Chapter 19

Chapter

Nineteen

My pulse spiked as the warden's words sank in. "Why would you help us escape?"

"Is this a trick, another punishment dreamed up by Venna?" Fane towed me back to him when I tried to cross the small room to inspect the CO uniforms.

Demarcus wiped off another trickle of blood from his chin, scowling. "Venna has outstayed her welcome. I've given her what's owed, and I'm done. If you two aren't here, she won't be either."

"You're really letting us go?" I gently pried Fane's grip off the bedsheet so it wouldn't fall and expose my naked body to the warden.

"Ruin is sneaking into Heldrok as we speak," Demarcus said. "I'll lead you to him."

Fane folded his arms against his chest, his biceps bulging. He, of course, had no problem standing there without a stitch of clothing. "You're working with Ruin?"

"The lord of Savannah has no idea I'm aware of his presence." A dark smile twisted his lips, pulling shadows across his face. "But I know when someone sneaks in or out of my prison. Now get dressed. We don't have much time."

After Fane and I hurried into the prison uniforms, Demarcus led us through the labyrinth of stone and brick corridors. He had ulterior motives for helping us, but I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

When we reached an atrium where several hallways branched off, Demarcus stopped in front of a wall. Moments later, vibrations rippled through the ground, and a secret door appeared.

"That's him now." Demarcus bounced on his toes, almost giddy, while the veins in his neck throbbed faster than hummingbird wings.

Why was he so excited to see Ruin? He made it pretty clear he didn't like the demon lord.

Frost crawled over my flesh as a thought struck me. Was this a trap to get the demon lord locked in prison? Or would Demarcus attack him? Were we bait?

Dressed in all black, Ruin stepped into the atrium with Logan, Nik, and Nadia in tow. He pulled up short when he saw Fane and me. "What are you—" His gaze traveled behind us, and the blood drained from his face. "Y-You?"

I peered over my shoulder, but instead of Demarcus, another high demon who looked exactly like Ruin—except for lighter blue hair—wore the warden's clothes. "What the hell?"

"Wrath?" Logan blinked several times as if trying to clear a hallucination. "I thought you were dead."

Fane uttered a string of curses in a demon language and yanked me into him.

The high demon's lips pulled into an eerie smile, making him look like a twisted version of Ruin. "I was dead, no thanks to Ruin and Fane."

"Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on!" As my head spun, I jerked out of Fane's tight grip on my arm. "Who are you?"

Fane eliminated the distance between us and dragged me back into him, poised to fend off an attack, his attention fixed on the warden. "This is Wrath, Ruin's twin."

Ah. Wrath & Ruin.

"That must have been a very powerful glamour." Nadia scrutinized Wrath as she absentmindedly twisted a lock of copper hair around her finger. "You couldn't have constructed that on your own. You needed a witch."

Wrath casually lifted one shoulder. "That's not important right now." His blue stare pierced his brother's as he smirked. "Long time no see, Ruin."

The demon lord licked his nearly white lips. "How long have you been masquerading as the warden of Heldrok? What happened to the real Demarcus?"

Wrath's loud laughter bounced through the atrium, making me wince. "There is no real Demarcus." He spread his arms wide. "This is my new identity."

A threatening growl vibrated Fane's body. "You allowed my mother to be tortured?"

"I was pissed, Mav. You're the one who brought Ruin to my doorstep so he could slaughter me."

Fane's eyes narrowed. "He paid me to find you. That's what I do. It's not my fault he wanted to kill you." He flicked his hand toward him. "Clearly, you survived."

The humor vanished from Wrath's expression as shadows darkened the hollows beneath his sharp cheekbones. "Barely. "

"I didn't try to kill you. And I didn't want you to die, Wrath." Ruin dragged his trembling hand over his mouth. "After what you did, what was I supposed to do?"

He rested his hand on his chest. "What I did?"

"I should kill you myself for allowing Tate and my mother to be hurt in this place." Fane stepped toward Ruin's twin, but I shoved my arm in front of him.

Wrath scoffed. "I'm letting you go now, aren't I? I could keep you here and allow Venna to continue her torture."

"We don't have time for this." I stroked Fane's back, attempting to calm him. "We need to get out of here."

