We shot to our feet. Ronan grabbed Darius’s hand.
“Let’s go. Run!”
The three of us bolted for the forest, stopping just before the hell gate. I turned to look over my shoulder. The herd was bearing down on us, ten beasts across and at least that many deep. They were going to destroy us.
“Gray,” Ronan whispered, and I turned back toward him, his hazel eyes glassy with emotion. For a moment, time seemed to stop, and the entire realm fell silent and still. “I’m so sorry.”
I offered him a faint smile, my own tears falling freely. “I know.”
Time started up again. The memory eaters howled their terrifying war cry, the force of their wings blowing back my hair, rustling the trees beyond.
With one hand clamped on Darius’s arm, Ronan grabbed me around the waist, hauling me against his chest.
“Don’t let go!” he shouted.
And then we jumped into the blazing light.
Straight into hell.
* * *
