My fingers went numb. “The pocket realm Taraghlan is giving you doesn’t?”
“No. Someone on the outside must say the incantation in order for it to open. The portal will only open for a few minutes at a time.”
So someone couldn’t say the incantation, open the portal, and then hand the artifact over to be smuggled deep into enemy territory.
I took a deep, steadying breath. My skin felt so tight it was as if I would burst out of it at any moment.
“What’s the incantation?”
He didn’t wince, but I knew he came close. “Mors vincit omnia.”
I went very still. ‘Death always wins?’ Someone has a sick sense of humor. “What happens if the artifact attached to the realm is destroyed while you’re inside?”
Samael’s silence told me everything I needed to know. They’d have no warning, no way to get out of the portal if the incantation wasn’t spoken on the other side. They would be trapped for eternity. All of them.
“It’s too dangerous.”
Samael stroked one finger down my cheek. “We have to work with the limitations we have.”
“Those limitations could get you killed,” I hissed. My eyes burned with frustrated tears I refused to let loose. I knew my demon. He hadn’t survived centuries of attempted assassinations because he was stupid. If I hadn’t ended up in the underworld, he never would have considered such a dangerous plan.
“I don’t like the direction of your thoughts,” he told me, and I scowled at him.
“I know damn well you can’t read my thoughts.”
“But I can feel the emotions caused by those thoughts. Every single one of our people will know the incantation, little witch. All of them will know that if something goes wrong, their priority is to get to the artifact and create the portal.”
“But you’ll be behind enemy lines.”
He smiled at me. “Do you believe that could stop Bael? Mammon? Any of my people?”
I studied his face. Samael was the biggest control freak I knew. I never could have imagined he would allow himself to be smuggled close to the palace in a pocket realm. And I knew damn well if I wasn’t the one trapped in the palace, he would never have allowed such a thing.
I opened my mouth to tell him just that, and he shook his head at me, clearly determining my train of thought.
“I won’t ask my people to do something I won’t do. That’s not how I lead. All we can do is take as many precautions as possible.”
11
DANICA
Another day of fuckery. Oh goodie.
I stifled a yawn, and my corset dug uncomfortably into my ribs. Now that Gloria’s spell had broken, Lucifer had declared I wasallowedat court. And by that, he meant my attendance was mandatory.
It was easy to see why. Here, his subjects flinched each time he stood, bowed so low it seemed their heads would hit the ground when they approached his throne, and spoke in hushed voices.
Although, that didn’t stop them from gossiping as though their lives depended on it.
According to Pischiel, Lucifer had originally figured that allowing me at court would make it difficult for the spell to contain my memories. Now, since I already had them back, it was a special way for him to torment me.
And it tormented me alright.
I knew plenty of demons. Ilikedplenty of demons. That was something I’d never thought I’d admit to, but Samael’s people were my friends. Most of them were trulygoodat their core. Sure, plenty of them had slightly different ideas about morality than most people—especially when it came to humans—but they didn’t torture and kill needlessly.
The demons here? I couldn’t tell if they were the product of the rotten core at the center of this realm, or if they had always been evil. Many of them were the demons who’d remained after the portals opened and the people loyal to Samael had fled. And that meant that many of them were likely part of the insurgency that had cost Samael his throne and his family their lives.
I forced myself to ignore them, to pretend like their eyes weren’t continually on me. Lucifer had made it clear that if I didn’t play along and pretend to be a willing part of his court, he’d have no need to keep me around after taking my power.
