Prologue
Vex
The screaming never stopped in the Pit.
I stood at the edge and watched the flames curl upward, licking at the darkness like hungry tongues. Below, bodies writhed in the hellfire—demons, humans, vampires, all of them tangled together in an endless chorus of agony. The heat rolled off the chasm in waves, carrying with it the stench of burning flesh and sulfur and something sweeter underneath. Despair, maybe. It had a smell, if you knew what to look for.
I breathed it in.
These were the ones who’d pissed off Lucifer. The betrayers. The oath-breakers. The ones stupid enough to think they could lie to the Devil and get away with it.
A vampire clawed his way toward the rim, fingers blackened and cracking, mouth open in a soundless scream. I watched him climb for a moment—watched the hope flicker in his ruined eyes—then pressed my boot against his forehead and shoved him back down.
He fell. The flames swallowed him whole.
I smiled.
Hell was boring most days. But the Pit? The Pit was entertainment.
I felt something behind me—a presence. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
I turned. My smile vanished.
Lucifer stood behind me, close enough that I should’ve sensed him coming. I hadn’t. No one ever did. His long red hair fell over bare shoulders, catching the glow of the hellfire like living flame. His wings stretched out behind him—massive, black, each feather edged in molten gold. He wore nothing but a pair of faded jeans and cowboy boots, like he’d just wandered off some honky-tonk stage in Texas.
He looked like a fallen country singer. He was the most powerful being in Hell.
I dropped to one knee. “My Lord.”
“The vampire.” Lucifer’s voice was soft. Almost bored. “I don’t care about them. Their souls are weak.” He stepped closer, and the temperature around me plummeted—cold cutting through the heat of the Pit like a knife. “You were supposed to grab Noelle Santi’s soul. And you failed me.”
My throat tightened. “Balthazar interfered.”
“That’s not what he said.”
I looked up, meeting those ancient eyes. A mistake, probably. “You believe him over me?”
Lucifer smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes. Nothing ever did.
“You want to prove it?”
I pressed my forehead to the scorched ground. Pride was a luxury I couldn’t afford right now. “I’m loyal to you. I’ll do anything.”
Silence. The screams from the Pit filled the space between us.
Then Lucifer’s boot appeared in my line of vision—worn leather, flecked with ash. He crouched down, and his fingersgripped my chin, forcing my head up until I had no choice but to meet his gaze.
“Then bring me back Noelle’s soul.” His voice was barely a whisper. “Or you’ll be joining your vampire friend down in the Pit.”
He released me and straightened, already turning away. Dismissing me.
I stayed on my knees, heart pounding, and stared at the flames below.
Noelle Santi. Angelo’s daughter.
This time, I wouldn’t fail.
Chapter One
