Some of this information, Ag could tell her, and yet I felt the need to pass the torch, to do everything I personally could to prepare her for the fight of her life.
And the thought of not being there for that fight, of leaving her vulnerable…
It tore into me.
Some of what I was feeling must have made it onto my face, or down the bond, because Danica’s expression softened.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “Tell me what you need me to know.”
* * *
DANICA
I found Agaliarept as soon as I woke up the next morning. He was meeting with several of the other demons, most of whom nodded at me when I arrived.
I nodded back, then shifted my attention to Ag. “Can I talk to you?”
Within a few minutes, we were in Samael’s room—the quietest room in the cabin.
“The eighth black book,” I got straight to business. “Has Bel managed to find it yet?”
Surprise flickered in Ag’s eyes, and he glanced at Samael. “He’s been telling you of his plans.”
I nodded and his expression tightened with a hint of grief. But he pushed it away quickly, his expression turning inscrutable once more. “Bel is still in Peru. The tribe is remote, hidden deep in the Amazon. While he has been searching for weeks, the rainforest canopy is exceptionally thick.”
“Okay. Please keep me updated.”
He nodded, but it was noncommittal. I watched him.
“You don’t think I’ll be able to help. Why?”
“Because I know the truth,” Ag said. “In all likelihood, Samael is going to die. I don’t say this because I’m looking forward to it. Samael has been an excellent ruler and he would bring peace to the underworld.”
I studied Ag’s face. He spoke so clinically, and yet I knew better. From everything I’d seen so far, he considered Samael to be almost like a son—just like Vas.
He turned his head to look at me. The gold flecks in his eyes looked brighter today. Judging by the dark circles beneath them, he hadn’t slept properly in weeks. Demons didn’t need as much sleep as humans, but I had no doubt he could use eight straight.
“You won’t care about any of this if Samael is dead,” he said tiredly. “You won’t care about facing the Underking, about the fate of our people. You won’t have it in you to give a shit when Lucifer finds a way to leave the underworld. And by the time your grief has cleared enough for you to care, this realm will be lost.”
I swallowed. He was right.
If Samael wasn’t here, I wouldn’t care about Lucifer, about the underworld, about the crown. I wouldn’t care about any of it.
He nodded again at whatever he saw on my face, returning his attention to Samael, and I left him to his grief.
I had enough grief of my own this morning.
Kyla was meeting me here at seven. I glanced at my phone. I still had twenty minutes. The demons guarding the cabin stopped talking as I stepped outside, but I couldn’t find it in me to care.
I walked past them and into the forest. I could sense eyes on me, but I ignored them as I chose a path and walked.
A human woman strolled toward me, giving me a nod. One of the werewolves’ mates. Most of the wolves had been keeping the humans far from our demons—our alliance too new for them to trust us completely.
I nodded back and kept walking, attempting to process my conversation with Samael.
He’d been working toward his revenge for centuries. He’d been so close to striking out at Lucifer, to taking his throne back, to saving his people.
And then he met me.
