He shrugged and sat. “My sources say Lucifer is doing everything he can to reverse his tie to the underworld without losing the power that binds him to the throne.”
“Not unexpected,” I said. It was the one place where we held the upper hand. Lucifer took my grandfather’s throne by foul means, but he hadn’t wielded enough power to hold it. So he’d bargained with the underworld itself. But I had no doubt that he’d be doing everything he could to remove that tie and hunt my little witch.
I couldn’t even go to the underworld myself to challenge him. When Lucifer bound himself to the throne, sacrificing his ability to leave, he also sacrificed part of his power to restrict my abilities. That meant I was unable to access the power of the underworld while I was there. If I returned now, I would be as powerless as a human– unless I could kill Lucifer.
“You’ve been making plans,” Lilith purred at my silence.
I got up to prowl the room. “The amulet that transported Danica to the library in the pocket realm gave me an idea.”
Ag went still. My biggest struggle, and the flaw in all my plans, was my inability to use my alliance with Finvarra. He was willing to lend us his forces, but Lucifer had spent centuries building up his defenses, and if I attempted to get the dark fae army past Lucifer’s sentries and guards and into the underworld, it was likely that the war would be fought far from Lucifer’s palace.
Mypalace.
“I need a pocket realm attached to an artifact. One large enough to hold a few hundred thousand fae and demon warriors. And I need someone trusted enough by Lucifer to carry it with them into the palace.”
Lilith raised one eyebrow. “Most of those artifacts are hidden deep in the light fae realm.”
“Yes. And we need to find them.”
“A few of the seelie owe me favors.” She frowned. “Give me a few weeks to see if I can call them in.”
Bael walked in. “Problems in Durham,” he announced. “Danica’s sister’s coven has gone up in flames. Evelyn is safe,” he assured me as I got to my feet. “Our people on the ground said she’s waiting for her sister right at this minute.”
“We leave tonight.”
Ag shot me a pitying look but said nothing. I ground my teeth, well aware of what he thought of my obsession with the little witch.
“And then what?” Bael asked.
And then I would wait for her to come to me. Bael shook his head at whatever he saw on my face.
“Do you want her?”
“Of course I want her.”
“Then you need to show her who you are.”
I scowled at him. I was a demon with an obsession with vengeance and a penchant for turning my enemies to ash. That’s who I was
He heaved a sigh. “All she knows about you is that you compel her to do things she doesn’t want to do and she can’t escape a bond she never wanted.”
Bitterness clogged my throat. If I had known who Danica was, who she would become to me, would I have risked her hatred by bonding her to me?
“What is it that you suggest?”
Ag shifted on the sofa but wisely kept his mouth shut.
Bael angled his head. “So far you have allowed her to skip Monday dinners. This gives her an excuse not to spend time in your company.”
“That comes perilously close to forcing her again.”
A shrug. “You are, after all, still a demon.”
Yes, I was still a demon.
Lilith stretched like a cat in the sun across the room and I glanced at her.
“You have something to say?”
