Page 174 of Hell Bound

He only nodded to her. “My lady. I’ve brought food and supplies.”

I slid the wax paper plate to her. “Eat first.” My tone made it clear there were to be no arguments on this. “You need your strength.”

“How am I supposed to eat while I’m stark naked?” she muttered, but we all heard the enormous rumble in her stomach. Cheeks flushing, she pulled the wax paper closer and picked up the bread, gnawing at it.

Within seconds she was ripping off chunks and stuffing them in her mouth, uncaring of her audience.

“I’m ravenous, okay?” she said, glaring at me with her cheeks bulging out like a chipmunk’s.

I held up my hands. “I didn’t say anything.”

Jovran watched her eat and finally stood up with a single smooth motion. “I’m going to patrol, and… give the lady some privacy.” He shifted and vanished beyond the firelight.

“Patrol all the way out here, huh?” Lilith swallowed noisily, then cracked a plastic water bottle and drained half of it in one gulp. “Old habits die hard, I guess.”

I shrugged. “Better to patrol than be caught unaware by a hungry tarphin.”

“I’ve never seen one, and I’m not looking forward to it.”

While she ate, I pulled out the female clothes that had been packed for her.

Whoever had packed the bag had the foresight to realize that her filmy, silky dresses weren’t going to cut it out in the wastelands of the courts; I recognized the clothes as Pypentha’s.

There was a pair of soft black pants that would look painted on, and a deep red shirt that would come to her elbows. Jovran had even included a pair of ankle-high dark boots for her.

She stuffed the last of the bread in her mouth and gathered the clothes. “I’m going to rinse off in the stream before I change,” she said, glancing out at the dark where Jovran patrolled.

I nodded, packing up the remainder of the wax paper and shoving it back in the bag. There was no telling when we’d need some random scrap of material, and I didn’t want to waste time on scavenging.

Lilith vanished into the small copse of trees, and I listened intently, even though Jovran was watching for predators as well.

I heard splashing, followed by a few curses when she discovered how unnaturally cold the water was, despite flowing through the Infernal Court. Then the sound of clothes being shaken out.

When Lilith re-emerged, she looked relieved to no longer be walking around in nothing but her own skin. She ran both hands through her wild hair, trying to finger-comb it into some semblance of order.

“I feel a million times better,” she said. “Still weak and like crap, but better than whatever’s worse than that.”

“You almost drowned.” I arched an eyebrow. “You’re going to be feeling weak for a while, or at least until we find a healer.”

She had refilled her bottle as well, and uncapped it again, watching me sidelong as she drank. “I bet the Ossean Court is simplypackedwith healers and not creepy old bone-witches.”

“Your sarcasm is showing.”

She looked down at herself in mock surprise. “Where?”

My chuckle was cut short when Jovran strode back into the camp. He shifted, and Lilith averted her eyes, although she had to be used to the wolves wandering around naked in their demon forms by now.

“I didn’t just come to bring supplies. You need to move on soon, Commander. I’m not the only wolf on your trail.”

“I’ll move on when Lilith is ready.” I stoked the fire with a twig and realized she was glaring at me. “When we’re ready. She still needs recovery time or we won’t make it far.”

“Make it soon, Commander. He was… in rare form.” Jovran grimaced again. “I have no doubt that if he catches you, there won’t be a second chance.”

He met my eyes, and I knew what he was thinking.

When we’d rebelled several years ago, finally showing Asmodeus our teeth, he’d dissolved several wolves with a sweep of his hand.

On that day, he’d promised that the one chance I had was the last I’d ever get. If one wolf had to be culled for the pack to survive, he was willing to expend that wolf.

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