Page 67 of She Who Holds My Wrath

Daisy is out there. Alone with Maelkar. Because I let her go.

I force the thought down before it can hollow me out completely. Focus. Move forwards. Fix it.

I watch intently as Velentha slices her palm and presses it against the runes, then holds out the dagger to Lucifer for extra power. He doesn’t hesitate—just drags the blade across his own hand, and plants it down beside hers. The intricate lines flicker to life beneath them, light racing through them like lightning trapped under glass. It spreads outwards in branching veins, pulsing brighter with each beat, causing the ground to shiver faintly beneath my boots.

I hand her the grimoire, careful not to disturb her concentration, and notice the tremor in her arm as she takes it. It’s subtle, but it’s there. Exhaustion is catching up with her, whether she wants to admit it or not.

“Velentha—” I start, but she shakes her head before I can finish.

“I’m fine,” she murmurs, eyes closing as if she’s listening to something only she can hear. “I can feel it. The leyline recognises my blood.”

I reach for her free hand, threading my fingers through hers and gripping it tight, more to steady myself than her as power surges through the stone. I feel the power vibrating from her as it hums up my arm, raising the hair along my skin. The runes flare brighter, their glow shifting from cold blue to molten silver, the light painting her face in something almost otherworldly.

Lucifer takes a cautious step back, boots scraping over the rock. “Alright,” he says, dabbing his palm with a handkerchief. “So far, so not dead. Good sign.”

Velentha exhales, the sound thin and shaky despite the calm she’s trying to project. “I’ve set the coordinates to Aurora’s Veil.”

“Wait,” I blurt out, my grip tightening instinctively. “You’re sure you’ll be undetected?”

Her silver eyes lift to mine. They’re steady, but there’s distance in them now. That strange, glassy focus she gets when she’s already halfway somewhere else. “If I veil myself completely, I’ll appear like a phantom in their realm. I just need to stay hidden long enough to find Daisy and Maelkar.” She swallows, pushing down that slither of fear I see flicker across her face. “Once I locate them, I’ll anchor the leyline from their side. You and Lucifer will feel it when it opens.”

Lucifer’s brow furrows. “And, if you don’t?”

She hesitates, just for a second. But she doesn’t look at me when she answers. The omission hits harder than any words could, my chest tightening painfully as dread coils low in my gut. “Then you’ll know I didn’t make it.”

“Don’t,” I snap, the word coming out harsher than I intended. “Don’t you dare talk like that.”

Velentha’s expression softens slightly, the tension in her features easing into something gentler. She lifts her clean hand and cups my cheek, her palm warm against skin that suddenly feels too tight. The contact sends a sharp heat through me, grounding and unbearable all at once.

“Aeshira,” she murmurs, her voice steady. “I’ve survived worse than this.”

“Not this time,” I whisper, leaning into her touch. “You don’t know what’s waiting there.”

“I know Daisy is,” she says simply. There’s no bravado, no fear. Just outright certainty behind the statement.

Lucifer exhales loudly behind us. “You two are nauseating, you know that? Just, hurry it up before I start feeling something human.”

Velentha glances over her shoulder, a flicker of amusement breaking through the strain. “Thank you, Lucifer.”

He blinks, thrown off balance for perhaps the first time since I’ve known him. “For what?

“For helping us.”

His grin spreads slowly, all teeth and promise of violence. “Oh, sweetheart. Don’t mistake this for kindness. I’m helping because if Kaelith hurt Daisy or Maelkar, I want the personal satisfaction of tearing his lungs out.”

Velentha’s smile lingers, faint but genuine, before she turns back to the runes. She lowers herself to her knees, pressing her bloodied hand to the stone again, tracing glowing symbols with deliberate care. Light floods outwards from her touch, the leyline flaring brighter until it stings to look at, the air vibrating with barely contained force.

She pauses, glancing back at me once more. “Stay here. Keep the leyline stable. I’ll send the signal once I find her.”

My throat feels tight. I can’t bring myself to tell her I love her in the way we always do. So, I just say it in simple human form. “I love you,” I whisper.

“I know,” she says. “I love you, too.” Then she straightens, wiping her bloodied palm against the stone. “It’s stable enough,” she mutters, her voice steady. “I can use this leyline as a compass when I pass through the gates. It’ll lead me to a new leyline in Aurora’s Veil.”

My stomach tightens. “Velentha⁠—”

She meets my gaze, calm and determined as she cuts me off again. “You said it yourself. None of you can pass through the gates. The curse binds every being tied to Hell, even those not born in it. But I’m not bound by that law. I can pass through safely.”

Lucifer exhales, folding his arms. “Safely, she says. Love, that gate hasn’t seen action in centuries. It could spit you out in a star field for all we know.”