The Forsaken Hero

"It’s already started?" I gasped. "Then is he already...here?"

Fyren shook his head. "These gates were part of the first wave. None of them, including Rash’alon’s gate, should break until past the morning."

I breathed a sigh of relief. The cures gate had been scary enough. I didn’t know if I could handle an actual curse demon lord without some time to calm down.

"Should we rouse the scions? We could be there by midnight," Zephyriss said.

I tensed, only to relax again as Fyren said, "We should rest for the night. Xiviyah’s exhausted and needs to recover her mana."

"Arriving amid the Descent could turn ugly," Incinderus mused. "With hordes appearing everywhere, conflict would be inevitable. Better to save our strength."

The three demons nodded in agreement, and I sagged against Fable. The most important thing right now was speaking with Luke, and securing a treaty with the elves. But delaying it just one more day was like a breath of fresh air. Rash’alon aside, I certainly wasn’t ready to face Luke.

"What about me?" Evla asked as the group broke up.

"You’re free to go where you want. You can stay with us, or go ahead tonight," I said.

She arched an eyebrow. "Really? After doing all that, you’d just let me go?"

"We saved you because we wanted to. Not because we need a favor," R’lissea said.