Page 169 of Hell Bound

A million questions weighed down on my brain, a migraine forming behind my eye. I groaned at the need to press the heel of my hand into it. My arms were simply too weak to accomplish that, so the throb continued unchecked.

The sound got Lucifer’s attention, however. He skidded to a halt, and the inertia would have sent me flying if his grip on my body hadn’t been so unbreakable.

“Lily,” he breathed. He searched my face, a mix of fear, love, and fury on his own. “Thank fuck, Fire Lily, you had me out of my mind.”

I could tell. I’d never seen him look quite so frantic and out of sorts.

“What happened?”

“Hang on. Let’s find a place to rest and I’ll tell you everything you want to know, alright?”

He pressed a firm kiss to my lips without giving me the chance to answer. This time he didn’t sprint, but instead broke into a light jog as he scoped out a safe space for us.

Well, as safe as we could be.

We were clearly far from the Infernal Court, the change in the terrain was notable. But that didn’t mean safety, since there were probably guards coming up on our heels.

Only Lucifer’s incredible strength and speed would have given us enough of a head start to afford a moment’s rest.

When we reached a place to stop—a copse of withered black trees near a thin, burbling stream—he found a place to set me gently on the ground.

Despite his care, I couldn’t hold back a wince. Everything in me hurt, wounds all over my body from my lakeside dragging.

And drowning.

The urge to vomit rose, swift and fierce. Blood had suffused my lungs in the final seconds before I’d lost all consciousness.

I was breathing again, but my mind screamed that I was filled to the gills with blood that didn’t belong.

I gagged and coughed, struggling to catch my breath.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” He lifted a hand like he was going to pound on my back. I weakly raised my own to wave him off. That wasn’t going to help, except to make me actually retch.

I swallowed hard, blinking back the tears that had filled my eyes from the coughing fit.

“I’m… I’m okay. The—”Gag.“The blood. In the lake.” I shuddered. “Hate blood.”

“I know, sweet. Once I check the area to make sure we’re alone, I’ll take you down to the water to clean your wounds and let you drink again. We have to keep you hydrated.”

At my nod of understanding, he loped off, never leaving my sight. It was more likely for his own peace of mind, not wanting me out ofhissight.

He was only away for moments, but they stretched. I waited for something to pop out at any second and drag him away into the brush.

Our escaping was an impossibility that I had yet to accept. The other shoe had to drop, right?

But he made his way back to me in one piece and carefully gathered me again.

“We should be fine here for a while. I obscured our scent as much as I could as we ran, following the trails of other animals so we could blend with them.”

“How long do you think that’ll last?” Words hurt, but I needed to know just how low my guard should be allowed to slip.

“Not nearly long enough, but it’ll have to suffice.”

“Where are we going?”

“We’ll go to the Ossean Court. Duchess Lacrima despises Asmodeus, so she’s more likely to aid us instead of turning us over to him.”

I nodded. I didn’t have much faith in that.

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