Nik, the head of Ruin's security team, put himself between the demon twins. Without his glamour, his bronze complexion and the glossy spikes running down his arms and across his head gleamed in the light. "Tate's correct. Unless the warden plans to officially release Fane and Tate."

"I can't." Wrath rolled his shoulders. "This is all I can offer."

Ruin took a deep, shaky breath as he paced a few feet away, his skin paler than usual. "Why would you help them?"

He'd never look so freaked out.

Wrath's lips twitched, threatening a smile as he enjoyed Ruin's discomfort. "Despite what everyone thinks, I'm not the bad twin."

That had Ruin's steps halting, his spine snapping straight. "Oh really? You're the sinister warden of Heldrok. You're the one who enjoys torturing creatures."

"And what about you, brother? What do you enjoy?"

I rubbed my temples as an invisible pulse pounded on my skull. "Are we getting out of here, or will you two argue for the next hour? "

The fury melted from Wrath as he chuckled. "I can see why you like her so much, Fane. I'm sure my brother tried his best to steal her."

Ruin stepped forward, his nostrils flaring. "Why don't we settle our differences right now, brother?"

"Enough!" Logan showed his palms like he was washing his hands of this whole situation. "I'm leaving, and I suggest all of you follow me."

"Don't go east," Wrath said. "Guards use those passages. Go west and then take the tunnel with a star carved above the doorway."

Logan chewed on his bottom lip as he studied the warden. "You can't come with us?"

As he shook his head, a flash of sadness streaked his azure irises. "I can't leave. Heldrok has to have a warden."

Fane grabbed my hand and towed me toward the secret door. "Let's go."

"If the guards find you, I won't be able to stop them from bringing you back," Wrath warned. "If they know I helped you escape, I could become a prisoner myself."

"We'll be careful." Fane's attention fell on me as he pulled me through the murky passageway. "I'm not letting anyone drag you back into this hell."

Scarlet lightning flashed over the pitch-black sky as we scaled the rocky side of the mountain Heldrok perched on. I slipped on the onyx rocks, but Fane caught me before I plummeted over the edge.

"I can see why they wouldn't expect us to go this way," I gritted out. Who in their right mind would attempt to escape the Underworld prison down a steep mountainside?

Venna and Mykel brought us through the prison's front entrance, which was terrifying enough. When they'd taken the burlap bags off our heads and revealed the ebony monstrosity built into the side of a mountain, my heart had dropped. Heldrok looked like a castle in the bowels of hell where the devil himself dwelled.

Logan peeked over his shoulder. "We don't have much longer. Once we get across the bridge, we'll be safe."

Nadia scoffed, earning a glare from Logan.

The high demon rolled his eyes. "We'll be safer than this."

Ruin had been unusually quiet since discovering his supposedly dead twin was the warden of Heldrok.

"What happened with Ruin and his brother?" I asked Fane through our mental link.

He shrugged. "Ruin hired me years ago to find Wrath because he'd been into some highly dark dealings. I found him in the witch realm, Illyria. Ruin said he'd tried to help him out of a mess, but it ended in his death."

Had Ruin actually killed his brother, or did Wrath die due to something terrible he'd done?

A breath of relief rushed out of my lungs as the land finally leveled out a little more and we weren't in danger of falling into a bottomless pit full of sub-demons.

Fane's hand brushed over my back as we walked the craggy ground. "I knew we'd get out of this together."

My throat constricted as images of me torturing him sped through my mind. How could he ever forgive me?

Having felt the change of emotions through our bond, his lips thinned. "You did what you had to, Teague. Dylan's life counted on it." He squeezed my shoulder. "I would do it all over again as long as it kept that kid safe."

But the things I did and what I made him see were seared into my memories. Even though I hadn't been in control, I'd witnessed everything unfold, and sometimes it was my hand doing the carving.

"This all lands on Venna, and we'll make her pay for everything she's done. I don't blame you for any of it." Fane gripped my chin and forced me to look at him. "Do you understand?"

The intensity of his gaze stole the air from my lungs, and I had to resist the urge to bury myself in him. He was the first person, maybe the only person, who didn't abandon me after seeing all my faults and scars. "I understand."

