satisfied smile, I stabbed the blade of ice into her back, enjoying the cry of pain that came ripping from her mouth. I twisted it back and forth until her screams were deafening. Then I slowly pulled the blade out.

“Would you like to try that apology again?”

She was stuttering as the pain seared through her.

I waited for only a brief moment before grabbing her hand.

She stared at me in horror, trying to pull back, but I wasn’t about to let that happen.

Smiling into her face, I pried her hand open and, with a feeling of satisfaction, began cutting off her fingers.

She kept screaming, yelling for help that would not come, and all it did was raise my bloodlust.

“I’m sick of fucking hearing you call to the heavens to save you,” I hissed as I grabbed her severed fingers from the dirty floor and shoved them into her mouth, clamping my magic around her so she couldn’t spit them out.

She thrashed around, but I just sat calmly next to her.

My gaze flickered over to Ezra, who was smiling at me with a boyish grin on his face.

Then my focus went to Thea and Cassius, who looked like proud parents.

“You should start praying again because you’re almost out of time. But before you die, I want you to know that I am aware that our parents helped you, and they will die for it.”

Her words were muffled, and I just stared at her.

I wanted to drag this out because her misery was fucking beautiful to see.

I glanced at Death, who was watching with a big smile on his face.

He held the souls of my other siblings in his hand, which looked like black, oozy slime instead of the usual colorful, glowing orb.

I stood up and looked down at Elra choking on her fingers.

I kicked her over so she was on her back.

Lifting my foot up, I stepped on her throat.

She began thrashing around, but I pressed hard enough to pin her there.

Watching her eyes bulge out of her sockets, I held my boot in place so that she could slowly suffocate.

After all, that is what she had tried to do to me.

She tried to take my reason for breathing. I would have suffocated without Della.

I kept my eyes on hers until I saw the light leave them as they turned vacant.

Hot satisfaction coursed through me as I stepped away from her.

Turning to take stock of the situation, I saw Death hiding in the corner of the room, his red eyes glowing from the shadows enough to illuminate his child-like grin at the sight of the carnage around us.

I looked over to Thea and Cassius, their dark green souls glowing slightly around them, and felt relief flood me to see them standing and uninjured.

I knew I didn’t have much time to do what I needed, so I turned to Della and grabbed her hand in mine. “You want to be my mate?” I asked her.

She looked at me oddly. “Yes?”

“Good,” I said quickly, lifting up my hand. I could feel our soul stirring chaotically in my chest. Death smiled at me knowingly as I ripped part of my soul from my chest. The sensation of it was searing pain throughout me, tearing the very fabric of my being, but I did not let Della know.

“Haden.” Della was scared.

The prettiest soul now floated above my hand, with varying shades of orange twisted around a starlight stream. Our spirits were tangled together, just as they were always meant to be. I looked at her with more love and determination than I had ever felt before.

“I love you,” I whispered as I slammed the piece of our soul back into her.

As the connection was made, Della and I exploded apart.

As I flew across the room, the air became filled with frost and starlight, a light, glittery snow seeming to fall from nowhere and everywhere all at once.

I landed hard on my back, knocking the breath from my body and smacking my head against the stone floor.

Suddenly, the house began shaking as if it would crumble down on us, mortar dust and small chunks of stone falling away from the ceiling.

I could hear the thunder booming repetitively somewhere in the distance, and it became hard to tell which bangs were thunder and which were stones settling in the castle around us.

“Haden!” Ezra was kneeling next to me. “Haden, can you hear me?”

“Della?” I asked.

Ezra glanced around and sighed heavily at something behind him.

I sat up slightly and saw Della standing in the middle of the room.

Her head was tilted toward the ceiling, and her arms were outstretched, almost as if in supplication.

Suddenly, she began glowing so brightly that I had to squint to keep watching her.

A wave of power seemed to slam into her, and with it, she was again complete.

After a moment, the glow subsided, and she began to wobble on her feet.

“Della,” I called out as I stood on shaky legs.

I made it two steps before she looked me in the eyes.

“Haden…” she whispered as our mating bond snapped back into place, once again becoming a thick gold strand full of strength and love. Thank the fucking heavens.

Death approached as the ground began shaking. “Well, that probably isn’t good,” he said as he ripped Elra’s soul from her on his way to me.

“We need to go; it’s going to cave!” someone yelled.

I grabbed Della’s hand and dragged her with me.

She still seemed out of it, as if she was not quite sure what had happened.

All of us ran through the castle halls, dodging stones that were falling around us as we made our hasty exit.

We made it to the entrance hall just as the very ground of Hell began quaking , pulsing so violently that the castle walls were caving in.

Dust from the rubble filled the air, making it difficult to see and breathe.

Avesh nearly got crushed as one of the walls fell in, blocking the door from which we had entered.

This was my home, though. Having lived here for so long, I still knew other ways to go.

Calling them all to me, I led them through a different escape route.

Through the bangs and noises around me, I could hear Della crying, and I realized that she must be scared.

“I’ll get us out of here, I promise,” I yelled over my shoulder and squeezed her hand tightly in reassurance.

We all came to a halt as rubble came crashing down, dust and stone surrounding us.

When it settled, it revealed a hole in the wall that led outside.

Oh, shit. We stepped out of the castle, and I realized that it wasn’t just the building that was caving in; it was all of Hell.

Huge chunks of rock began falling around us from high above, massive pieces of earth being dislodged from the dome above us.

We all began running for our fucking lives.

Della ripped her hand from me and began running, but instead of heading for safety, she instantly made a beeline for the God of Death, jumping on him and tackling his ass to the ground.

She was yelling something at him, and he was shaking his head at her, his eyes wide and his hands up in supplication. Everyone but me, Thea, and Cassius kept running.

“Give them to me!” she yelled at him, her tone pissed off and frantic.

“Storm?” I called out, but she just ignored me, keeping her attention focused on the task at hand.

Death looked at me oddly before his eyes suddenly widened, and he groaned in pain.

Della lifted her hands, and I watched in horror as the black souls of my siblings left his chest and seeped into her, staining her with their oiliness.

“I’m sorry, Death, I cannot let them leave Hell,” Della said through tears. “Make Haden leave with you.” Then she stood up and stared at me with sorrow in her wide eyes.

“Storm?”

“Haden, you need to go,” she yelled.

Thea and Cassius moved for her too, but she began backing away. Death stood up and looked at her.

“Leave!” Della yelled.

“I am not leaving without you,” I screamed, even as Death gripped me. He was trying to take me with him.

“Thea, Cassius, get Haden out of here now!” Della yelled with so much agony that I could hear her pain in every word.

They were shaking their heads in defiance as they watched me turn and punch Death in the face, releasing his hold on me and knocking him to the ground.

Without hesitation, I ran to her, grabbed her hand, and began dragging her with me, sure that she had lost her fucking mind.

Everyone began running again, headed toward the portal that would lead them back to the surface world.

I watched Thea and Cassius leave, relieved that they were safe.

Della and I were almost there when she suddenly yanked on my hand and pulled me down to her, kissing me.

“I am sorry, but my fate was always to die here,” she whispered.

“No. You can make it with me; we are here.”

“Haden, I made a bargain with your father to save Remiah, but I never intended for your siblings to get out. This was always going to be the plan.” She ripped her hand from mine. “This is my fate. Abram told me a long time ago that I would die here. I have to die here to save everyone.”

“If you think I am leaving Hell without you, you have lost your fucking mind.” I was desperately trying to convince her. “Storm, please, I will die here with you if needed.”