Defying Destiny (Afterword Academy #3) - Katie May Page 0,15

And I usually love it down here, but the absence of heat has me…unnerved.”

Just then, Caius’s voice rings out a second before he hovers through the fires I was just inspecting. “Nothing through here either. Coast is clear. We should head this way.”

“For once, I agree with him. But stay alert,” I warn. “Hell can change in an instant. One moment, you’re inside an inferno, and the next, you’re alone at the base of a dark hole with no way out. Keep your wits about you, and don’t go anywhere by yourself. Got it?”

Everyone nods, eyes widening, looking anxious and a bit scared. That’s good. It will keep them on alert.

I give my sword a couple of swings. “I’d suggest you keep your weapons drawn at all times. Can’t be too prepared down here.”

After glancing behind them one more time to ensure this is the only way out, I turn and head back towards the flames. “Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you,” I say, stepping through them.

Auston shoulders his way through Pres and Karston, then storms through after me, completely unharmed. “He’s right. The fire didn’t even warm my skin. Come on, you three.”

Karston and Preston each hold one of Hadley’s hands and come through together, Caius hovering just behind them.

Before us is a looming mountain that seems to have no end, its rocky walls reaching up into a dark abyss. Carved into its side is a narrow pathway, our only way through this maze of Hell. I consider using my wings, but if this is a trick, then it’s likely the second I leave the ground, something will ensnare my wings and render them useless. Unlike Auston, I’d like to keep my wings.

I still can’t believe all I lost was my horns…

And maybe my empathy.

Fucking win for me.

“This way,” I encourage, waving them to follow me as I hug the side of the mountain and begin to inch my way along the path. Below us, surrounding its base, is a putrid green liquid that bubbles from the heat. When the bubbles become large enough, they pop, releasing the most god awful smell my nostrils have ever encountered. It’s like cat farts and rotten eggs mixed with a pool filled with maggot infested corpses.

Unsurprisingly, Preston is already gagging. Thank fuck we don’t have to eat in the Afterlife, or he’d be spewing chunks on Auston’s shoes. Of course, that would be fucking hilarious.

“Hey, Caius,” Auston calls behind me. “Don’t you like fucking live here? Can’t you offer us a tour or something instead of just floating behind us?”

“Yeah,” I agree. “Can’t you visit your body and see what’s happening there? We don’t need a fucking chaperone.”

“Cut it out,” Hadley whispers to me, smacking my arm. “You're being mean.”

“Am not,” I refute. “I’m being practical.”

Before Hadley can respond, Caius speaks up. “You’re right. I’ll go. I’ll come back as soon as I can.” By the time I whip my head back to gauge his reaction, he’s already gone.

And just like that, the asshole has left the building.

Chapter 7

Caius

“Don’t you fucking live down here?”

“We don’t need a fucking chaperone.”

Insufferable pricks. All of them. How my Hadley is able to deal with their constant, incessant bickering eludes me. She stares at the four of them as if they’re the brightest stars in the fucking sky—the ones you wish on, the ones humans from my time used to worship and sing praises about.

It’s maddening, if I’m being honest with myself.

And at the same time, I can’t begrudge Hadley her feelings for them. If love emitted a palpable scent, I would smell it from them in waves. They stare at her with dopey, besotted eyes, and she returns it all with a look she once reserved for only me.

I suppose a part of me is bitter and resentful. It’s a difficult transition from having the love of your life solely to yourself, to sharing her with four assholes. But I would rather have only a fifth of Hadley’s heart than none at all.

Though…

It doesn't feel like she’s only offering me a piece of herself. Not my Hadley. Somehow, her capacity for love exceeds that of a normal human—a normal soul. She’s practically bursting with it, like a water balloon seconds from popping and dousing everyone in the immediate vicinity.

I allow the familiar tug to pull me towards my body. It's like falling asleep—one second, my eyes are open, seeing the world in vivid clarity, and the next, I’m inside of my cage in the bowels