Page 128 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

There’s an echo of murmurs through the room—of fear.

Behind the demon, in his red light, a familiar form appears in a puff of smoke. It’s a face I could never forget.

But it feels like a memory now.

I don’t recognize her at first. Her blonde hair is still in waves down her back, but her face isn’t sunshine anymore. Instead, she’s become the shadow the sun creates.

Poppy looks at me with the same hatred Strode holds. “What have you done?”

A portal behind them opens, and as quickly as they arrive, Hell sucks Poppy and Strode back in.

Silence reigns until my father speaks.

“I’m free.” He’s crying, I realize, harder than before.

I turn to him to find blood spilling from his eyes. His expression crumples—it’s something I’ve never seen before.

“God. I am free, but at what cost?”

God. I’ve never heard my father speak the word.

What does this mean? What doesanyof this mean?

Silence loses its reign, and the room erupts into chattering, crying, and screaming. There’s one person unmoved, unconcerned—Caldwell moves to Tobey’s side.

I move to Jun. He’s already standing upright. I touch his shoulders, fixing him with a worried look.

“He’s not gone,” Jun grumbles. “But he’s weak. We’re going after him.”

“No, you fool. You hurt your head. Sit down.”

“Strode didn’t hurt you?”

I shake my head. “I’m more solid than I look.”

“So am I. But I failed, Margaux. I’m so fucking sorry.”

“You didn’t fail. You tried, and I love you for it.”

“I love you, too.”

I wrap my arms around Jun’s neck, pulling him into me. My mouth presses to his with fervor, desperately needing something—a reminder of our love, of my mate.

Jun is alive, and I can touch him. He can touch me. His firm hands hold my face, and he pulls away to meet my gaze.

“We both tried,” he says.

“We did. And Tobey is…” I turn back to where Tobey and Caldwell are.

Tobey still hasn’t moved.

“Alive,” Jun says. “I can feel her soul. It’s still on this plane, for now.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Caldwell and Jun are here—and one more. My father, the unwilling puppet of Strode, who was under his grasp for a century. My father, who was weak enough to make me kill Tobey and afraid of going against the demon himself.

He is also the only one who knows how to resurrect Tobey, so we allow him to remain.