by Ivy Asher
It takes me a beat to comprehend what he’s saying. I shake my head no. I won’t just leave him here. I can’t.
He sees the defiance on my face. “Run, Delta! Now!” he yells at me, and I watch as he taps into the last of his reserves and shoves painfully to his feet.
They slash at him as he burns them, and I renew my efforts to get to him. He can shove his order right up his tight ass. I release a savage bellow and curse every being between me and him, but he’s still too far away. The net is getting closer, and for every demon I kill, three more take its place.
I fight with everything I have, but it’s not enough. I’m not enough.
We’re being pressed further down the passageway as we fight, and the crowd around us grows even more oppressive and overwhelming. Iceman, Crux, and Echo are nowhere in sight, and I refuse to think about what that means. All I can focus on is trying to get to Jerif. There’s a wall of demons between us and the Duo portal, but a gap opens up in front of me, and I’m surprised to see that the way is clear.
The mass is coming from behind us, and a plan surges through me. If I’m an Ūnus, maybe I can take Jerif with me through the portal? I’m not sure if that’ll actually work, but what do we have to lose? If neither of us can get through the portal to the First Ring of Hell, then we’re dead. Duo is already blocked, so fuck it, what alternative do we have?
My arms are leaden from slashing and slicing everything around me, but I scream at myself that I can do it. I can get to Jerif. I can save us. I have to.
Ash and flames dance all around me as I renew my efforts and move closer to him like I’m some Hell-blessed battering ram. I make progress, but I shove that excitement away because I’m still not near enough or able to protect him from the onslaught still raining down on his body. The demons are attacking him to kill, which answers my question about whether I’m the only one they seem interested in taking.
My body is exhausted, my arms shaking every time I swing the scythe, but I keep pushing, keep moving, even as the injuries in my limbs scream at me with every step. I keep going.
Closer.
Only a dozen demons separate us now.
I feel talons rake down my back, making me hiss and cry out in pain as I spin and poof the bastard demon who just flayed me. My cry must make Jerif aware that I’m still trying to get to him, because his head snaps in my direction. His flame-filled eyes are pissed, but there’s also something else there, and it steals my breath.
He’s scared.
And sad.
I shake my head as I watch defeat take over his face. I never thought I’d see that expression on the asshole demon’s face, and it fucking guts me.
Terror shoves me closer to him, but no matter how hard I try, demons keep us apart.
“Run,” he tells me calmly again, and I can hear his deep tone cut through the noise all around me like a knife. “You have to run, Warrior Princess. Don’t let me die for nothing.”
Tears pour out of my eyes. His face softens as it takes me in. For a moment, it’s just us. Separated by nothing but our own damn pride. I suddenly have so many fucking regrets that it chokes me.
“Jerif, please!” I shout, my voice hoarse as the plea crawls out of my throat. This can’t happen. It just can’t be this way. An hour ago, we were fine...we were all together. How did it all go so fucking wrong so quickly?
I try to fight against the loss and pain that wants to take root in my chest and tell my mind what it refuses to accept. I can’t save him, and that realization makes my heart shatter as violently as Iceman’s ice did.
I scream and slash out, begging Jerif to just hold on, but I watch as another black blade is shoved into his stomach, and Jerif buckles to his knees again.
“NO!” I scream, my voice begging the universe to stop the brutality, to give me my demon back. I’ve been robbed of too much already. How could the world be so cruel to give me this future? To dangle Jerif, Iceman, Crux, and Echo in front of me, just to rip them all away? It’s not fucking fair.
But try as I might, I can’t get to him.
Don’t let me die for nothing.
His begged request repeats in my mind as sobs tear out of my chest. On my next blink, Jerif is covered. I can’t see him anymore. The demons have completely overtaken him.
Agony rips me open. I thought I could save him. I really thought I’d somehow be able to get us out of this. I thought I could save the day like the heroines do in the stories.
I stare at the pressing mass of demons—a never-ending sea of devastation.
I was wrong. So utterly, heartbreakingly wrong.
I pivot, desolation bleeding out of me, and finally do what Jerif asked me to do so that he doesn’t die in vain.
I run.
22
Demons scream behind me as I sprint with everything I have left inside of me. I can practically feel their acidic breath on the back of my neck, but if I can just make it to Ūnus, if I can get through…
I shove any doubt away, because I have to get through. This can’t all be for nothing.
I try to focus on my pounding steps as I run down the path, but Jerif’s eyes and the look on his face before he was overrun smash through my insides like a wrecking ball.
