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I blinked against the afternoon light as it pierced through the trees above, wishing my father was right there, beside me. He’d know exactly what to say in this moment. How to make everything better.
Watching Elizabeth’s feet trekking ahead through the brush, I tried to imagine what Luke would tell me. If anyone would know, it would be me. I was, after all, his daughter. All this time, I’d been obsessing over the other side of my other parentage. But I had an equally good father’s blood running through my veins.
The words came to me, as though from his lips. I could imagine him sitting there in his office chair, gazing down at me with soft eyes and rubbing a hand on his chin. The sleeves of his shirt would be rolled up to the elbows and a coffee stain near the collar. In his hands, he’d be holding a book like a lucky talisman. His voice would be smooth and quiet, in the kind of pleasant hum that could put you to sleep.
He’d smile and remind me that not everything I’d done was wrong. That it wasn’t that long ago I saved a man in the woods who I thought was nothing more than a demon. And that I’d risked my life to save Gabe. Fought evil by his side. I’d saved a town—a town of people who had tried to kill me. And I’d even saved Granny.
Finally, he’d grin and say that if that wasn’t great, he didn’t know what great was.
My heart began to pound loudly in my chest as energy returned to my limbs. Maybe it didn’t matter if my mother was evil. It didn’t matter if she’d been possessed at my conception and cursed me with a sliver of demonic entity. All that mattered was me, here and now. How I reacted to the world around me. My past didn’t dictate my future. Neither did the things I couldn’t control. Elizabeth couldn’t steal those from me. Her Prince couldn’t either. I was a Nephilim warrior, through and through.
I was worthy.
“You won’t win.” I cried through happy tears, still envisioning Luke in front of me. “Maybe you’ll have your victory today, but you won’t win this thing. Evil always loses. Haven’t you learned that by now?”
Elizabeth turned to face me. She wore an incredulous smile and shook her head. “But can’t you see? I’ve already won. Take a look around you.”
I twisted my neck. At least twenty more ferals had joined us, their eyes flashing red with a thirst for blood. Their presence didn’t distract from the one distressing factor that made Elizabeth so giddy. We were here.
We had arrived at the Hell Gate.
Chapter Twenty
Elizabeth’s grip around my wrist cut the blood flow from my hand. Dragging me toward the cavernous Hell Gate, she chuckled, soft and throaty.
“I guess this is it. The end. I thought, as a mother, I’d feel a little something. But strangely, I’m no different.”
A low huffing breath left my lips. “That’s because you have no soul.”
“I guess you’re right.” Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she grinned. “Lucky me.”
The hole loomed in front of us. Evening had come to the Black Hills National Forest and darkness had settled within the rocky descent. It was the second time I’d been dragged against my will to this location. And it was the second time I was unsure if I was going to make it through.
“Once more should do it,” Elizabeth mumbled to herself. “Then my Prince will walk among us and I shall be rewarded beyond my wildest dreams.”
“The only reward you deserve is a swift kick in the shins.”
I yanked my arm away and she laughed.
The ferals behind us began to snarl and hiss. I looked over my shoulder to see at least ten majestic horses striding toward us. Their glossy coats quivered as they galloped into the clearing. Astride their backs sat a handful of Nephilim warriors with their weapons held high.
I nearly wept in relief. At the front of the pack rode Gabe on his midnight steed, Clint. Fury raged on his face, his jaw tense and a growl on his lips. He lunged at a feral with his long thin sword and skewered it through the shoulder. Behind him, Luke, Raquel, Ashley, and Adam came charging in, along with several other warriors that I recognized from the manor.
“Gabe!” My raspy voice broke.
He looked up from his attacker, his green gaze burning with urgency. “Lizzy! Hang on,” he yelled. “I’m coming.”
“It’s lover-boy to the rescue, is it?” Elizabeth sneered, tugging me as I fought her grip. “I thought you were better than that. This is the twenty-first century, isn’t it? Who needs a man to save you anymore?”
“He’s going to send you back to Hell,” I hissed. “And all of your friends.”
She clicked her tongue and leaned in, as if to tell me a secret. “That won’t be necessary. Hell is coming to them.”
With a shove far stronger than I expected, she pushed me backwards into the descent to the Hell Gate. Once again, I found myself sliding and spinning down the gravelly hole, unable to stop my momentum. I knew that once I hit the bottom, the war would be over. The demons would win. My family didn’t stand a chance.
The world was going to end.
The sensation of being dropped into a warm bath hit me first. My body suspended in midair and despite my back-peddling, I was stuck. Panic coursed through me as I twisted and fought.
