We were no longer in the bedroom. This room had minimal furniture. Only a couple tables in the spaces between windows, holding candles and statues of females cupping red five-pointed stars.
Where were the others? Did they listen to Oliver and let me go? Or did they fight Aspen—and end up wounded? Or worse… dead.
No. I would know if something happened to them. Aspen wouldn’t hurt Oliver. There was still something left in him. And therest of them were strong enough to protect themselves, even if their powers were suppressed. Right?
My Infernus skittered across my arms as I searched Aspen’s impassive face for blood or some sign that he might’ve hurt them. But would there be any evidence? His flames reduced anything in their path to nothing.
“Are they alive?” I whispered.
Aspen didn’t react, keeping his empty gaze straight ahead.
“Darling, bring her here.”
I stiffened, resisting the urge to turn toward the sickly sweet voice behind me, then latched onto Aspen’s wrists.
“Are they alive?” My words fell into a soft cry as my body arched, taking in the torturous heat. I clenched my jaw, holding back the rest of my screams.
Aspen clutched me closer, shaking as he stayed planted. The barest hint of pain slithered through our bond. I could feel him again.
“Yes.”
Blistering heat ripped up my arm, stopping any relief I might’ve had from his answer. I should’ve let go. I wanted to let go. But his gaze was no longer impassive. It was tortured and glassy.
“Make me remember,” Aspen whispered through clenched teeth, spittle spraying.
Remember what?I wanted to ask him. But I knew if I released my jaw, I’d never stop screaming. The shots of pain were extending up to my shoulder, and I couldn’t hold back my whimper. The runes carved fire through my flesh, burning me from the inside out, while the energy that wouldn’t allow me to hurt Aspen—that demanded Isave him—calmed. It eased beneath the agony like it somehow knew I was helping him, even if I was suffering myself.
“Aspen. Come here,” Lilith snapped.
“Make me—” He struggled to get the words out, every inch of him vibrating as he resisted her commands. “Remember.”
I dug my nails into his skin, needing him to look at me, to see the question I couldn’t voice in my eyes. He had asked Oliver to make him remember his fear. But what fear? The one about his mom? How would that help him?
The last time Oliver had shown him that fear, it triggered Aspen to become a ruthless pawn.
“Obey me!” Lilith’s voice rang out, echoing through the high ceiling and slamming against Aspen’s flames. The Hell Runes sent a new jolt of agony into my body. I screamed, letting go. His barrier fizzled out, and a coppery rot blew my hair back.
His hold on me lightened, and he moved forward, walking down the open hall toward Lilith. The little emotion I had felt from him was gone. The Hell Runes were now a steady dark red, like the color of blood when someone died.
“Make you remember your mom?” I rasped.
“Why would I need to remember? She’s right in front of us, sweetheart.” He pointed ahead of him. I turned my head, unable to ignore her any longer.
Lilith stood clothed in a sinuous black dress at the other end of the room. Her long black hair framed her deathly white face and draped over her shoulders. The blood-red rings in her irises stood in eerie contrast to her pale skin, matching the color of her lips and the six-pointed star inked low on her chest. But it wasn’t the tattoo thatcaught my eye. It was the ebony quill, suspended from a chain around her neck and peeking from the V of her cleavage—Ronen’s feather.
I had a feeling she’d keep it on her. Someone who enjoyed gaining power as much as she did wouldn’t let an item like that out of her sight.
“Darling.” She smiled, opening her arms wide in welcome. They angled toward the large white and brown slab before her, as if she were presenting me with a gift.
I had an odd sense of déjà vu staring at the slab meant for me. Michael flashed in and out of my mind. I could almost feel the cold press of metal at my back and the rough chains digging into my limbs. My scars burned with the remnants of the slicing pain.
Aspen led us closer, and my Infernus perked up. The slab, which I’d thought was made of white and brown stone, revealed hints of red. Then, the glistening blood grooves came into view. They outlined the stained slab and led to the half-filled basins beneath.
“Is that—is that blood from the females you’ve brought to her?”
He shrugged. “Some. I don’t normally watch. I just bring them and leave.”
He just brings them and leaves?Heavenly Hell, how did I wrap my mind around that? I knew he had a hand in murdering female angels. We all knew. Yet I was the only person who pushed that fact away, blamed it on the runes, and welcomed him with open arms. The rest of them hated him. The rest of them would rather see him dead than alive.
