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Before he can react, I hold him by the throat and dangle him in the air. The others aim their weapons at me, but I ignore them. “They are not scum. They are misunderstood. They are hurt and lost, and they were born into a world that couldn’t accept them. You think you’re better than those down here, killer? What is the worst crime you’ve committed? I’m betting it’s a whole lot worse than anything they have done, yet you’re free. Why? Because you had someone to protect you. Most creatures down here never did.” I let him go with my last word, wiping my hand on my side to get the feel of his skin off me.

He rubs his neck, an embarrassed, angry blush on his face.

“Move, now,” I order.

A thick arm wraps around my neck from behind, cutting off my air, and a dark, gravelly voice says, “You do not give us orders, firebird.” It’s Kitt.

“No? Then I’ll just watch you die and pass through and be free of you.” I chuckle.

“You wouldn’t survive the mate bond breaking if we died,” he sneers.

“I’d die with you, then I would be reborn. Sucks to be you.” At least, I think that’s how it would work. Grabbing his arm, I lean forward and throw him across the room. He soars through the air before hitting the rock, but despite the blow, he lands on his feet. He storms towards me to continue the fight as another hiss sounds, closer this time, and he stops, his eye twitching.

“We’ll finish this later, firebird,” he warns.

“Can’t wait.”

Ignoring me, he looks at the others, and they walk to the portal. Raiden goes through first, then the others, until only Kitt and I are left. I don’t care if he remains here alone, so I head towards the exit.

As the circle of magic glows stronger, it begins to shrink. The faint, familiar screech and bellow echoing from deep within the belly of Gehenna brings a smile to my face. I blow a kiss in that direction, hoping he knows I’m finally free, and then I step through the portal and to freedom.

Once I’m out on the other side with Kitt, it closes, shutting off the bellow and hiss. I take my first breath of fresh air in ten years. My lungs expand, and for a moment, I close my eyes, letting it wash through and around me. When I finally focus again, they are all watching me. Ignoring them as best as I can, I survey where we are instead. It’s clearly not the entrance to Gehenna. There’s a forest in front of us and not much else. Glancing back, I see the dark grey rock that is Gehenna sticking from the ground in a small formation—the only sign of what lies below. It’s the man sinking to his knees next to it that draws my interest though. His eyes stop glowing as he pants, his hands held in front of him.

This is the man they must have paid to keep the exit open. He must be powerful to be able to do that, but he’s just a kid, a teenager at most.

“Are you from one of the mage families?” I ask.

His head snaps up, panic winding through him, and I know he’s not.

“Ah, a loner.” I wink, knowing what that means. Unlike some of the other courts, mages are not allowed to live outside of our world. If they are caught, they are killed. The idea of them selling magic secrets is abhorrent to our people, especially my mother, who rules with an iron fist since she took over during her pregnancy with me. She believes in the old ways, retreating from the world and taking her people with her. There were always such high hopes for her child. What a disappointment I was when I was born without magic.

Fool her and all the rest.

“My part is done,” he announces, and Kitt produces a card and tosses it to him. The kid scoops it up then eyes me worriedly before disappearing into the forest.

“Let’s move,” Kitt orders for my sake.

“We were told to wait here for him when we completed our mission,” Torrin grumbles.

Bram adds, “If he finds out we didn’t kill her . . .”

“He can do it himself.”

“No, we are better off waiting until we can break the bond, otherwise it will injure us too. We’ll just pretend we are still in Gehenna,” Kitt concludes, and they must realise they are talking out loud, so they fall silent once more, turning to the forest. Emrys, however, nudges me forward with his gun, keeping me in front of him as I follow them happily. I soak in the nature around me. I forgot what it was like, how much space there is, and the chill of a winter wind. I forgot so much. Despite the situation, I revel in it.

“Move faster,” Emrys growls, pressing his gun against the small of my back.

“I can’t even remember what the sun looks like.” The remark slips free, but they turn to look at me as I stare up at the night sky. I stumble since I’m not looking, but I can’t take my eyes from the moon and stars. “I was just sixteen when I was entombed there. Has it changed? The sun?”

“No,” Emrys finally answers from behind me. “It’s just a burning ball.”

“Of light,” I whisper. “Light is hard to come by below the earth. I used to dream of the sun and the light touching my skin. The comfort of a warm bed—” I cut off and snap my mouth shut, focusing on walking again. I hate that I let that weakness slip out. Call it foolishness, but after seeing the world again, I forgot how beautiful it could be.

“Eh, when I first woke up, I lay in the ocean for days,” Emrys mutters, and I look at him. His eyes are still hard, but he nods. “It’s easy to forget the beauty the world can offer when all you see and know is the hatred and death it produces.”

My smile is small but genuine before I dash it away and turn to the others, clearing my throat. “So what now? Do you know someone who can break this bond?”

“The collector,” Bram begins.