I’d been to another ball once. I hadn’t danced, but the ballroom had been the opposite of grandfather’s in every way. There was a balcony…
I frowned and grandfather’s grip tightened on me. “Something wrong?”
“No,” I forced a grin. “Just thinking of some court gossip I was told earlier.”
The ballroom doors slammed open. Gasps echoed throughout the room as a body was dragged into the room. Grandfather’s face turned a dull red, then purple, as he went eerily still. Then his voice carried over the hush of the room.
“The dancing is over,” he declared. “Leave. Now.”
No one argued. Grandfather turned from me and stalked toward the body, passing Pischiel on his way. “If you’re still sober enough to remember how to find my granddaughter’s rooms, escort her there.”
Pischiel flinched, but his jaw hardened as he nodded, taking my arm. I couldn’t help but glance over my shoulder at the body, which was almost unrecognizable. My stomach churned at the sight of it. Nothing now but meat.
“Who is it?” I asked in a low voice.
Pischiel pulled me toward the door, and courtiers cleared a path, bowing and curtseying as we passed.
“Odax,” he ground out.
One of Daimonion’s assassin friends.
“Who killed him?”
“Either Samael or one of his men.”
My head pounded suddenly, and Pischiel increased our pace, almost dragging me with him as we reached the stairs.
“Samael?” I knew that name. It burrowed deep into my chest, where it grew claws, ripping into me.
“No one you need to worry about, princess. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll never say that name within your grandfather’s earshot.”
* * *
SAMAEL
“Our spies say the body was found. The idiots dragged it into the ballroom, disturbing Lucifer’s fun. He killed them all,” Asmodeus smiled.
“He grew overconfident.”
The last time Odax had traveled through the portal, he’d hoped to take one of my sentries unaware. That demon was young, untested, and female—all things that made her prey for the assassin. But she’d fought him off long enough to get out a mental call for help.
In the end, I’d let the demoness kill the assassin. I would have enjoyed it too much.
Asmodeus glanced at me. “There will be repercussions.”
I nodded. Lucifer wouldn’t let this stand. No, he would order Daimonion to kill someone close to us. And Daimonion would dispatch one of his other men in retaliation, unwilling to face me in my own territory where I had my powers. He wouldn’t target one of my demons. No, he couldn’t risk losing another of his men. But he’d go for someone else. Someone guaranteed to get a reaction.
Perhaps Evie.
Or maybe someone more easily targeted. Someone who was easier to approach–who wasn’t in this tower for most of the day.
Hannah or Selina maybe. Or Gary.
I ground my teeth. All of them would need guards over the coming days, which would spread our resources thin. But there was little choice.
“Ag has dispatched bodyguards,” Asmodeus said, and I glanced up. “It seemed like the smart move.”
“Yes.” I rubbed at my brow. “Anything else to report?”
