Page 83 of Crimson Soul
Bran and Orenn moved closer to the gate before throwing their heads back and howling. My ears popped and the warm liquid of blood dripped down the side of my neck from my ear until the howling stopped.
I hated the hellhounds howl. It was fucking bone shattering, but that was one of the reasons they were such an asset in Hell.
The portal’s black goo faded, and the gate morphed back to the normal rock tunnel it usually took form as. The twins shifted to their human forms and fist bumped each other.
“It’s up to you all now,” Orenn told us. “It’s set to send you to Zelek and Astral. They don’t have a personalized Hell. They’re just kind of waiting in a blank room.”
“I figured that much. Thanks for your help, guys.” I blew out a long breath and bent down to look inside the tunnel to the heart. Jagged, red rocks stuck out like usual and I mentally prepared myself for the pain of crawling through.
I hadn’t been to the heart since I took Kai to see his father, and it seemed like it’d been longer than it really had been. Now, I was the one that had to face my father.
Glancing back at Kai, our gazes locked. “You can do this, Lilith.”
I gave him a nod before turning back around and sticking my hands into the tunnel and pulling myself in. My palms rested on sharp, scalding rocks as I crawled through, the rocks ripping my knees open with every move of progress.
“Bloody hell this is worse than I remember,” Kai said, his voice directly behind me.
“Tell me about it.” I gritted my teeth as a searing pain radiated through my body, and I continued crawling toward the light at the end.
The irony of this gate was that the heart of Hell was the light at the end of the tunnel. Fucking hilarious. As we reached the end, I grabbed the top of the tunnel and pulled myself through.
Turning, I grabbed Kai’s hand to help him through and he turned to help the rest of the guys. I took the time to glance around the room.
It wasn’t a blank room like I’d been expecting. It was a cream-colored padded room with no door aside from the tunnel that neither of the duo could enter. Mildew mixed with fresh blood invaded my nostrils, and I scrunched my nose.
“Thank you for finally popping in, dear daughter,” Zelek greeted us.
I whipped my head to the left, where I’d just looked, to see Zelek lounging on the padded ground with his crown that now meant nothing on his head. “I think it’s time we take care of this.”
“I couldn’t agree more, so I took the liberty of killing Astral for you.” He grinned, grabbing something from behind his back to throw my way.
I swallowed the lump formed in my throat with a hard gulp as I stared down at Astral’s severed head at my feet. Her eyes were filled with blood and her mouth was frozen open in horror. Blood still dripped from where it was ripped from her body. “Why would you do this?”
“To prove my allegiance to you.”
“Allegiance my ass.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “You just proved how capable you are of sticking to your alliances.”
“Why?” He arched his brow. “Because I brought my only child the head of an angel who wanted to use her as a weapon?”
“No.” I nudged her head away from me with my foot, my face screwed up in disgust. “You’re the one who wanted to use me as a weapon, and she was the angel following your ideals.”
Sighing, he climbed to his feet. He put both hands on his hips and stared at me. “You’re right, but I’m sorry. It was…wrong to have thought of you that way.”
“It’s too late for that,” I said as the guys came to stand next to me.
“What the fuck is that?” Blaise asked, peering at the head before shivering.
“Bloody hell.” Kai shook his head.
Thaddeus’s gaze bounced between Astral’s head to him. “You’re ruthless.”
“Pure evil,” Aziel spat. “It’s time to pay for all the shit you’ve done.”
“And who’s going to do that?” He tilted his head. “None of the demons are stupid enough to torture me.”
“Torture?” Aziel let out a dry laugh. “You think that’s what she has planned?”
“You’re not leaving the heart of Hell alive,” Thaddeus said.
