I closed my eyes.
“You had me chasing after black monkshood so I could figure out what was in my arrow. You knew about the rowan the whole time.”
“I didn’t, I swear. I didn’t know you had rowan– or even what it was– until I researched it. Lucifer’s demon hadn’t contacted me then.” She sent me a sympathetic look. “He never would’ve found you if you hadn’t read that prophecy. Once you did, it was a simple matter for him to trace the artifact back to the fae and then to you.”
“Yippee for him.”
She smiled and lowered her voice as if we were gossiping in the breakroom. “Apparently, the big guy was hoping you’d use the arrow on Samael. Two birds, one stone and all that.”
Bile crawled up my throat at the thought.
“Weapons,” Bruce growled.
Cara slid him an unfriendly look but gestured at me with the gun in her hand. Obviously, girl talk was over.
“Put them on the ground, Danica. All of them.”
I ground my teeth. “You won’t shoot me.”
She fired at my feet and I lunged to the side. “What the fuck? You’re batshit crazy. What happened to you?”
“You’ll thank me when you’re sitting on your throne.”
She had a real obsession with thrones.
I hesitated some more and she shook her head. “Don’t make me shoot you, Danica. Lucifer’s healers will fix it, but you’ll be in a lot of pain until then.”
How someone wearing such blatant crazypants could sound so goddamn reasonable was beyond me.
I slowly reached for my throwing knives. There are few things more insulting than being stripped of your own weapons. I swear I would’ve rather been stripped naked, as long as I’d stayed armed.
Cara studied the pile when I was done. “Where’s the rowan arrow?”
I ground my teeth. “Samael found it and turned it to ash.” I slid my gaze to the wall behind her as if wrestling with embarrassment. If only I could blush on command.
Cara let out a low laugh. “That must chafe.”
I ignored her. The only reason I hadn’t told Cara I’d managed to get Hannah and the bladesmith to cloak the arrow hanging around my neck? I hadn’t had a chance to chat with her in the weeks since. And that may just save my life.
Cara glanced at Bruce and jerked her head. A muscle jumped in his jaw. Clearly, he didn’t enjoy taking orders from Cara. Bitch needed to start watching her back.
Bruce stepped toward me. I strained, reaching desperately for even the faintest spark of my power, but the Naud Chains were doing their job.
I watched Bruce, desperate to kick him in the balls. But Cara wasn’t faking. She’d shoot me and haul my deadweight to Lucifer with a sweet smile on her face.
When I didn’t return to his tower, Samael would rip this city apart looking for me, and the Mage Council would be one of the first places he looked. But it would take a few hours before he noticed I was gone. I didn’t exactly check in with him about my whereabouts all that often.
I had to figure out a way to get these chains off so I could save myself.
“Get rid of them,” Cara ordered.
Bruce stroked my Nim Cub admiringly and I yearned to stab him in the gut with it. I’d bet he was planning to arm himself with my fucking weapons as soon as I was no longer around.
Bruce walked away and Cara eyed me. “Get up and walk toward the elevator, Danica.”
I ground my teeth but slowly got to my knees.
“Faster. I know you’re scheming, Dani–”
