Alexei knelt and cupped his hands.
“Wait. We don’t know what’s up there. Let me go first, I have my powers.”
Ronen brushed a piece of hair from my face. “No way in Hell or Heaven.”
A stubborn resolve took hold in my bones, and I stepped closer, about to shove him off Alexei’s knee, when Ronen’s eyes went pitch-black.
He had his powers.So earlier, I hadn’t imagined the brush.
Mirth danced at his lips, along with a smugness that made me want to push him off Alexei for an entirely new reason.
“Be careful.”
His smile dropped. “For you, always.”
I swallowed. I had no words for what that phrase did to me. The severity of his tone, the fervent way he held my gaze—it struck a chordin my chest. My fingers twitched, aching to trace his cheek, maybe his lips. I wanted to feel his warmth for just a moment. His gorgeous, otherworldly eyes beckoned me. I took a deep breath, filled my lungs with his scent, and stepped back.
He gave me one last long look before stepping on Alexei. My Infernus sent itches along my skin and practically screamed in my ear to act. They hovered at the surface, ready to explode, while Ronen eased open the creaking trapdoor and pulled himself up, his back an easy target. All someone had to do was shove a blade in his spine, and he’d be dead. I didn’t take my eyes off him.
He made it through the trapdoor without issue, and we all collectively exhaled. A wayward shadow caressed my face, almost in reassurance, and helped ease the purple flames skimming the surface of my hands.
“Lucille, you’re going to want to see this.”
Something in his tone made my heart pick up again. He held out his hand, and I stepped onto Alexei.
My head popped through the trapdoor, and I frowned. A large chandelier hung from a gold-inlaid ceiling. Something about it was familiar.
Ronen pulled me up, and more of the luxurious bedroom came into view.
Moonlight deepened the mauve of the gossamer drapery surrounding the floor-to-ceiling arched window. Without looking, I knew that to my left there should be one velvet chaise lounge and a dark wooden coffee table. I swallowed and looked. Dread stole the warmth from my hands. Which meant…
“Is this theprince?”
I knew what I’d see when I turned toward Ronen’s voice.
Steeling myself, I twisted.
Aspen lay chained on the velvet bed with his eyes closed.
“Yes.”
His greasy, limp waves rested against the pillow, the same length they were in our dream-walks. He even had the full beard and mustache. I approached slowly, taking in his gaunt face and the way his tunic and pants hung loosely on his frame.
“Heavenly Hell,” I whispered, brushing his long bangs off his forehead. “What has she done to you?”
Ronen backed away, giving us space and helping the rest of the crew up. I focused on Aspen. Ember Metal wrapped around his wrists and ankles. I twisted his palm over, and the chains clanked. His Hell Rune glowed the terrible dark red of control.
The energy pounding beneath my skin wanted the chains off. It demanded it. But I had to be smart. We didn’t have Ronen’s feather. If we unchained Aspen and he woke up, things could get ugly fast. I sighed, lifting his wrist to examine the lock, and the chain clattered to the bed.
What the…
“The princeling looks like shit,” Oliver commented, stepping closer. “Least he was an easy find.”
I ignored him, scanning Aspen’s ankles and finding chains loosely wrapped around them, but no locks. That didn’t make sense. In my nightmare, the chains were always locked. If Lilith wanted control, she’d keep him secured to the bed. My muscles tensed.
Aspen was the trap.
His eyes flew open. He lunged from the bed, seized my waist and yanked me toward him. Cries of outrage rang out as I struggled to break free. A dome of blue flame erupted, engulfing the bed. I tried to punch him, to reach for a dagger and hold it to his neck, but my hands wouldn’t cooperate. They refused to attack him. Iknewwhat I had to do, but the very thought of it filled me with crushing dread.
