We neared an empty sofa, and Lilith stopped, leaning her hip against the back of it. “Do the four of you have anything you’d like to tell me?” she asked, voice deceptively soft.
I knew a trap when I heard one.
“Besides go fuck yourself for getting us into this mess?” Grim shot back.
Drystan lost his shit, and thunder growled, causing everyone in the room to glance around uneasily. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
“You had one job. Protect her.” Lilith stood to her full height and stared hard at us. “That was all.”
“Technically we were supposed to knock her up too,” Sin offered.
“And did you?” she hissed.
“Well . . . no. Not for lack of trying.”
I nodded. “He’s right.”
“We gave it our all,” Sin said. “We fed our succubus every chance we got. Even Grim.”
If that was surprising news to the others, no one indicated so. For the most part, the group we’d arrived with had stayed back, allowing Lilith her interrogation without interference.
Lilith squinted her eyes and held a hand up to her forehead as if searching for something. Or someone.
“I can’t help but notice Merri isn’t with you, Grimsby. So where is she?”
Her voice was so filled with icy rage that I felt as if she should be the one named Malice.
“If we knew that, we’d be there right now bringing her home.” Chaos’s growl was so low I felt it in my chest.
“She’s with Lucifer,” Sin answered, bravely—or stupidly, depending on how you looked at it—placing himself in front of War.
Lilith’s eyes were little more than slits. “This is very bad news, Sinclair.”
“You think we don’t fucking know that?” I snapped, too emotionally wound up to give a shit about upsetting her further.
“How long has she been gone?”
“Too long,” I admitted. “But we have been able to reach her when she dreamwalks. She hasn’t been able to tell us where he’s truly keeping her.”
Gabriel, who’d barely spoken a word since joining our demon fight, finally stepped forward. “He’s likely holding her in a realm similar to this one.”
He stared at us like that was supposed to be helpful.
“And?” Grim growled.
Gabriel rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Lilith. “What happens to this place if you are weakened?”
“All protections cease to exist.”
“Meaning what?” Chaos asked, eyes flaring bright with interest. “Spell it out for us.”
He was smart enough he likely already guessed the answer, but he wasn’t about to take any chances. Not with Merri’s life on the line.
“Meaning it can be found and accessed.”
“That seems like a real security risk,” Remi mumbled behind us.
My brothers and I shared a look, several unspoken messages passing between us.
