I leaned back. Sitri had a unique ability to use his power to create backdoors into sophisticated systems and dissolve encryptions. Never had the power been seen in a demon before, but it had proven incredibly useful over the years, as human technology began to catch up to where it had been before the portals opened.
“And?”
“They were careful. They knew we would inspect their electronics if they were caught. We are now comparing timestamps when they were off shift. Any of our people who were supposed to be working, or who were rostered off during the same periods will be questioned.”
I gave a short nod. Questioning my people left a bad taste in my mouth. It was also terrible for morale. But I couldn’t risk my plans being disrupted.
Not now, when I was so close to taking back my throne.
10
Danica
“Surely we’re done now. This is getting ridiculous.”
And my voice was perilously close to a whine. The woman who’d ordered me into the shower shook her head at me, clamping her fingers around my chin so she could hold my face still.
If she squeezed any tighter, I was liable to snap my teeth at those fingers like a rabid dog.
Her name was Dorielle, and she’d introduced her partner as Linetta. The other woman was a human–and apparently one of the most well-known hairdressers in the country.
She’d tutted over my split ends, given me a trim, and curled my hair in soft waves before piling it on my head in a complicated arrangement that left a few tendrils falling down to frame my face. I didn’t know exactly what she’d done to make it so glossy, but even I had to admit that it looked better than it had in years.
Meanwhile, Dorielle had taken over my makeup. I’d sternly told her that makeup wasn’t covered under my agreement with Samael, but she’d almost had a stroke when I began slapping on foundation. She’d convinced me that the process would be much faster if I allowed her to take over.
I was a sucker. That’s what I was.
My nose itched and I raised my hand. Dorielle hissed at me and I scowled. I was damn glad Samael couldn’t see this.
Dorielle’s fingers tightened. I shifted in place. “Are we done yet?”
Dorielle let out a growl that sounded otherworldly. “I would already be finished if you knew how to stay still.”
I refrained from telling her that staying still and quiet was one of my best things when I was hunting my bounties.
Finally, she used a tiny brush to swipe lipstick over my mouth. Maybe no one had told her that you could lift the tube up and paint it on in a much shorter time frame.
She stepped back, and I rolled my shoulders, getting to my feet.
Linetta handed me the dress and I stepped into it, allowing her to zip me up. I curled my lip as she held out the torture devices she considered shoes.
I could walk in heels. In my late teens, I went through a stage where I was determined to be like normal women. I knew how to kill a man in a hundred different ways, but I’d wanted one piece of normality in my life.
I’d practiced walking in them until I was able to master the small steps and slow roll of my hips. When my trainer— Edward Sutton— had caught me wearing them, he’d given me a slow smile that I knew meant I was in deep shit.
The next day, he’d made me train in heels. And the next. He’d explained that if I was going to do something as foolish as wear ankle-breaking devices, then I was going to learn to swing a sword, throw a knife, and most importantly— engage in hand-to-hand while wearing them.
He’d taken something I’d been convinced would make me like other women and ruined it. I’d barely worn heels since.
I slid them on and Linetta held out a velvet box. I shook my head. “That’s a nope. The makeup wasn’t included in my deal with the demon and I let you guys paint my face. There’s no way I’m wearing his sparkly stones.”
Both women stared at me. I ignored them and turned to the full-length mirror in Samael’s bedroom. Even I could admit I looked good.
“Okay,” I said. “Let’s get this over with.”
A deep voice made me jolt. “Now that’s the attitude.”
I didn’t know where Samael had gotten ready, since we were currently standing in his bedroom, but I almost swallowed my tongue as I looked at him.
