Page 138 of Infernal Bonds

The concern in his voice felt real, not driven by the obligation of being my mate or the possibility that he might die if something happened to me.

“Great. Let’s go!” Rinlora’s cheerful voice bulldozed right over my bewilderment. She turned and headed down the hall. “You’re going to love this spot.”

Rinlora stayed close to Alonia’s wall as she drove us north.

The only time I’d seen anything beyond the city was when Ezra had driven us back from Feranzis. I’d been too preoccupied with Zeke’s health to take in the beautiful scenery.

Lush green trees that looked both familiar and foreign stretched for miles along the roads we traveled. Glowing blossoms dotted the roadside, leaving an indelible reminder that I wasn’t on Earth anymore.

The map I’d seen at the palace made Elyrdin seem small, but out on the roads, I knew better. Amra had told me Elyrdin was vast, about the size of America. After experiencing the sheer immensity of Feranzis, I should have known the map couldn’t convey the true distances.

Like on many maps, miles stretched between markers without giving an accurate gauge of distance. Amra had explained that traveling between certain towns could span multiple days, even though the map showed them close together.

After several hours, Rinlora pulled alongside a lake, parking under the shade of a cluster of trees with orange and red foliage.

The area reminded me of fall in the mountains.

We’d passed vibrant plants and flowers that brought to mind spring and summer on the way out here, but these trees reminded me of fall. Though the wildflowers lining the lake’s shoreline and the warm breeze didn’t suggest a change in season—if seasons existed at all on this plane.

I sent Ezra a quick text message as Rinora led me down an embankment until we reached a nice clearing not far from the edge of the water.

“I come here a lot when I want to get away from the sanctum, my siblings, and the noise of the city.” She sat down, and I joined her. “I don’t like the loud noises of the city.”

“It’s peaceful out here.” I looked at the houses lining the lake, wondering what it’d be like to live in a place like this. “How often do you come out here?”

“Whenever everything becomes too heavy.”

I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I suspected living near the palace and being at the council’s beck and call around the clock could wear on both the body and mind.

“Do your brother and sister come here?”

“No. They don’t know about this place.” She shook her head. “Well, they know the lake exists, but they don’t know I come here. This place is mine.”

I nodded, falling silent.

Rinlora kept this place for herself. That knowledge made bringing me here feel like more than just a day trip. Did she trust me?

The water glittered in the sun, but the imposing walls of Elyrdin darkened the far shore, reminding me of the darkness lurking on the other side.

No matter how far away I got from everything that reminded me of infernal life, the walls remained a constant symbol of the horrors and sadness so close to spilling over and tainting the serenity of this place.

“What was it like?”

I glanced over at Rinlora. “What?”

“You’re staring at the wall. What was it like out there?”

“It looks cool with the glowing and strange flora I’ve never seen before, but when I realized the truth about the lesser infernals roaming out there, it just made me sad.”

“I don’t understand.”

I leaned back on my hands and sighed, watching a small winged bug no bigger than a dragonfly zip past, circling a cluster of orange blossoms a few feet away. “I just wondered how many of them remembered who they were before transforming. How many memories do they keep?” I looked at her. “Even if they did wrong and were banished for crimes, no one deserves to be trapped like that.”

Rinlora studied the wall in silence, considering my words. Then she looked at me. “Even murderers?”

I watched the wind stir the leaves in the nearby trees. “Maybe. I haven’t given it a lot of thought. Back on Earth, there’s a constant debate over the death penalty or life imprisonment. There are cases where I think a life for a life is necessary, but other times…”

“But who decides what life is worth sparing and what life is forfeit as payment?”