Lucifer twisted his hand further.
“Not talking? I canmakeyou talk. Since you seem to enjoy attempting to make me look like a fool, I believe I’d even enjoy it.”
In spite of my terror, I had to be smart. Lucifer respected strength, even when it pissed him off.
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
“How did you sneak down here, while you are being watched by some of my most loyal, powerful people?”
“None of your business.”
“I gave you everything,” he said conversationally, ignoring me. “I made you princess of the underworld, and yet you still insisted on spending your time with the rabble. Would you prefer a cell down here next to them, granddaughter?”
“No.” As much as I wanted to be with Kyla and Keigan, I knew I couldn’t help them if I was locked up beside them.
Lucifer was silent for a long moment. Then he crouched beside me, his cold gaze on Keigan. His hand remained buried in my hair.
“I’ve had this mage watched for a long, long time,” he purred. “And do you know what I learned?”
“Let go of me.”
He shook his hand in my hair, and my eyes watered at the pain.
“Focus when I’m speaking to you. What do you think I learned, granddaughter?”
I clamped my mouth shut.
He gave a low laugh. That laugh sounded a lot like my death. “Not planning to cooperate? You get that from your father.”
I went still, but Lucifer was still talking. “Why don’t you tell her, mage?”
Keigan stayed silent.
Lucifer wrapped his other hand around my throat. “Speak, or I’ll hurt her. I can always have her healed later. If it pleases me to do so.”
Keigan’s eyes met mine. He looked like he was already mourning our relationship. “I—” he glanced up at Lucifer. “Please.”
What the hell could be bad enough that Keigan would begLuciferfor mercy?
“Do youwantto watch her bleed?”
Keigan swallowed. Then he looked back at me, his expression guarded. “I was twenty-five years old when a man I considered one of my closest friends told me he had a dream for the future. For… humanity.”
Oh god. I had a pretty good feeling I didn’t want to hear about that dream. Keigan’s hands clutched the bars between us and with a shuddery breath, he met my eyes.
“You have to understand, at first I thought we had the same dreams. A better world. A chance for humans to share in this magical DNA. To figure out where this DNA came from, and if it could be replicated, so that humans could be born with similar powers. It was an opportunity to even the playing field. To allow our species to take the next step forward.”
My lips went numb. “You were part of the lab. The lab where my mom was held prisoner. Where Evie was born.”
He nodded, dropping his gaze. “It was called HFE. Humans for Equality. It wasn’t until your mother escaped that I learned the truth. The women never understood what they were signing up for when they agreed to the experiments. Some of them were stolen off the street. Some, like your mother, were lured close so they could be kidnapped. Then I learned just how valuable those babies were.”
Lucifer’s hand had loosened slightly in my hair, but it tightened once more as I clutched at the bars myself. “You had to have suspected.”
He shook his head. “I thought we were doing the right thing. When I realized I was wrong, I left HFE. I joined the Mage Council instead, certain that the council was the only way to truly stand for humans. HFE let me leave. But only if I continued to gather information for them.”
“You mean spy for them. You were passing on everything Albert did.”
He nodded, finally meeting my gaze once more. “Then I learned of your mother’s death. I thought she’d escaped, you see. I didn’t know why she’d come back to Durham. But HFE… they told me I had to kill anyone who could lead to their discovery. Otherwise, they would release information that proved I’d been part of the kidnapping and murder of both humans and paranormals…”
