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Because this was Hell’s Heart… and Hendrik and I were dead. But because of my mother, it wasn’t going to be a permanent situation.
Tears glistened in her eyes as she smiled. “The demon. I made a deal with one… a powerful demon. He told me what I would need to do in order to save you, Dante. I could not undo my mistake, but I was damn sure going to try.” She handed me the Death Lotus—the one made from her very own soul.
I tried to push it back at her. If she gave this to me, she’d cease to exist just like all the witches who were nothing more than remnants.
Their bodies were what formed the dark clouds that rained ash.
Their screams were what powered the wind in this realm.
And the result of their broken souls lay strewn about in the form of Death Lotus blooms, brilliantly beautiful in a field of shimmering black.
My mother had sought vengeance on my behalf, but that took something away from me that I could never get back.
The closure I sought was gone. My mother had already enacted justice and sacrificed herself in the process.
“Mother,” I said, this time the word a strangled plea as she released the Death Lotus into my hand.
Her form instantly rippled and faded. She leaned in, giving me a quick, cold kiss on my cheek as she whispered her final goodbye. “I’m sorry I was a shit mother, Dante. I’m sorry for everything. Know that I love you and I will always be with you, right here.” She pressed two fingers against my chest.
Then she was gone.
The air went still as I sank to my knees.
Grief unlike anything I’d ever known surged up into my body, igniting my spirit until I threw my head back and roared.
HENDRIK
I’d never seen Dante truly broken.
Not even when Lily died.
This was different. This was the purest form of suffering I had ever experienced and I found myself throwing my arms around Dante as he cried.
His body heaved as he held the delicate Death Lotus to his chest. I was worried he was going to crush it, but he coddled it with reverent care as he released such horrid sounds of pain.
Tears welled in my eyes. I couldn’t remember ever crying in all my life.
Not when I lost Lily.
Not when she came back.
Not even when I died.
Because I remembered what had happened now. The second I had touched Dante while he held his mother’s Death Lotus, my mind was clear.
We’d been under the influence of Calamity and Hades had ordered all of us to fight to the death.
Male Muses were best to be avoided. Overpowered arrogant creeps liked to think themselves as the overseers of the supernatural community.
Now, Dante and I weredead.
Thanks to this safety net his mother had made, Dante would have always wound up here when he died. He always would have had a second chance.
I just so happened to bea part of him, so here I was, spared from the abyss, too.
Except now I felt like breaking in two as Dante crumbled beneath me. I lowered my arms around his middle and held onto him as he sobbed.
He gently opened his palm and looked at the Death Lotus. It glimmered with raw magic and pure power.
