off behind me, and I turn to see my third of Hell’s Embrace bloom to life. Right in front of my eyes, the last of the emptiness is filled, and I can’t help but see it for the metaphor it is.
“Well done,” Ire says as he steps beside me and presses his lips against my temple. Vudu comes up on the other side of me and wraps a protective arm around my waist.
“Thank you,” I whisper, my scythe disappearing as I swipe a hand across my cheeks.
Everyone is taking in the glory of the garden for a moment, appreciating it for what it signifies: the Hellgate is no longer broken and barren. We’ve reset it to its former glory. Now, all it needs is a Gatekeeper to promise it never-ending life.
I turn to watch my third mate as he walks up to the inky black-purple flames that now encompass the fiery doors. I wonder what he sees when he looks at it. If he has visions of the Gatekeepers of old like I saw my Annuli ancestors. I wonder if he just sees death and ruined sacrifice when he looks at the ever-burning bones.
Toreon’s hands shake slightly from where he’s stopped right in front of it, and as much as I want to go to him, I know he needs to do this on his own. So I wait quietly behind with Ire and Vudu, silently supporting him no matter what. If he decides right now that he wants to walk away, I know everyone here will defend his choice, and we will continue to guard the Hellgate as best we can, no questions asked.
But when Toreon takes a deep breath, and his scythe made of bones appears in his hand, I smile with pride, inwardly cheering him on.
He takes another step closer and then kneels, his forehead bowing in reverence. With his scythe firmly in hand, he raises it up, high above his head, and the whole thing begins to glow with light.
I have to squint, while some of the others use their arms or hands to shade their eyes from the glow that seems to have lit up Toreon’s scythe. With a heave, he aims true, straight for the center of the Hellgate. The marrowed blade snicks between the space where the doors meet, and right on impact, the Hellgate flares.
A split second is the only warning we get before the entire cavern of Hell’s Embrace explodes with light like a new dawn. My hands cover my eyes, and I feel Ire and Vudu doing the same, while I hear some exclamations of surprise.
But after a few seconds, I’m able to adjust to the brightness and lower my hands, and as soon as I do, I gape in awe.
The entire Hellgate is glowing. Pure flames of light lick out of it, thick and healthy and burning as bright as the sun. It looks pure and flourishing and strong. I can feel the power pulsing from it like it’s just been strengthened a thousand times over.
“Holy fuck,” I hear Delta say beside me.
“Do y’all feel that?” Medley asks, her face lit up as she gapes at the Gate.
“Yeah,” Jerif answers. “We feel it.”
“That’s what the Hellgate is supposed to feel like,” Alder says.
“I get it now. This right here is exactly why Gatekeepers are known for being so badass,” I hear Crux say, making Echo snort.
“Yeah, but does this mean we’re out of a job?” Flint drawls with a smirk.
“No, we’ll still be guarding our Hellgate portals. We’ll just be guarding our Annuli and Gatekeeper now, too,” Rafferty says, and everyone nods.
“Shit,” Ire breathes against me as he shakes his head in awe. “Toreon did it. He actually did it.”
I beam as Vudu and I share a private grin with each other, both of us so damn proud of Toreon. “Yeah,” I say, just as Toreon turns around with a smile, looking at me like I hang the moon, even though he just brought the sun back to Hell. “He did.”
50
My sisters insisted that I cover my eyes when we all shifted out of Hell’s Embrace. My guys still haven’t told me where they’re thinking of moving to in the Mortal Realm, but apparently, Medley and Delta are in on it, because we all go together.
As soon as we shift away from the garden, I immediately open up my other senses, feeling a bright sun shining down on me and smelling the scent of dewy grass. “Can I look