Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“You have no idea what you’ve done,” Uriel continues, eyes wide. “What you’ve started.”
“That is no way to speak to the Queen of Hell,” Osiris says, striding through the room. He holds out his hand, using sand to magically part the fire. “Though you day-dwellers have always looked down on us who rule over the dead. And we’re not someone you should have under estimated. Especially now that she rules your Hell.”
Lucas’s fingers tighten on my shoulder as it hits us both at once: I’ve played chicken long enough with claiming the throne and renouncing it, saying “hah, just kidding!” more than once. I can’t take this back now. And if I could…would I? The power feels good. Feels great. Fucking fantastic. The demons in the throne room are still cowering, in need of a leader.
But it shouldn’t be me.
Osiris turns, spreading his arms out. A gust of sand blows in, swirling around Uriel and burying him like quicksand, binding him to the floor. We’re going to have to carry him to the rift so he be sent to the Underworld or we’ll have to keep him here.
“I knew you had it in you,” Osiris says to me. “The wings and the crown of fire suit you.”
I’m about to open my mouth to agree but stop myself, realizing how much me taking on the role of the Queen of Hell is giving Osiris what he really wanted: a powerful partner to prove that he can provide and protect.
“You tricked me,” I breathe.
“No,” Osiris whispers back. “I freed you. I told you, Callie. You are a goddess.”
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
“I can’t stay here,” I stammer, brows pushing together. “I…I want to go home.”
“Do you really?” Osiris asks and I can feel Lucas’s gaze on me as well. He’s wondering the same thing. Because, fuck, standing here with my wings spread behind me and the crown on my head…it feels so freeing and so natural and I know Lucas can sense it.
But I’m not a full archangel, and there will always be a part of me that longs for the world. For the sun and the rain and being able to look at the night sky and see the moon and stars. There will always be a part of me that misses my friends and going out for lunch and even sitting around watching TV all day. I’ll miss going to Novel Grounds, complaining about having to deal with customers and grumbling about working retail.
And Juliet.
I can’t raise a baby in Hell. She wouldn’t have any friends, wouldn’t get any fresh air, and I can’t raise a baby in Hell.
“I do.” Thinking of Juliet was all I needed to push my wings back, hiding them from view. “Wearing the crown feels good,” I admit, knowing there is no point in hiding it. “But I can’t stay here. Not all the time. And I can’t even manage a bookstore on my own. How am I supposed to rule Hell?”
“You’re not going to,” Lucas tells me. He usually sounds confident in everything, but I see the little bit of fear his eyes. He’s not afraid the I won’t be able to rule Hell, no, he’s afraid I’ll take a stab at it and like it too much to come home.
And I’m afraid of that too.
“I didn’t want to be Queen,” I rush out, shaking my head back add forth so fast my hair falls around my face. “But I had to, right? I had to so I could tell them to back off. And look.” I sweep my hand over the throne room. Lucas, Osiris, Uriel, Famine, and I are all in the center, protected rom the flames. “They’re still backing off.”
“Because you are their queen,” Osiris says, awe in his voice. “I knew you’d step into your power.”
“But I didn’t want to,” I go on. “And you forced my hand. Not cool, dude.” I let out a shaky breath as the realization that if I get stuck here, I won’t get to watch Juliet grow up. “And I want to go home.”
“It wasn’t my intention to force you to do anything you weren’t ready to do,” Osiris says.
Lucas snarls. “I find that hard to believe. You wanted to prove to your wife that you have powerful friends. Now you actually say you have the Queen of Hell on your side.”
“Yes, I can and will say that,” Osiris admits “But that wasn’t my intention. Please, both of you, let me make it up to you in a way only a god of the underworld can.” Uriel is fighting against the magic holding him down. He’s looking better and better by the second. “But first, I will take Famine and the angel back with me until we can decided what to do with them.”
“Okay,” I say and look at the pile of ash on the floor. We won this battle and that’s fucking huge. Paimon is dead. He’s made our lives a nightmare the last half a year. “He’s gone.”