“You abandoned a client meeting.” Victor studied her. “To come watch.”
“The Peterson account can wait. This?” Lilith stepped into the room, circling Ava like she was examining a sculpture. “This is fifteen years of work coming to fruition. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this? How carefully I planned?”
“You’re obsessed,” Ava said.
“I’mdedicated.” Lilith’s voice cracked slightly on the word. “There’s a difference.”
“The partners will have noticed you left,” Victor said. “Grimm doesn’t forgive abandoning client obligations.”
“Let him be angry. Let them all be angry.” Lilith waved a hand dismissively. “After tonight, it won’t matter. After Marchosias accepts the substitution, I’ll have proven that Victor Morningstar can be hurt. That his precious human can be taken from him. That’s worth any price.”
Ava stepped forward. The chains flared gold, casting shadows on the walls.
“You came all this way to gloat? That’s what this is?”
“I came to offer a deal.” Lilith’s composure reassembled itself, piece by piece. “I have influence with Marchosias. I can get you an immediate audience before the formal acceptance. All Victor has to do is admit, publicly, on record, that the soul bond was manufactured. That he claimed you to protect you, not because he actually wanted you.”
“The bond is real.” Victor didn’t blink. “Everyone who matters already knows that.”
“Then say it isn’t. One lie. One public statement. And I’ll get you in front of the Duke tonight.”
Ava looked at Lilith, really looked. At the wrinkled dress and the slightly manic eyes and the desperation hiding beneaththe sharp smile. This wasn’t the polished predator from the office. This was someone who’d abandoned everything to chase a vendetta across dimensions.
“You’ve lost perspective.” Ava met her eyes. “You flew across an ocean, abandoned your responsibilities, came to Hell itself, just to watch me suffer. That’s not dedication. That’s pathology.”
Lilith’s face flickered.
“Enjoy the show,” Ava continued. “Because when this is over, when we beat Marchosias and void every contract you ever touched, I want you to remember that you were here. That you saw it happen. That you gave up everything for nothing.”
Lilith’s mask cracked. Raw fury showed through the gaps: fifteen years of hatred compressed into a single expression.
“You think you can beat a Duke of Hell?” Her voice rose. “You think your pathetic little bond can?—”
“We’re done here,” Victor said. He took Ava’s hand and moved toward the door. “You can show yourself out. Or don’t. I really don’t care.”
They left Lilith standing in the hotel room, her composure in ruins, her grand moment of triumph turned to ash.
In the elevator, Ava leaned against Victor’s shoulder.
“That felt good,” she admitted.
“You handled her better than I could have.” He pressed the button for the lobby. “She’s unraveling. Abandoning clients, flying to Hell on a whim; the partners won’t overlook that.”
“Good.”
The elevator opened onto the lobby. Outside, through the glass doors, Pandemonium’s streets pulsed with demonic nightlife. The chains on Ava’s skin glowed bright enough to draw stares from passing demons, marking her as unmistakably claimed.
Claimed. Contested. Running out of time.
“We need to find someone who can get us an audience,” Victor said. “Before midnight.”
“Do you know someone?”
“I know someone who knows everyone.” He took her hand, her chained hand, and led her toward the entrance. “Andromalius. They call him the Finder. If anyone can get us to Marchosias in time, it’s him.”
“Where do we find him?”
“A place called the Serpent’s Vesper. Three stops on the Pandemonium transit system.” His expression was grim. “Stay close. Don’t speak to anyone. And if anyone tries to touch you…”
