With a brittle snap, her knees crumbled from underneath her, and she fell onto the marble floor in a grotesque heap. What little remained of her seemed impossibly light, as if a breath could scatter her remains like dust.
That wasmuchworse than what my vengeance magic could do to someone.
It was impressive.
Sabine slowly withdrew her hand, studying the lifeless form before her. There was no satisfaction in her eyes—only cold inevitability. “Let that be a lesson for those who oppose us.”
Silence answered her.
Sabine brushed her hands together with a satisfied smile. “Now, my agents will gather more intel, but we have a plan on dismantling Dark Veil.”
“I want in,” Pandora spoke up, her voice making my heart pound harder. She didn’t seem the least bit bothered by what Sabine had just done.
Sabine’s eyes narrowed on her. “You do?”
“You all know what I’m capable of,” she insisted. “YouknowI can help.”
Grimsworn began clapping excitedly. “Oh, yes! Let her help. She’s very capable.”
“Shut up.” Sabine rolled her eyes.
“Drecken,” Clearwater growled.
He pouted.
“I don’t know if that’s the best idea,” Death protested slightly.
“Why not?” Sabine asked.
“She’s their target,” I answered, and Death nodded. “Wouldn’t her being involved essentially be putting her in more danger?”
“Yesss.” Sabine’s lips curled into an understanding smile as she stared at my mate. “But this decision would ultimately be up to Pandora Gravesend. Not her father or her mates.”
“Realistically, I’m your biggest weapon,” Pandora stated, her red eyes unwavering. “I’m tired of sitting around being target practice for Dark Veil’s attempts on my life. I want to fight back and eradicate the cult alongside you.”
Clearwater hummed his acknowledgment. “She has a point.”
“I agree,” Sabine said. “That’s that. As long as she wants to, she will be part of our missions to take down Dark Veil. She is the only one of you demons that I trussst. Dark Veil has done far too much to her for her to be on their side.”
Dread welled up in my gut as I looked at my mate. I wasworried. I loved her enough to back any decision she would make, but it didn’t make it easy. I hated the thought of her being so involved in taking down the cult that tried to end her life multiple times. However, I’d be right there beside her.
“Pandora is the strongest demon I know.” Joel shrugged, shooting a grin her way. “She saved my life.”
Death grunted.
“You’re her dad.” Joel waved him off. “You’re partly responsible for her greatness.”
“Flattery won’t get you far.” Death frowned.
Joel pouted. “Jenni says flattery is the way to your heart.”
Before Death could retort, Sabine clapped her hands again.
“Draw your attention to the map.” She gestured to the virtual board behind her that now had a map of the Demon Capital pulled up on it. “I want to unify our efforts against the cult. Though I trust Gravesend, I’m hesitant about fully trusting the Demon Council again.”
Five locations were distinctly marked by black triangles, but there was a red circle over the Capital with a question mark.
“The triangles are locations of key ritual sites. There is one location we haven’t found yet that is supposed to mark where the big ritual will go down. All we know is that it’s in the Capital, but we don’t have coordinates yet. Jesper, explain what you’ve found out so far.”
