I supposed that was why she came here. Because whywouldn’tIshtar want to battle me where I’d already been humiliated once? Before her throne of bones, so I knew exactly who I was dealing with.
As if I’d ever forget I was up against a fallen goddess—one of the most powerful magicals to have ever lived, gone bad.
Sure. That could totally slip my mind.
When I entered the throne room, I saw that I’d been onto something. Ishtar stood before her throne, but there were hundreds of other demons ringing the room, watching me with snarls on their lips.
I repressed a shudder, and pointedly ignored them, which wasn’t as hard as it could have been, considering my parents were lying on the ground, just a few feet away.
Dissolving.
“Noooo!” I screamed and rushed forward, to Ishtar’s great delight.
Her laughter rang through the cavernous room, echoing off the stone walls.
When I reached my parents, I dropped to my knees. “Whatever you’re doing to them, stop it! Let them go!”
I went to grab Dad’s shoulder, and my hand went through his flesh, like he wasn’t even there. Like he wasn’t real.
“What the—”
Cold dread gripped me.
Oh shit, girl,Tabitha said.They were just an illusion. That bitch tricked you.
The dread intensified, rushing through me like a wave. Tabitha was right. Ishtar had tricked me. I’d leapt willingly into Hell fornothing.
“Honestly, I thought it wouldn’t work on you,” Ishtar’s voice was sultry, like velvet—so unlike I’d ever heard it when she’d been attacking me. If she used that tone on others, it didn’t surprise me in the slightest that people followed her.
“I thought you’d realize that your parents were smarter than that.” She arched an eyebrow. “They’d never take on me and so many dark fae alone. The Danes I’ve heard so much about wereexcellentspies, but never too prideful to ask for help. It’s part of the reason they got so far—at least, until they left the spy community.”
She tilted her head and studied me for a few moments. “Before tonight, I would have said that you understood the value of teamwork too, but apparently not.”
She gestured at me. “Where are your friends? As you can see, I’ve brought mine.” Her slender-fingered hand made a slow circle, encompassing the room and the other demons.
I had no words. She was right. I’d faced her before, but never alone—not truly. My friends had always been there to back me up, or Morgan had, via my totem.
Now I had no one. Nothing.
My stomach clenched.Universe help me. Why am I such an idiot?
Ishtar was studying me, waiting for my answer, but I didn’t plan on giving her one. There was no way I would admit just how alone I was.
Slowly, she took a seat in one of the larger, middle thrones, and crossed her legs, exposing a mile of bare blue skin, punctuated only by dagger sheaths. All the while, she never took her eyes off of me.
Tabitha? Can you hear what she’s thinking?
Ugh, no. I’ve been trying. I don’t know how Efraim did that!
Subconsciously, I nodded.
Ishtar caught the motion, and her brow quirked. “You know, the ghost bit is really quite clever. Few black witches know the trick—and none that I’m aware of today.”
My lips pressed together.
The Queen of Hell chuckled. “It appears I will be doing all the talking today.” She leaned back in the throne, as if she were just fine getting comfortable. “I only brought up the ghost because that’s what gave me the idea for the illusion.” Her eyes darted to the spot on the ground where I’d started to mourn my parents’ bodies. “That and, while it’s clever, to use a departed witch’s skills is unnecessary for the likes of you. The blood of a fellow queen.”
Goddamn this devil, she knew just what to say to get me to break down.