I hate myself for leaving him. I should have tried harder. I keep telling myself that, but as I run for my life down the passageway, there’s another part of me that knows there was nothing I could do. There were too many of them. Maybe I could’ve turned this around if I had abilities other than the scythe that’s still gripped in my hand, but I don’t. I was too afraid of Hell and of being a demon. Maybe if I had accepted things sooner...
Tears drip furiously down my cheeks.
Their deaths are my fault.
I run faster, completely losing track of which Ring level I’m at. “Get her!”
I glance over my shoulder at the net-toting demons, and fear spikes through me like a Richter scale going off.
Pushing faster, I keep running, slamming my scythe into the few that reach my side. I race all the way to the end of the corridor, skidding to a stop as a smooth, metallic-looking portal sits serenely in front of me.
I spin, confused. Did I get turned around? Where’s the Ūnus portal? A multicolored mob of demons moves down the passageway toward me, more nets in their grasps. They don’t look like they’re in any hurry, like they know they’ve got me cornered.
Yelps and growls of “Take her to the Ophidian” fill the air all around me, and even though I don’t know exactly what it means, I know I can’t let it happen. I swipe at the tears and sweat on my cheeks and back up slowly. I ready my scythe, suddenly determined that they won’t be taking me anywhere. I’ll fight until it kills me, because fuck these assholes.
They must have pushed me further down the corridor than I thought. I passed what I was sure was the inaccessible Duo portal, but that must’ve been Ūnus instead. I ran right past it, and now I’ll fight to the death with my back pressed against the Nihil portal, because none of us are getting through this one.
I grip my scythe tighter, ready to take my last stand. I press back even more as demons move closer, their creepy eyes filled with looks of excitement and victory.
And then the strangest thing happens.
I expected to feel a wall of hardness at my back, but as I press against the Nihil portal, I’m suddenly blanketed in a thick, warm substance. I lose my balance and tip backward, and the last thing I see are the rage-filled faces of my attackers as they rush forward, their clawed hands snapping out to get me but catching only air instead.
My mouth opens in surprise as my scream fills my ears, and I fall straight into the Center Ring of Hell.
Holy fucking demon spawn, I’m a Nihil.
The End of Book One...
Hellgate Guardians Series
Rapid-Release Schedule
Book 1: June 8th
Grave Mistakes
Book 2: June 22nd
Grave Consequences
B
ook 3: July 6th
Grave Decisions
Book 4: July 20th
Grave Signs
Also by Ivy Asher & Raven Kennedy
Shifter Romantic Comedy Standalone
Conveniently Convicted
Dystopian Romantic Comedy Standalone
April’s Fools
Also by Ivy Asher
The Sentinel World
The Lost Sentinel
The Lost and the Chosen
Awakened and Betrayed
The Marked and the Broken
Found and Forged
Shadowed Wings
The Hidden
The Avowed
The Reclamation
More in the Sentinel World coming soon.
Romantic Comedy Standalone
Conveniently Convicted
April’s Fools
Also by Raven Kennedy
Paranormal Shifter Romance:
Addie: Pack of Misfits Book 1
Reese: Pack of Misfits Book 2
Jetta: Pack of Misfits Book 3
Fantasy Reverse Harem Romantic Comedy:
Signs of Cupidity: Book 1
Bonds of Cupidity: Book 2
Crimes of Cupidity: Book 3
For the Love of Cupidity: Book 4
Cupidity Box Set
Romantic Comedy Stand-Alone:
Can’t Fix Cupid
April’s Fools
Conveniently Convicted
Dark Contemporary Romance:
The Girl Who Cries Colors
Cruel: Savannah Heirs Book 1
Tame: Savannah Heirs Book 2
Wild: Savannah Heirs Book 3
Dark Paranormal Romance:
Void
Wicked Webs
Ivy Asher
Ivy Asher is addicted to chai, swearing, and laughing a lot—but not in a creepy, laughing alone kind of way. She loves the snow, books, and her family of two humans, and three fur-babies. She has worlds and characters just floating around in her head, and she’s lucky enough to be surrounded by amazing people who support that kind of crazy.
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Raven Kennedy
Raven Kennedy lives in California with her family. She is most known for her international bestselling Heart Hassle series about a quirky cupid who wants to find love for herself. RK writes in a range of genres, including romantic comedies, fantasy, dark romances, contemporary, and paranormal. Whether she makes you laugh or cry, she hopes to connect with readers and create characters you can root for.
You can connect one-on-one with RK on Facebook in Raven Kennedy’s Reader Group and on her Instagram. Click the icons below!