Page 122 of Endless Terrors
She was hooked up to so many tubes and machines that it was impossible to tell where they ended and Emma began. Even in the short time she’d been here, the veins in her eyelids had become more pronounced, her cheeks more sunken, her skin paler.
Blinking rapidly, I sank into the chair. I reached for Emma’s hand and cradled it in mine. Her skin felt like clouds, I observed distantly. Why did that thought make me want to cry again? Letting go of her, I pulled away and sat with my knees clutched to my chest, like a child in the womb. I began to watch the monitors, calming myself with every steady heartbeat they recorded.
I’d been there for less than a minute when Lyari appeared in the chair next to me. I jumped a little, giving her a look of surprise. Had Collith let her know I was here? A second later, I dismissed the thought. None of it mattered, not even the fact that I hadn’t seen Lyari since the night we’d performed the spell.
My friend looked better than she had when I’d left for Hell, but not by much. She was still too thin, and there was a blankness in her eyes that hurt to look at. Lyari was controlled, yes, but she radiated strength and ferocity. As those empty eyes did a quick scan of my person, assessing me for injuries, she didn’t bother with a greeting.
“What happened?” Lyari said. Even though she’d spoken softly, her voice felt harsh in the small, quiet room.
I knew, somehow, that she wasn’t asking about Emma. She meant Hell, and Lucifer, and all the rest of it. My eyes went back to monitoring Emma’s heartbeat, and some of the tension drained from me. It was still strong and even. Lyari’s question hovered in the stillness, and it felt impossible to answer in just a handful of words. What happened? When I thought of my time in the underworld, there were hundreds of terror-filled memories I could’ve picked from. Instead, I only had one thought.
Him.
I remembered Heilel fucking me. Heilel making love to me. Heilel bathing me. Heilel showing me his soul.
I met Lyari’s gaze and told her the terrible truth in my heart. My voice was hoarse and broken.
“I think I fell in love with the devil.”
Emma’s heart monitor beeped into the silence.
I’d been at her side for hours. Lyari was long gone, off on another secret mission. She didn’t offer to stay and I didn’t ask. I hadn’t wanted to talk much after my confession to her, and Collith came back a few minutes later, bottle of water in hand. He was asleep in the other chair now, apparently worn out from forcing me to play more games of Connect Four. He’d brought the box when he returned with the water, which explained why he’d been gone so long.
As I studied Collith’s sleeping face, I felt myself starting to drift away. The sound of a nurse’s voice startled me awake. It was harder than it should’ve been to open my eyes. I still felt weak. As the nurse’s footsteps faded, I touched my forehead, irritated to find that I was still feverish.
There was no more danger, I reminded myself. Heilel hadn’t said it in so many words, but I doubted he was still intending to hunt me. He’d let me go. I folded my arms on the end of Emma’s bed and leaned down on them, allowing my eyes to drift shut again. We were in a busy hospital. A few minutes couldn’t hurt …
“Open your eyes, Fortuna,” someone said.
I knew that voice, I observed dimly. It couldn’t actually be who I thought it was. It was just someone that sounded like him, or it was my drowsy brain blending dream and reality. I lifted my head expecting to see the walls of Emma’s hospital room.
But I was in the dreamscape.
I stood on the path, facing the sea. I barely registered that glitter in the distance, though. I’d spotted a figure in the corner of my eye, and for a split second, I thought it was Oliver. Then I turned my head and realized who I was looking at. The sight of him sent an electric current through my body.
Heilel stood beneath the tree.
This is a dream. It has to be. I walked over to him, slow with confusion. A moment later, I felt Heilel’s fingers bury themselves in my hair, his thumbs resting on my cheekbones. I put my hands on his chest. He felt so warm and solid. My voice was breathless as I asked, “Is this real? You’re actually here? I thought …”
“You thought you’d never see me again?” he finished, resting his forehead against mine.
I breathed in his scent. But after a few seconds, thoughts began to creep in, and the bright rush of joy faded. Not right, the voice inside me whispered. Something didn’t feel right. I moved back, forcing Heilel to let go of me. The imprint of his fingers lingered on my cheeks as I asked, “Seriously, what is this? Where’s Oliver?”
“This, Lady Sworn, is the moment I’ve been dreaming about for centuries.” Heilel paused, and his eyes were dark with regret. “I’m coming back to your world, and I intend to finish what I started that day in the Garden.”
My only reaction was a confused frown. It felt like I was missing something, and my mind worked quickly, trying to think of some detail or clue that I might’ve overlooked. “You can’t,” I said finally. “You don’t have a host. I still won’t do that for you, Heilel, no matter how much things have changed between us. I will never say yes.”
“I won’t need a host,” Heilel replied. He was still looking at me with that infuriating expression, and suddenly I wanted to punch it off his face.
“Why don’t you need a host?” I said, my voice sharpening. “How are you here right now, and what the fuck is happening? Where is Oliver?”
“You’ll understand everything in a moment. I promise.”
“What are—”
Roots exploded from the ground and closed around me, forming a makeshift cage. I slammed down on all fours, screaming, and the roots continued to crackle and thicken. When they went silent, I lifted my head. In an instant, I saw there was no way out. I crawled over to the roots and peered through them. Heilel hadn’t moved, and the fact he hadn’t even lifted a finger to beat me was infuriating.
“How are you doing this?” I snarled, yanking at the wooden bars. When that proved ineffective, I shifted and raised my legs to kick at them.
