Page 166 of Hell Bound

“I’ve got you, Fire Lily, stay with me.”

Her eyes didn’t open as I carefully laid her on her back again. I leaned over, kissing her, hoping her succubus side would take my energy—but her lips were so cold.

It was like kissing stone. Cold, dead stone.

I kissed her again, desperately pushing my essence into her.

It couldn’t be too late. Not after I’d just broken my chains, had the first real shot of getting her out of here…

This could not be her end. Especially when Asmodeus had been hinting that her next death would be the final one.

The permanent ending to her story.

The sound of paws on earth interrupted my desperation. Jovran and Killian, creeping around the edge of the lake.

Jovran shifted first. “You have to go now. Deasley and Pypentha are causing chaos in the ballroom, but there’s very little time.”

I winced inwardly. They were loyal, almost to a fault; Asmodeus would severely punish them for this.

Even now, I heard muffled shrieking from the ballroom, the occasional howl.

But the slightest color had come back into Lilith’s face. She had a chance.

“Stand up, love. Stand up. We have to go.” I gripped her cold hands, but her body was completely deadweight. Her eyes didn’t so much as flutter.

I waited a moment, then stood up. “I’ll have to carry her. Killian, you’ll need to distract the Forest Beast.”

Once we entered his domain, the Beast would smell the blood of the lake. He would be drawn like a fly to honey, and it would be impossible to defend Lilith with her on my back.

I shifted, and Jovran immediately moved, carefully picking up the queen’s limp form and draping her over my back.

She coughed again, choking a little… but her hands gripped my fur. It was a weak grip, but better than none at all.

“Lucifer,” she rasped.

I rumbled low in my chest, hoping she could feel the vibration. Hoping she knew that freedom was so close we could taste it.

“Hold on to him, my lady,” Jovran said. He adjusted her, moving quickly, ensuring she wouldn’t slide right off my back.

Lilith seemed to understand, tightening around me as much as she could. It wasn’t much, but at least she was awake and present.

Jovran shifted, and the three of us immediately headed towards the forest.

Hellfire dripped from our eyes, lighting our path. As we ducked beneath the tree cover, I could see just enough to avoid the lowest-hanging branches that might scrape Lilith right off my back.

But we had to move quickly, not smoothly. Her grip tightened over every bump as I carried her through the woods, her body shifting a little to accommodate the rough ride.

We covered three miles before the ground trembled beneath our feet.

The Beast is near. Killian, do you see him?

Killian had seemed to sense the direness of the situation, his brow furrowed even in wolf form as we’d fled.

But as the trees opened, revealing the enormous creature and its branching crown of thorns, his tongue lolled out. He happily trotted to the Beast, rising up to put his front paws on the thing’s enormous forearm.

The Beast looked down at him, eyes glowing pale green in the darkness. The cursed king meeting his broken former friend… the only thing that could tame him in this form.

Jovran and I slipped away.

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