Someone cleared his throat, and we broke our silent conversation as Ruin pointed to a bridge up ahead, lines developing between his brows as he scrutinized us. "We cross here."

Logan knew much more about our bond after he witnessed Fane take my pain at the Anders', but neither of the high demons knew we could communicate through our minds. If they watched us too closely while we traveled through the Underworld, they might start putting the puzzle pieces together and realize just how deep our connection ran.

Would it be such a bad thing for them to know? Logan would only give a shit-eating grin and make some joke about us being soul mates while Ruin might be more interested in examining the abilities we shared.

A knot fisted in my gut. I'd have to come clean about divulging his secret to Venna. Fane said he wouldn't be angry, but he'd be disappointed. Hell, I was disappointed. Creating a soul supplement would change the world for demons and humans .

I rubbed the headache throbbing behind my eyes, and as we approached the bridge, my blood ran cold.

What the ever-loving fuck is that?

A huge cavern dug into the mountain, creating a gap where the bridge joined the two sides. And by bridge, I meant rickety wooden boards held together by fraying rope. It looked like something straight out of an Indiana Jones movie.

"Is that going to hold us?" I asked in a squeaky, high-pitched voice.

Some of the color drained from Nik's face. "I sure hope so."

Logan's chuckle did not match everyone else's mood. "You guys are being such worrywarts. It'll be fine. This bridge has been here forever."

"That's what I'm worried about," I mumbled.

Nik insisted on crossing first, and Nadia went with him. My heart pounded as they trudged across the wooden planks, the bridge swaying precariously when they reached the middle. The creaking and groaning filled me with even more anxiety.

Sweat slinked down my nape, and my guard's uniform stuck to me. A breath of relief rushed out of my lungs when Nik and Nadia finally reached the other side. And then it was our turn.

I had to cross this bridge or return to the hellhole known as Heldrok. Guards could swarm this area at any moment.

Ruin and Logan went first while I was next, and Fane brought up the rear. My fingers curled so tightly around the coarse rope railing that it burned my skin. By the time we made it across, my palms would be rubbed raw and bleeding.

Small price to pay to escape hell.

Fane remained at my back, attempting to soothe the turmoil inside me. My knees quaked with every step while my pulse thundered in my ears.

"Don't look down," Logan said, peeking over the side.

"Why did you say that!" Of course the mere mention of not doing it made me involuntarily do it.

Darkness stretched beneath us as if we floated in the middle of an abyss, but faint growls whispered on the wind as a putrid stench slinked up from the impenetrable depths.

I never wanted to find out what creatures lurked at the bottom of that cavern.

Prickles crawled over my scalp as if a deadly predator circled us, drawing closer with every breath. Fane tensed, feeling it too.

As I peered over my shoulder, the sharp blades of panic ripped my chest apart. Mykel snuck through the craggy mountainside and stood near the bridge, holding a large weapon that resembled a harpoon gun.

Fane shoved me toward the wooden boards and shielded my body with his as he yelled at Ruin and Logan to take cover.

What cover? We were out in the open on a fucking bridge. We were sitting ducks.

The colossal dux demon pulled the trigger on his weapon, and a harpoon soared toward us. I tried to yank Fane to the side, which would leave me unprotected, but his stubborn ass wouldn't budge. Pain erupted through both of us as the jagged blade pierced his thigh.

Fane bared his teeth as he examined the bloody prongs on the head of the arrow that had popped out and sank into his flesh so he couldn't easily remove it. "Fuck!"

Mykel's wicked laugh sent ice through my veins, and it didn't take long to understand why the dux demon found this situation so hilarious. The worst part wasn't the spear piercing Fane's thigh. It was the cable attached to the spear that connected to the end of Mykel's weapon.

Fane's gaze snapped to mine as he sensed the punch of terror that hit me. His expression turned grim once he realized his predicament. My fingers dug into his biceps as I held on, but he shoved me off when Mykel yanked on the cable.

"They can't have us both, fiera mika."

I scrambled forward and screamed as Fane was ripped right out of my reach, dragged across the bridge, and right into Mykel's grasp. Guards poured onto the mountainside to converge on their prisoner.