“Ready?” Joriel asked softly.
Why did he have to look at me like that? Like he cared what I thought and felt. It would be easier if he were indifferent toward me. If his eyes didn’t watch me whenever he thought I wasn’t looking.
I nodded silently, not quite trusting my voice at the moment.
The drop was short and ended in a shallow pool of water. I felt my chest seize as I sucked in a breath of real air before coughing up the water in my lungs.
A hand touched my back and then brushed my hair away from my face. “Are you okay?” Joriel asked as he stroked my hair.
“How are you not choking up water?” I gasped out.
“My lungs have had more practice transitioning. Still hurts like a bitch though.”
“Where are we?” I asked, looking up. It was hard to make out much through the thick fog that hung in the air.
“The third circle of Hell. As far as I know, it’s home to many lesser demons and humans evil enough to suffer but not so evil to end up in the Fields of Punishment.”
Through the thick haze, I could barely make out steep, rocky mountains that rose up in a semicircle around us, creating a border that left us with only one direction to travel.
Joriel stood and helped me to my feet. We waded through the pool and climbed onto the damp grass.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, crouching down beside me.
“I’m fine.” It was a bit of a stretch. My lungs still felt like they were burning, and a part of me wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. But I’d live, and there was nothing Joriel could do for me.
His hands moved to my cheeks, and he tipped my face up so I had to look at him. He looked different. Our dip in the sea had washed away the blood that had coated his wheat-colored skin, and his wet hair was plastered to his bare shoulders. He was still covered in scars, but he was cleaner than I’d ever seen him.
He was beautiful—it was impossible not to see that even with all the scars marking his flesh.
“I’m going to find us some supplies and shelter. Are you going to be okay staying here by yourself?”
I shrugged. What difference did it really make if I was okay or not? This was Hell; I was pretty sure it operated on the survival-of-the-fittest mentality.
Joriel’s lips thinned, and I honestly wasn’t sure if he was worried or pissed. “You can create visions, right?” he asked suddenly.
“Yeah…”
“Are you any good at it?”
I gave him a bland look. “I wasn’t aware there was a way to be bad at it.”
“When you show someone a vision, do they realize it’s a vision and not real life?”
“Of course they know it’s a vision. I tell them what I’m going to show them before I do it.”
Joriel blinked at me as if I’d said something unexpected. “You tell them…? Okay, never mind. Show me a vision of this place but without you here. Instead, in the vision, you’re over there by those rocks.” He pointed to where two sharp rocks jutted up from one of the pools. “Don’t tell me when you’re going to do it and—” He stopped talking abruptly as I showed him the vision he’d asked me to.
“Shit,” he breathed. “Yeah, you’re good at this. Please stop.”
I pulled back the vision, and Joriel’s eyes roamed over every inch of me as if trying to reassure himself that I was real.
“If you see anyone while I’m gone, do that to them, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I’ll be back as quickly as I can.” He paused, and for a second I thought he looked like he wanted to kiss me, but then he let go of my face and stood.
I watched him walk off in the direction of the mountains and then lay back on the soft, wet grass. It had been the longest day of my life. Or maybe it had been multiple days. I had no idea how time worked in Hell. I just knew I was exhausted and drained, both physically and mentally.
