The Falling (Book I)

The Brink

Melanie

Months —or even years—passed and I had yet to step back into the Human World. I missed the sun and light air. I missed grass and cool streams. I attempted to sneak through, but Lucifer had not been exaggerating when he said the portal would be under constant guard.

Four guards, each with a three-headed hellhound, were posted around each portal in Hell. I could not get close without being detected.

I was almost hoping to be summoned by a human just to breathe the sweet air.

Zane was getting cabin fever, too. He was more agitated than usual, snapping at me or Mikayla if we so much as looked at him. His right eye was black now and I was beginning to see white strands mix with his black hair. He was merging faster with Kopa and I wondered if Tobias would want anything to do with him if the Metamorphose completed. I wondered if I would. It pained me to see Kopa devouring him.

Lin survived; my father got him to the healers just in time. The arrow had been an Anti-Demon weapon, so he would have to heal at the same rate as a human. The arrow, Father told me, missed his heart by a hair. He kept me up-to-date with Lin's progress. I guessed that meant Lin still wanted to marry me.

"Again," Father ordered.

I got up, panting. Blood dripped from my mouth and each breath I took was followed by a wince. My brother stood several feet in front of me, hardly out of breath and not a scratch on his porcelain skin. Any blood on him was not his own. My knees trembled and I nearly fell again.

"Begin."

At Father's command, Zane teleported to close the distance between us. He had gotten faster.

Feebly, I lifted my arms to block his incoming punch. I did not block the blow to my already broken ribs. He clipped my jaw and I tumbled back to the ground. Zane punched my head with his cestus. Blood roared in my ears. I was lucky he did not crack my skull.

"Stop," I gasped out, holding out a hand as though that would be enough to keep him at bay. "Please. No more."

[Do not do it, girl. He will hurt you worse than Zane.]

Zane stopped and looked at our father. Father stared down at me, his face unreadable. "You are finished?"

"Y-yes," I spat blood. "I am done."

I heard his quick footsteps before his hand wrapped around my upper arm, forcing me to my feet. "You are not done until I say you are. I do not care if you cough up blood. The angels are not going to show mercy if you beg them to stop!"

Ever since Lucifer demanded retribution for the attempt on Lin's life, Father had intensified our training to the point we would collapse from exhaustion. Me more often than my siblings. At the moment, Mikayla was slumped against a boulder, her right eye swollen shut. She was frowning something fierce as she glowered at her broken limbs and hastily healed fingers. Zane had not gone easy on her. He was not going easy on any of us. He had started his training at the Royal Guard Academy and if I thought he had been bad before, he was a million times worse. Sparring simply turned into beatings for me and my sister. We just could not keep up with him.

Father gave me one rough shake before releasing me like I had burned him. "Keep going."

"I said I can't," I deadpanned, my voice flanging. Rayi felt the strain, too.

Father stopped walking. Zane gaped at me. My head began to ache from Rayi's sudden thrashing. She did not like how far we were being pushed. We were learning nothing. Father looked over his shoulder at me, then turned to fully face me.