“Oopsie, my bad.”
“It’s done,” Lucifer says. I catch Duncan’s gaze. His shoulders have relaxed, and he has a little more color.
“Then let’s do this shit. I’m tired of these games,” I demand, glancing at Archan. “I need this to be over.”
I push past Archan and a stoic Jed, Zac catches my hard gaze with a sad smile. Archan grips my arm, pausing me as he whispers in my ear. “I’m all in, every fucking time. You don’t get to hop off this ride at the first sign of tough times, Natia.”
“I’m not hopping off this ride, Archan.” I turn my head, our lips brushing together. “I’m just no longer riding it with you.”
* * *
We reach Anger with no fanfare and I grip onto Zac, ready to ascend to Heresy. A strange choice on the surface, but his betrayal hurt the least because I hadn’t fully entrusted him with my heart.
“Natia,” a familiar voice shouts from one of the cells.
“Wait,” I shout, dropping Zac’s arm and running towards a cell.
“Don’t touch the occupants,” Lucifer says, stalking me as I scan the cells.
“Marsha?” I ask, spinning around. A slender hand appears from between the bars of the cell to my left. I grab it.
“Fucking hell,” Lucifer grumbles. “Do you ever follow instructions?”
Marsha comes into view, her shivering body clad in a pretty black gown. I look her up and down but she seems unharmed.
“Who put you in here?” I ask.
“The Duchess,” Marsha answers.
“Can we get her out?” I ask Lucifer.
He rolls his eyes. “Wait here.”
He disappears and returns with a shaking woman. A vampire, I realize, when he spins her around and pushes her at the bars. I yank on Marsha’s hand and she falls out of the cell on top of me as the vampire takes her place. Marsha’s eyes go wide when she looks at Lucifer.
Duncan holds out his hand for Marsha and she grabs it. “Ah, Duncan, you ruined about fifty percent of my fantasies,” Zee groans.
I smirk and launch myself to my feet. “I’m sure she’ll give you a pair of panties if you ask nicely.”
Zee groans. “Let it go.”
“You opened Tartarus,” Duncan states, bringing us back to the moment and the fact that Marsha betrayed us.
She glances away, tears rolling from her eyes. “I had no choice, they threatened me.”
“We’ve all been threatened,” I say. “You have more balls than that, Marsha.”
She meets my eyes. “They threatened someone I love.”
Duncan’s brow furrows. Seems he’s not in the know about Marsha’s loved ones. She grips Duncan’s arm. “What happened to you?”
He steps back and slides his gaze my way. “It’s a long story.”
Her spine snaps straight. Tit for tat, she keeps her secrets, so does he. I glance at Archan. This is all too familiar.
“We should leave her here,” Zac states, eyeing her like a bug.
“I have information,” Marsha answers. She’s a talented actress, not a tremble in sight. But deep down, she’s terrified. Of us? The Duchess? Being left to rot in Anger? Who knows?
