I nod tersely, trying to back away from them so that they can give me a little room to breathe. “I was with them in the Vestibule. But we were overrun with Outer Ringers attacking us. I barely made it here.”
“Call the Guardians, Taz.”
My eyes snap over to him, but before I can open my mouth to tell him the Outer Ringers killed them, he snaps his fingers, and a puff of steam erupts ten feet away, shadowed silhouettes visible through the mist.
For a second, my heart is caught in my throat, choking me with soaring hope, but then the steam clears, and I see two familiar demons. My heart lurches and then stalls. They’re not my demons.
“Flint. Alder.”
Their eyes snap toward me, gazes widening. “Delta? What the fuck is going on? Where are we?”
The crushing sadness claws at me. Just for that split second, I actually thought I was going to see my Guardians. I thought for a millisecond that maybe somehow they came through the attack alive, even though I know better.
I have to clear my throat and blink my eyes rapidly so that tears don’t gather. “Umm, you’re in Nihil.”
Flint’s marble face stretches into an expression of shock. Alder touches his lily flower propped behind his ear, like it’s a nervous gesture, before rubbing absently at his watercolor skin. They both take in the Abdicated warily, their eyes moving from them to me.
Alder’s nostrils flare when his eyes bounce from my scythe to the purple wings hanging from my back. “So you are a true Gatekeeper?” he asks, and I don’t miss the hope that’s dripping from his tone.
“I—”
“Gate Guardian,” Tazreel cuts me off. “Tell me about this attack in the Vestibule,” he demands.
“No, that’s not them,” I intervene. “I know them, but these aren’t my Guardians. Mine…” My voice cuts out, like my throat is strangling me from the inside, refusing to say the words. “They died in the Vestibule protecting me.”
Flint and Alder gape. “What?” they both say at the same time.
I look down at the fabric of my dress, trying to count the little moonstones sewn into the fabric so that I can try to keep my shit together.
“Oh, wrong ones,” Tazreel says.
I lift my head back up, but Tazreel just snaps his fingers again, making Flint and Alder disappear just as quickly as they’d come.
“What the fuck?” I yell at him. “You didn’t even let me explain to them what happened!”
“Quiet, daughter.”
I growl, low in my throat, suddenly furious. “Don’t call me that.”
“This is getting exciting,” Driftwood chirps behind me.
Tazreel ignores me completely and then snaps his fingers again. Steam erupts, once again encasing silhouettes who are looking around wildly. “How about these?” Taz asks.
I give a cursory look to the trio of demons looking back at me. “No,” I snarl.
Another snap, and the unfamiliar trio disappears. I pinch the bridge of my nose and try to breathe in and out slowly. This is making me want to scream in anger while simultaneously shredding my heart to ribbons.
“Hmm. How about—”
“STOP! Just stop! They fucking died!” I scream, the first onslaught of furious tears escaping despite how hard I’m trying to fight them. “They died trying to protect me, and it’s all my fucking fault!” My voice rings out, silencing every single demon in the room. They all look at me like I’ve gone fucking berserk.
But does that stop Taz? Nope. The motherfucker—literally—snaps his devil damned fingers again, filling the room with so much steam, it looks like the inside of a sauna.
I turn away in disgust, hating him for putting me through this. I grip my scythe, ready to rage until I manage to destroy this room like I did my own kitchen.
But then I hear four familiar voices say my name at exactly the same time, and my blood turns ice-cold, freezing me in place. “Delta?”
7
My head snaps up, and I stare at the four demons that my head and heart know well.
Is this a trick? How are they here?
My feet feel like they’re fixed to the floor as I stare at them, scanning them for injuries or evidence of the fight I saw go down with my own eyes, but they look...fine. Perfectly okay. It doesn’t make any sense. I watched Jerif go down. He was overrun. And yet he stands right there looking as sour as ever, not a scratch on him.
“How?” I ask on a choked sob.
And then all at once, I decide it doesn’t matter. They’re there, fifteen feet away from me. I don’t care if they’re dead somehow and able to be called into the Center Ring of Hell because of some Abdicated power. For the moment, I don’t care if there’s some other explanation, because they’re here.
I sprint toward them, closing the distance between us in a blink. I ignore what appears to be a speedy new ability as I flash forward, instantly wrapping my arms around the first demon I slam into.
Jerif’s skin is warm and soothing, and he smells exactly like I remember. If this is just a spirit or a hologram, it’s a good one.
I feel bodies press in all around me until I’m wrapped up in a giant demon bear hug circle. I squeeze Jerif with all my might, so relieved to see them that it trumps every other emotion. I can feel the tears and sobs sitting in my chest like they’re waiting their turn, but right now, all I can focus on is touching them, looking at them, being with them again.
“I didn’t see her going for Jerif first,” Echo grumbles.
“Same. I always thought we were her favorites. Maybe it was a trajectory thing? He just happened to be closest?” Crux adds as he pets my shoulder.
“That’s probably it,” Echo agrees, talking over my head. He places a kiss on my hair before his eyes land on my wings. “When did you get all feathery, Swampy?”
