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The graveled sound of stone moving against stone echoes through the cave and our eyes turn to the deepest recesses. A light blooms from the end, like a doorway, and Asmo shoves me behind him.
“Make yourself invisible,” he snaps, sending a jolt of power through my body.
“What? Why?”
“Just do it,” this time, his power curls around me, stronger than before, and I give in.
“What about you? Are you going to hold my hand?” He slowly turns his head to glare at me right before I finish mumbling the spell and disappear. “I have my power back, remember?”
“We should go.”
“That gate just opened, meaning it’s fucking active when it shouldn’t be. I’m not leaving until I know who came through.”
“Says the man who never wanted to come in here,” I tease, peering over his shoulder. The stones have yet to settle, still screeching down the tunnel and sending plumes to dirty swirling through the air.
“That was before I knew it was a gate.”
A man steps through, his outline cast in the white light on the other side of the portal gate. His shoes clank with every heavy step as he steps into the dark. Even invisible, I hold my breath. The man comes into view, blonde with a beard. Dressed in earthly linens. Like office attire, but of the highest caliber. His hair is slicked back, and his blue eyes could pierce one’s soul with one look.
“Who are you?” he says, not a few paces away from Asmo. His voice is rugged and deep, power licking around every word.
“Asmo, hand to the king.”
“And you’re here instead of him. Why?” His hands slip into his dress pants pockets as his face drops all sense of emotion.
Asmo staggers back, almost bumping into me. I place my hand between his shoulder blades to steady him, feeling the way he trembles beneath my fingertips. “Normally, I wait outside for these sorts of things, but the king wanted you to know he’d be late to his meeting this week,” he says, without a sense of hesitancy. The man can lie, that’s for sure.
“Late, why?” the man asks, tilting his head, his eyes darting past Asmodeus for a moment, as if he can see me.
“Solaria is currently under attack, sir,” Asmo bows his head, dropping his gaze to the floor.
“And the king will pull through, yes?”
“I believe so.”
“Well, we knew he’d retaliate after the barrier came down. Your king said so himself. If he’s not here at our normal time next week, we’ll move on Hell without him. Understood?” Asmo nods. “Very well. Relay the message.”
Another man steps through the gate, staying deep in the tunnel. “Michael, are they ready for us?”
Michael?!I bite my lip to keep from gasping, and hold my breath.
“No,” Michael says, looking Asmo over once more before turning and taking his leave.
Once the gate closes and Michael is long gone, I finally allow myself to breathe, dropping the spell. Asmo’s wide eyes meet mine and for the first time since I met him, he looks terrified. His eyes are round, and his brow creased as he holds out a shaky hand.
“We need to go,” I say. Asmo doesn’t speak as he takes my hand, teleporting us back into the foyer of the castle.
26
Alice
“What do you mean you saw Michael?” Kai paces around the foyer as the rest of us stare at the stone floor, unable to comprehend what’s about to happen.
“You heard me, and Asmo gave you a spot on description,” I say, digging my fingers through my blood-caked hair. A shower is in my immediate future, but how can I rest knowing the angels will be beating on our gates at any moment? “If by Wednesday next week the king doesn’t show, Michael will move in on Hell. The king is very busy and obviously will be unable to attend, being that he has to regrow hiseverything. What do we do? You and your father are the ones who’ve been planning this for centuries. What’s the fucking procedure for Hell’s arch-nemesis knocking on our door?”
“We have a week. We’ll figure it out. For now, we need to worry about getting Hell in order. You all need rest, and I need time to think.”
Eva stands, holding her hand out to Finn. “Come. I’ll show you to my room.”
