My heart thundered in my chest as I darted around him, reappearing for split-second strikes.I lashed out with hellfire, then disappeared, keeping him off-balance, keeping him guessing.His anger mounted with every miss, his swings growing wilder as he realized he was losing control.He might have been a chaos demon, but Iwaschaos.
“You think you can play this game with me?”Gremory spat, his frustration palpable.He gripped Rathiel’s sword and stalked toward him, positioning himself right in front of Rathiel.“You forget—Iknowwho trained you.I know exactly what you’re capable of.”
Yet he’d completely underestimated me.
“And I know where your heart truly lies,” he snarled, lifting the blade high above Rathiel, poised to bring it down in a killing blow.
I wasn’t about to let that happen.Sure, I was pissed at Rathiel—furious, really—but I wouldn’t let Gremory rob me of the chance of killing him myself.Sprinting forward, I threw myself forward and let the shadows fall away as I reappeared between them.I threw Inferno’s Kiss up in an instant, clashing against Rathiel’s sword with a violent screech of metal on metal.
Gremory’s smug grin flashed as he pressed against my blade, but I was already two steps ahead.I twisted my wrist, locking our swords together for a heartbeat before I lashed out with a sharp kick to his knee.The impact made him stumble, but I didn’t stop there.I drove my foot into his groin, sending him reeling backward with a grunt of pain.
He bent forward, and I seized the moment.I shot up, cracking my knee into his face with bone-shattering force.His head snapped back, blood spraying from his nose, but I didn’t hesitate.As he staggered, I unleashed a blast of hellfire straight at his shoulder, watching with grim satisfaction as the flames tore through his shirt and seared into his flesh.
Gremory howled in agony, his wings flaring wildly as he struggled to regain his footing, but I was relentless.I stepped forward, swinging Inferno’s Kiss in a deadly arc, aiming for his ribs.He managed to block, but barely.His movements were growing sluggish, the pain slowing him down.
I didn’t give him time to recover.Another burst of hellfire exploded from my hand, striking him square in the chest.With a scream, Gremory dropped Rathiel’s sword and desperately slapped at the flames that ate away at his flesh.But he couldn’t stop them.This wasn’t ordinary fire—it washellfire.It burned at my command, and I gave them free rein to consume anything they touched.His skin blistered and blackened as the fire crawled up his chest, licking at his neck, searing his face.
Panic flared in Gremory’s eyes as he realized the truth—he couldn’t douse the flames, and I had no intention of pulling them back.I had to give him credit, though.Even while burning alive, he still fought.
With a snarl, he launched himself at me, fists swinging wildly, but I was already moving.I ducked under his arm, sliding Inferno’s Kiss across his thigh in a clean, vicious slice.Blood sprayed across the snow, and Gremory’s howl of pain echoed through the cemetery as he stumbled back, his wings beating frantically in a desperate attempt to snuff out the fire.
He released a pulse of dark energy in a last-ditch effort to push me back.The blast exploded outward, but I melted into the shadows just in time, letting his magic pass harmlessly by.
I reappeared in front of him and grabbed him by the collar, my hellfire surging through me, the heat of it burning at the edges of my control.With a snarl, I blasted him point-blank with a torrent of flames.
Gremory shrieked, then flung himself backward and into the snow just as the fire spread to his wings.His eyes were wide and wild with pain, his body twisting in a desperate attempt to escape.He flung himself backward, rolling in the snow, but the flames wouldn’t die.They clung to him, burning brighter, hotter, devouring everything in their path.
He slammed his fists into the ground, trying to summon more dark energy, but nothing came.He was too far gone.Desperation flickered across his face as he clawed at the snow, his wings flapping weakly in a feeble attempt to extinguish the flames.But nothing could stop it.Not now.
I raised my hand, ready to end it, a final surge of hellfire burning brightly in my palm.Gremory’s eyes locked on mine, filled with fear and disbelief.
With a desperate cry, he shoved himself to his feet, his wings barely holding him up as he stumbled backward.Flames still clung to his body, trailing after him as he leaped into the sky.His singed wings carried him into the air, his figure retreating into the darkness, the smell of burnt flesh lingering in his wake.
I stood there, my breath coming in heavy, furious bursts as I watched him disappear into the night.The rage still simmered inside me, boiling just beneath the surface, but for now, Gremory was gone.
I turned to Rathiel, who now stood, freed from Gremory’s magic and soaked in blood.His face was pale, his eyes shadowed with exhaustion and pain.He didn’t say a word—he just looked at me, his gaze heavy.
“Is that why you stole my memories?”I glared at him, my heart thudding painfully in my chest.“To hide that you loved me?”Thatwelovedeach other, apparently.
Rathiel’s lips parted, but no words came.The silence that followed was crushing, filled with the weight of everything unsaid.His lips moved as though he wanted to speak, but no sound escaped.He stood there, his gaze filled with a sorrow so deep it was like staring into a void, a darkness that mirrored the one inside me.
“Why?”I asked, my voice trembling with the weight of everything I’d just learned.“Why would you hide that from me?Were you ashamed or something?”
Finally, he staggered a step toward me, his expression crumbling under the weight of his guilt.His voice was hoarse when he finally spoke.“No, Lily.I was never ashamed of loving you.”
“Thenwhy?”I demanded again.
Rathiel’s face crumpled, and for the first time, I saw the full weight of his guilt.“To protect you,” he whispered.“I thought it was the only way.You were dying, Lily.Lucifer… He held you in his hands, ripped your wings off, and held them up for the entire realm to see.He meant to kill you.And I couldn’t let him do that.I couldn’t lose you like that.Not to him.I had to send you away.And to keep you safe, I had to erase everything.Everything about us.About what we were.Because I knew—Iknew—you would never give up.You would never stop trying to find me.And if you returned to Hell, Lucifer would destroy you.So, I?—”
“You destroyedusinstead,” I whispered, my heart shattering into a thousand pieces.
Finally, I had the truth.All of it.
I just didn’t know what to do with it.
ChapterTwenty-Two
I stormedinto my apartment after Rathiel, and slammed the door shut behind me with enough force to rattle the walls.Vol shot up like a meerkat, took one look at me, then darted under the couch.Purrgatory gave a small hiss before leaping gracefully off the window ledge and bolting into my bedroom, his ginger fur a blur.For once, they’d both made the wise decision to stay out of my way.Probably for the best.I had a feeling blood would spill tonight—well,moreblood.
