Defying Destiny (Afterword Academy #3) - Katie May Page 0,17

location I last left Hadley and the quad. I picture her multicolored hair, vibrant eyes, and sultry smile as I use the essences to fuel me. A niggle of guilt trickles through my body, but I push it away. The essences won’t be harmed because of this, but that doesn’t stop my self-loathing.

The next thing I know, I’m hovering before them once more.

“Well?” Brax demands before I have even regained my bearings. “What did you find out?”

The group has made it up the mountain in my absence and are resting on a plateau. Darkness now invades Hell, the only light coming from a few flickering fires casting shadows everywhere I look.

“It’s empty,” I respond impassively. My gaze automatically lands on Hadley where she stands between the Reaper and Ghost. I’m relieved to see that nothing has transpired while I was away. Hell…it’s a scary place. Terrifying, really. If anything were to happen to Hadley, or even the fucking assholes, I’ll never forgive myself.

“What?” This is Auston, storming towards me and stopping when he’s inches away from my misty form. “What do you mean?”

“I meant what I said.” I try not to let irritation lace my tone. How can Hadley love these…Neanderthals? “No monsters. No hellfire. Empty.”

“This is a trap,” Brax murmurs immediately, pacing and repeatedly forking his fingers through his pitch-black hair. His wings ruffle behind him as he scrubs at his jaw. “This has to be a trap.”

“You don’t say, Sherlock,” Karston drawls sarcastically, but before the Demon can respond, there’s a rumbling sound.

“What the—”

And then the world around me is bathed in fire as the entire fucking tunnel explodes.

Chapter 8

Karston

I shove my hands over my ears and close my eyes, trying to stifle the resounding boom. I’m sure they’re bleeding, heat licking my skin. Scrambling, I open my eyes and quickly count the bodies lying around me.

One, two, three, four…

Where’s the fifth?

Rising to my feet, I frantically try to figure out who’s missing and quickly realize it’s Hadley.

“Hadley!” I call, cupping my mouth to increase the travel of my voice. “Hadley, baby, where are you?!”

“She’s here.” Dust settling, I now see Hadley’s prone form. Initially, I missed her because the smoke of Caius’s body hid her from my vision. “She’s okay, but she hit her head hard.”

“Stay with her, and I’ll check on the others.” Caius’s smoky head nods, and he surrounds Hadley with his wispy, black tendrils as I move to check on my brothers.

A groan pulls my attention as Preston stirs. He sits up, rubbing the back of his head, ash covering his pale, sweaty face.

“You okay, bro?” I ask, kneeling down next to him.

He winces, pulling his hand off his head to reveal his bloodied palm “I-I think so.”

I give him a quick once over, then move to check on the others. Brax is coming to as well, his dark eyes lifting open, gaze landing on me. “What happened?”

“Not sure exactly,” I respond, offering him my hand. He takes it, and I pull him to his feet. Brax spreads out his massive wings and flutters them as if to check them for injury. Other than a few scratches, he seems to be fine.

Turning, I find Preston pulling Auston up, and a moment later, Hadley and Caius join us.

“What the fuck was that?” Auston growls out, looking around. The plateau we were resting on has been destroyed in what can only be described as an explosion.

Half the mountainside is gone, and the sheer drop down to the lava lake offers little safety. What’s left of the mountain is covered in flames. Unlike before, these fires are giving off tremendous amounts of heat.

Around us, crumbled rock litters what’s left of the small, flat surface. We’re lucky none of us fell off and tumbled to our deaths.

“It was Hell’s way of telling us it doesn’t want us here,” Caius informs us, hovering closer. “We don’t belong here.”

“I’ve never encountered anything like this before,” Brax argues. “Demons come down here all the time to fight the monsters. It’s just another day for us.”

“But this isn’t just another day, Braxton,” Caius argues. “Look around you. You’re not battling monsters with a posse of Demons. Instead, you’re here with your brothers and Hadley, who have no idea what the fuck they’re up against.”

“Hey—” Auston growls, prepared to battle, but Caius cuts him off.

“I mean no offense, just speaking facts. Nothing about this is usual or normal.”

“He’s right,” Preston speaks up. “We shouldn’t be here. It’s like Hell is trying to remove