Page 199 of The Infernal Battalion

There was nothing underfoot but a swirling dark whirlwind, stretching away endlessly in every direction. Overhead, banks of black cloud streamed past, as though driven by a hurricane. Two shapes slammed and grappled against each other, sending ripples through the sky. They were serpents of light, as big as worlds, glowing with brilliant energy as they thrashed and spun. One was a bright, vibrant green, the other a deep, sullen red. Lightning of both colors crackled between them. Each serpent had a hold of the other near the tail, locking them together, each devouring the other and being devoured in turn.

Just in front of her, staring up at the warring titans, was Jane. Her hair writhed around her, driven by the intangible wind, and her whole body was outlined in red light. Her eyes were pure crimson brilliance, from edge to edge.

The last time Infernivore and the Beast had done battle, it had been for only an instant, but it had been nothing like this. It must have shown on Winter’s face, because Jane smiled, arcs of crimson lightning playing over her teeth.

“Not what you were expecting?” Her voice was shot through with a roar like thunder. “I have grown since we last met, Winter.”

“Not enough,” Winter said. “I will destroy you.”

“Perhaps.” Jane cocked her head. “But not before I destroy you as well. Is that really what you want?”

“It’s not about what I want,” Winter said. “It’s about what needs to be done.”

“What needs to be done.” Jane strode closer, eyes flaring bright. When she spoke again, her voice sounded more like Jane’s and less like a monster’s. “That’s what you care about, isn’t it? Your precious duty.”

“You never understood me,” Winter said.

“Never understood you?” Jane’s mouth twisted into a red-​tinged snarl. “I loved you. Back at the Prison, I gave you my heart. I forgave you, even when you left me for that monster Ganhide. Do you know what he did to me? Shall I tell you about our wedding night?”

“I shouldn’t have run.” Winter’s voice was quiet.

“I forgave you,” Jane repeated. “And when you came back, it made everything worthwhile. Everything I’d gone through, every awful thing I’d endured, all the blood I’d spilled. All of it! I loved you, and I thought you loved me.”

Winter shut her eyes for a moment. “I did love you, Jane.”

“Liar!”

Overhead, the great serpents writhed. Red lightning slashed against green, bolts colliding and detonating in showers of sparks. The wind moaned like it was in agony.

“If you love someone, you don’t abandon her,” Jane said. “You don’t choose your uniform and your fucking general over her.”

“I did love you,” Winter said. She felt oddly calm amid the thunderous crash of battling demons. This, at least, she understood. “But you’re wrong. You don’t give up your own mind just because you love someone. There was more to my life than you.”

“Fuck that,” Jane snarled. “You’re a fucking traitor.”

“I’m sorry you can’t understand.”

“You’re sorry.” Jane’s snarl abruptly vanished. “It’s all right. I forgive you. Again. All you have to do is give in, Winter. Just let go, and we can be together forever, here inside the Beast.”

“What about the rest of the world?”

“Fuck the rest of the world. I don’t care about it, and neither do you.”

“You’re wrong,” Winter said.

“If you keep fighting, we’ll both die,” Jane said. “The demons will devour each other, and that will be the end of everything. Is that what you want?”

“No.” Winter took a deep breath. “I want to live. I want to kiss Cyte, and help Raesinia, and get to know my brother. I want to see what happens next, once the wars are finally over.”

“You don’t need any of that,” Jane said. “We’ll have each other. When we were at the Prison, that was enough.”

“It wasn’t,” Winter said. “We just didn’t know any better.”

“Please, Winter. Don’t do this.”

“I have to.” Winter shook her head. “I really am sorry, Jane. I wish... things were different.”

Jane threw back her head and screamed, a high, keening note. Lightning crackled from her in all directions, and overhead the red serpent surged forward. When she looked back at Winter, her eyes glowed so bright they were pure white, and her voice was thick with the thunder of the Beast.