The front doors opened, revealing a grand foyer of marble floors and towering ceilings. The scents of polished wood, waxed stone, and blood hung in the air.
There was always a hint of blood in Noctis.
Servants moved silently along the walls, acknowledging Asmodiel with curt nods.
I recognized every doorway from the maps our inside men had provided, and my pulse thrummed. Not from fear, but from anticipation. Sage was here, inside this very building, and I was coming for her.
A vampire beta woman in a tight skirt and sky-high stilettos clicked her way towards us. “Premier Hellmora, welcome to Noctis. Premier Corvane will meet you in his office. Can I offer you any beverages? Water, tea, coffee?”
“Tea would be fine, thank you.”
She texted his order to someone, and then beckoned us to follow her. “Right this way, please.”
My dad and I flanked Asmodiel, while four more of our men trailed behind us. Adding us to the seven vamps on the payroll made thirteen inside. And then there were twenty more outside, waiting for the signal if things went belly up.
From the intel we’d collected, Victor and Sage were inseparable, and she would likely be at this meeting. All we needed to do was take him out as quietly as possible, slip her the third witch charm I had ready to go in my pocket, and leave before any of the other guards would know what had happened.
Or burn it all to the ground.
I was fine with either method.
I checked out the decorated walls as we walked. Painting after painting of insufferable vampires long since dead, looking down their stupid noses at the demons invading their space.
The demons planning to kill their descendant.
I had to hide my smile.
Victor’s assistant finally stopped in front of a set of heavy doors, and one of the guards opened them for us. Before I could even look for Sage, I did a double-take at one of the vamps, breath catching in my chest when a familiar face smirked at me.
What the fuck was Draven doing here? And how did he know it was me?
Was he going to help us? Or…
Dammit, that meant Garrick had to be involved somehow, and that hairy asshole had never told me.
I mean, I had blocked his number the second I’d left that bar, but still.
So now I had other pieces on the board, and no fucking idea how to move them. Or when. Or if they even were my pieces. For all I knew, Victor had thrown a couple more zeros Garrick’s way and hired Draven himself to keep Sage “safe.”
Even though she was far from safe as long as she was in Victor’s grasp.
This mission was strung together with nothing but duct tape and a prayer to Ravaric as it was, and now I had to deal with unknown variables.
I took a deep breath, focusing on what was in front of me and what I could control.
The office was wide and imposing. A massive desk sat in front of tall windows curved along one wall, their heavy drapes pulled back to reveal the lights of Noctis beyond. It was as though those who came to speak to the Premier were also dealing with the city-state itself.
Victor’s chair was high-backed and severe, clearly built for someone who expected to dominate every conversation that crossed its threshold.
A smaller chair sat next to it, built to accommodate its size and sit flush against the arm.
Sage’s scent radiated off the green velvet upholstery, and I nearly lost my shit at the acrid, bitter notes of fear in her lingering perfume before I remembered that doing so now would only hurt my chances of getting her back.
Flags bearing the sigil of Noctis flanked the desk, while shelves along the curved walls displayed carefully chosen artifacts—old treaties, ceremonial blades, bound tomes of Noctis law… Noctis law that the Premier, who hadn’t arrived yet, was in the process of breaking.
Asmodiel took a seat on the couch in a sitting area by an unlit fireplace. My dad and I stood behind him, hands tucked behind our backs, while the other four demons took spots along the wall. Another assistant came in with a tray holding a teapot, cup, saucer, and a selection of tea bags, then scurried back out, leaving us alone.
No one said anything as Asmodiel prepared his drink.
