“Can you help me up?” she asks.
Together, Loren and Morgana hook their arms underneath each of Jaylie’s and ease her into a seated position. From here, she can see the fire still burning at the crater’s center. It seems to be growing larger, but Jaylie can’t tell what might be fueling it.
To her left, she hears Kain’s sigh. He is painted in blood. He crouches with his forearms on his knees, tail flicking back and forth in agitation. “It’s time,” he rumbles, turning to Loren.
Pain flashes across Loren’s elegant features. “No.” His voice is so small. “Can’t I have a few more hours?”
Kain shakes his head, his horns cutting through the air. His expression is severe.
Frantically, Jaylie looks between them. “Time for what?”
Neither man answers her. But from the core of the crater, a voice she hoped to never hear again calls out.
“Your bard must like you very much, little priestess.”
Suddenly, the crater glows with fire. Morgana whips out her daggers, but Kain remains unmoved. When the face forms, it’s much worse than the last time Jaylie saw it, full of cruelty, intrigue, andvictory.This time, it stretches across the whole of the pit, a massive grin cutting through the crater’s center.
“Maglorbizel,” Jaylie breathes. Kain’s father. One of the most powerful devils in Hell.
“He made a deal with me. Now that your little quest is complete, it is time for him to pay his price.”
Jaylie’s gaze swings to Loren. “A deal to kill Donati?” She remembers the way the flames crawled along his arms. The way they consumed him.
“No, my dear. He made a deal foryou.”
Jaylie’s voice wavers. “What are you talking about?”
“If it were not for me, you would still be dead. He bargained for your life.”Clouds of smoke rise from the crater as Maglorbizel bellows out a dark laugh.
“Loren, you didn’t. Tell me you didn’t.”
Even as his lips tremble, Loren’s jaw is set with determination. “I would do it again, given the choice.”
Gently, Jaylie reaches up to wipe away a smear of ash on the center of Loren’s forehead. That’s when she sees it.
Underneath the grime, an infernal rune glows bright.
Her voice breaks. “What did you trade?”
“Nothing so bad, love,” Loren says gently. He reaches to run his knuckles across the line of her jaw. “A year and a day of service. In the span of my lifetime, it’s less than the blink of an eye.”
An awful chuckle boils from the crater.“And yet you do not even know what demands I might yet make,”he says with a cackle.
Feeling dumb and romantic and resolved all at once, Jaylie shakes her head viciously. “I’ll go with you.”
Loren blanches. “Jay, I would never ask—”
“You didn’t ask,” she cuts him off. “This is my decision. I would go to Hell for you, Loren.” She clears her throat delicately, then laughs. It comes out a little breathless. “Literally.”
The color drains from Loren’s face. “Jay, no. This was my bargain to make, and I’ll gladly pay the price, but you—”
“I’ll go, too,” Kain says darkly.
“Finally coming home to visit your father, then?”the crater hisses.
Morgana’s dark eyes are wide as her gaze jumps among her party members. She looks of half a mind to run, but her features soften as she looks at them. “Well, fuck me, then,” she says, throwing her hands in the air with a laugh. “I guess we’re all damned.”
Jaylie takes Loren’s hand and squeezes it. “On to the next adventure, then? Just like we said?” Her smile is small but determined, and her eyes are lit with fierce passion. She pitches her voice lower as she leans in. “We’ll find a way to get you out, all right?”
