Chapter 181

Rion's POV

I had a plan. And none of this was part of it.

This terror, the blazing heat and suffocating air, the fiery hell all around us; it wasn't a fucking part of it! But then again, nothing ever goes as planned. I should know.

The mahogany door stared me in the face like an uncharacteristically bad joke. I turned to Erik, knowing just what we had to do.

“On three, Erik!” I shouted over the roaring flames.

Erik nodded, his face set with determination despite the blistering heat. The smoke was thick and suffocating, clawing at our throats and stinging our eyes. Carol's silent cries and Larose's soothing whispers, Mildred's panicked fidgeting mixed with the crackling of burning wood, creating a symphony of chaos.

“One, two, three!” We lunged at the door, our shoulders slamming into the solid mahogany with all our might. The impact sent shockwaves of pain through my body causing my bones to ache and groan to escape my throat, but the door remained stubbornly intact.

Again. And again w