“The witch is beyond you, child. At least for now.”
“She’s in the underworld?”
Hannah nodded, her rocking picking up speed. “You may take some comfort in knowing she got far more than she bargained for out of her alliance with Lucifer. He is… displeased.”
Good. I hoped she was suffering. “What else can you see?”
“Lucifer waits for you. You must keep close all you hold dear when you meet him.”
“I’m not planning to meet him.”
Hannah laughed. “Fate cares nothing for your plans, child. You may think that harnessing your power will save you, but you will quickly learn otherwise.”
“Then what will save me?”
“The things that you keep hidden from all.”
I groaned. “Like what?”
Hannah quit rocking and opened her eyes. “I can’t tell you. I can only see so far, and you’ve exhausted me.”
She gave me a look as if I’d personally tired her out, and I got to my feet.
Time to figure out how to get to the merfolk. Because I’d had so much luck with water so far.
15
DANICA
Irolled over, frustration coursing through my veins. I couldn’t feel Samael’s presence. If I wanted to talk to him, I needed to fall asleep. But I was overtired, exhausted deep in my bones, and yet too stressed to be able to relax.
I switched on the lamp next to the bed and reached for a pair of jeans. Five minutes later, I strode past Vas, who was snoring softly from where he’d fallen asleep on the sofa.
I opened the door and gaped. On the porch, Kyla was curled up in wolf form, snuggled against the griffin. She looked almost petite next to the huge half-lion, half-eagle creature. Their fur was almost the same shade of white.
She opened her eyes. I closed my mouth.
“I can’t sleep. I’m going to Mere’s,” I told her. “Can I take your car?”
She nodded and closed her eyes again.
I ducked out of sight as a demon flew overhead. Sitri.
The drive seemed shorter than it was, the roads empty, the solitude welcoming. The suburban houses I drove past were dark, blinds pulled, doors locked as families slept. For a moment, I longed to be tucked up in one of those beds, with a normal life, with no prophecy attached to me.
What would that be like? To grow up in this world and go to an ordinary job, day after day? I couldn’t even imagine it.
Light spilled from Meredith’s like a beacon, the sound of laughter and conversation reaching my ears as I parked Kyla’s car. For a moment, I thought loneliness would eat me alive. I kept expecting to see Evie around every corner, her delicate brow creased in thought as she helped me plan my next move.
A cool breeze blew my hair back as I locked the car and walked toward the bar’s entrance. A group of goblins were gathered outside, shooting the shit. They focused intently on me as I approached.
“She just blew up the Mage Council,” one of them stage whispered, swaying unsteadily on his feet. “I heard Albert put a price on her head.”
“That skinny runt? We could take her,” his friend puffed up his chest, and I slowly turned my head.
The goblins went silent, and I opened the door, keeping my gaze on them. One by one, they looked away, and I stepped inside the bar.
Meredith’s was slowly clearing out, even the regulars heading home at this time of the early morning. I slid onto my usual stool, and Mere worked her way down the bar until she was standing in front of me.
