Chapter 29

CHAPTER

TWENTY-NINE

IZA

"Where are you bringing me?" I asked Dani because we didn't step out into Lust.

The dry air of the portal room slithered around my throat, like a serpent did to its prey. I coughed and walked down the blackened steps to the large, unguarded orange doors. When Dani pushed open the doors, I stepped into an even more suffocating arena.

"Welcome to Wrath," she said.

Wilted leaves hung off the brittle trees, falling away with the humid breeze. Large steel gates glimmered underneath the orange sun in the distance. Fires burned in every direction as ash rained from the sky.

Dani took my hand. "You're safe here. I'm dating the son of Satan."

"But I thought you were married to that other demon."

"Eros?" she asked with a giggle. "I am."

"And you're dating someone else too?" I asked.

"A few people actually …" She guided me down a long path filled with horrid screams from people I couldn't see. Children with sharp red horns and vexed stares ran by us on the busy cobblestone walkway and made a beeline for the gates. "Biast, Minseok, Luficer."

My eyes nearly popped out of my head. "Lucifer? Like, the Lucifer?"

She smirked. "The Devil himself."

A small giggle left my lips. "So, do you like … tell him what to do since you're the leader?"

"Oh boy, I wish," she said. "He leads the Kingdom of Pride. There are many realms here—Lust, Pride, Wrath, Greed, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, and even some smaller ones in between that house many different races, like humans, demons, werewolves, and vampires."

"Wow," I whispered. "I didn't know humans lived here."

"I'll have to take you to Durnbone sometime," she said with a smile. "One of the demon kings in Durnbone is mated to a human. I think you both could get along quite well, and I'm sure Maxine would love to meet you."

"That would be great," I whispered.

Maybe she could give me some pointers about dating a demon.

Instead of going through the gates and into the kingdom, Dani led me down an arid path near the gate entrance toward rivers of lava. Bones drifted down the river, brittle and fleshless. I held my breath at the stench.

"What are we doing here?" I asked Dani as we stopped feet from the lava.

"I want you to meet someone."

"Who?"

"A fallen angel."

A tall, angry demon emerged from the river, lava dripping down his body. "Dani."

"Biast," Dani exclaimed. "This is Iza. Iza, Biast."

After barely sparing me a glance, he nodded to the other side of the river. "He's here."

Dani wrapped one arm around Biast's arm and the other around mine, pulling me toward the river of literally flesh-melting lava. I dug my heels into the ground in an attempt to stop her from moving me.

"Come on," she said. "You won't get hurt."

"It's lava."

"I've gone in this river a million times."

"You're a demon!" I exclaimed. "I'm not."

"You won't burn," Biast said. "Keep hold of Dani."

Dani yanked me closer, and I tried to stumble back. But before I could, she had tugged me all the way in. I winced and waited for the searing pain to begin melting me alive, but all the lava felt like was warm sea water.

My feet reached the bottom of the river, and I walked with Dani and Biast to the other side. Chest rising and falling quickly because I hadn't expected to survive a river of lava, I shook the excess lava off my body like a wet dog.

"We are at war," Dani said.

"With who?" I asked, looking back as Dani led us deeper into the brittle woods.

"The angels and God herself."

"Herself?"

"Yes, unlike what the Church believes, God is a woman."

A couple of moments later, we emerged from the brittle forest and stepped out into a clearing, where a man sat, naked and chained up to a tree.

"This is Minseok," Dani said.

"Why is he in chains?" I asked. "I thought you said he was your lover?"

"It's … complicated." Dani sighed softly. "He's a recently fallen angel."

"I'm not a fallen angel. You sank your claws into me and pulled me down. I am here against my will." Minseok yanked on the chains that burned into his body. His wings were completely bare. When he looked at me, his eyes widened. "Beliel …"

"Who's Beliel?" I asked Dani.

"Beliel was the first fallen angel who prophesied about the war I mentioned earlier," Dani said, reciting the prophecy. " Three demons will rise from the ashes—the Devil, the Beast, the False Prophet. God will call them the Triad of Sinners; we will call them the Unholy Trinity. Under them, Hell will rule the Earth, and heaven will fall to ruin. "

My eyes widened slightly, and I looked back at Minseok, who still stared at me in disbelief. I furrowed my brows and averted my gaze, not liking the way he looked at me like he knew something that I didn't.

Dani fished into her pocket and pulled out her vibrating phone. "Give me a second."

After I nodded, she tapped a button on her phone, took Biast's hand, and walked deeper into the forest.

How did phones even work down here? Were there cell towers and satellites that connected with Earth?

"You need to get out of here," Minseok said. "Now."

My eyes widened, and I glanced over at him. "Why?"

"Because they're using you."

"For what?"

A branch snapped behind me, and I twisted my head, expecting to see Dani.

But instead, a demon who looked similar to Biast with red skin and a huge body that towered over me stood at the trees. "What's a human doing in these parts? Come to play?"

"Get out of here," Minseok shouted. "Now!"

I shuffled backward, my arms suddenly feeling so heavy and tingly. "What's going on?"

Before I could mutter another word, the demon lunged at me. I didn't remember what happened next, just that my tingling arms burned with such an intensity that I thought I was still in the river. And then the demon's neck snapped, everything suddenly went black, and I heard Acaros's voice drifting through my ears.