“What are you suggesting?”
“Saturday night. We know we can be convincing when we stop overthinking. So we stop overthinking.”
“That’s dangerous.”
“More dangerous than Lilith proving we’re lying?”
Before he could answer, Derek burst through the door.
“Conference call with Tokyo in five…” He stopped, looked between them, grinned. “Also I asked Emma out and she said yes and I might actually die.”
“Breathe, Derek.” Victor replied.
They gathered the contracts in silence. But Ava caught Victor watching her as she collected the last of the files.
Forty-nine days.
And Lilith wasn’t going to make any of them easy.
The text came at six.Unknown number.Conference Room Nine. Now.
Ava knew who it was before she reached the door.
Lilith stood at the window, her back to the room, silhouette carved against the dying sun. She didn’t turn when Ava entered.
“Close the door.”
Ava reached for the handle. The door swung shut before she touched it. The lock clicked.
“Sit.”
A chair slid across the floor and caught the backs of her knees. Ava sat. Not because she wanted to.
“You did well today. The Blackstone contracts.” Lilith’s voice was pleasant. Conversational. “Impressive work. For a human.”
“Is that why I’m here? To be congratulated?”
“You’re here because Victor’s protection has limits.” Lilith turned. The sunset caught her eyes, and they weren’t human. Old. Hungry. “He can mark you. Claim you. Play house in his penthouse. But when the partners invoke the old laws, a human life weighs very little against a demon’s standing.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s mathematics.” Lilith crossed the room. Each step she took, the air grew colder. By the time she stopped in front of Ava, frost had begun to form on the conference table. “I’ve been playing this game since before your ancestors crawled out of caves. You think a law degree makes you my equal?”
She gripped Ava’s chin. Her fingers burned like dry ice.
“You’re not special. You’re an inconvenience.”
The pendant flared against Ava’s chest. Lilith jerked back with a hiss, shaking her hand as if she’d touched a hot stove.
“Kunlun jade.” Her eyes fixed on the spot where the pendant hid beneath Ava’s blouse. “Your grandmother’s.”
Ava said nothing. Her chin throbbed.
“She truly loved you.” Lilith’s voice shifted. Quieter. “That’s rare.”
She returned to the window. The frost on the table began to melt. “The soothsayers whispered your name before you were born, you know. Said you’d bind yourself to Victor. Make him vulnerable. Give him something to lose.” She traced a finger down the glass. “So I made preparations. Long before you knew this world existed, I was already part of yours.”
Ava’s blood chilled. “What does that mean?”
