Page 168 of Hell Bound

I picked her up and lowered her next to the stream, reaching in with both hands cupped to scoop up water and pour it over her. I carefully rubbed at the dark swirls of blood dried on her skin, rinsing more water through her hair.

When she was as clean as she was going to get under the current circumstances, I slipped a hand under her head, raising it and bringing a handful of water to her lips.

It just trickled over them at first, sliding down her chin in droplets.

But soon, her eyes cracked and she began to drink thirstily. I brought scoop after scoop to her mouth, urging her to drink more.

Streams were rare in Infernal Court territory. I had no idea when the next time was that we’d find clean running water.

When her eyes closed again and her breathing leveled out, I finally tended to myself, washing away what Sameera’s claws had left.

The wounds were already fading to pink lines. The wolf’s newfound strength had lent me quicker healing.

I lowered my head to drink directly from the water, my eyes raised to watch the horizon.

I felt no one coming after us, no other lupine presence. But by now, Asmodeus would know we were gone. And he would try to reactivate the curse.

It was only because of Sameera pushing me to the brink that the chains around me were a slight annoyance, rather than a bone-shredding agony calling me back.

If it weren’t for the fact that Lilith was half dead, and I had no way to help her recover, I would’ve found it vaguely amusing; only because of one of the most hated demons in Hell could I finally defy Asmodeus and his curse.

But we wouldn’t be truly safe, truly free, until we reached Ossean territory. I’d been so focused on Lilith, on not dropping her, that I hadn’t paid as much attention to the landscape as I should have.

We could’ve been five miles or away, or thirty. It was impossible to tell; streams were inconsistent markers in the Infernal Court. This one could be dried up by tomorrow, no longer marking the way.

I took a last gulp of water and sat up, scrubbing handfuls of it through my hair and pushing it back.

It didn’t matter how much further we had to go. All that mattered was that weweregoing.

“We’re almost there,” I told her nearly lifeless body. “Almost there.”

My voice was raspy from thirst.

I picked her up, cradling her against my chest. I crossed over the stream and headed towards the distant forest.

Only a few more miles, a few more steps. We would soon be there.

All I had to do was keep going.

Chapter41

Lilith

Was it always like this when I returned to my body? The sensation of being tossed around in a washing machine?

My head throbbed with every bounce and bob, but I was terrified to open my eyes and see what was happening.

I’d yet to relive one of my…rebirths, and I was afraid of what I was going to find.

“Please, just hang on, love.” The murmured words in my ear shocked my eyes wide. It made my head ache worse than ever, but as my vision came back into focus, my throat went tight.

Lucifer clutched me to his chest as he ran full tilt.

His breathing was labored, but he showed no signs of slowing. He had yet to realize that I was awake, his focused scowl trained on the path ahead.

It felt like I was waking up for the first time after a crazy long sleep, but there was a hazy recollection of calling out for him.

How long had I been in and out of this twilight? Had he tracked down my new body when it formed and taken me straight from there?

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