“If you see either of the amulets, you let me know. They are very important to our cause. Particularly the one with the purple gem. We have a lead on the other, but the purple one has been lost for centuries.” His face turned serious. “I shouldn’t have to remind you that the angels wish to protect the humans, and the demons seek to destroy all that you hold dear.”
She had seen one of those amulets before, had held it, had known it intimately. And she knew who carried it.
She thought fast, her heart racing.
“I’ve never seen anything like those before,” Elizabeth lied.
She only happened upon it by accident, and at the time, she just assumed it was just a strange, gaudy necklace.
If the amulet was a part of a rare and mysterious prophecy, she didn’t want anyone to know she had seen it. Not until she knew more.
Ambriel paused, as if considering how much to tell her.
“We have reason to suspect the demons have one of the amulets, but the other—the one with the purple gem—remains a mystery and has been lost for several hundred years.”
She nodded, keeping her expression neutral.
Ambriel retreated. “I would like you to find the lost amulet for me. Do that, and I will be most pleased.”
She smiled and nodded in understanding.
He touched her cheek in farewell, and before she could say anything, Ambriel moved back, and his snowy white wings laboured to lift him into the skies.
She didn’t know what to make of it.
She had lied to an angel, and she wasn’t entirely sure what would happen if he found out.
The lost amulet—the one that was being hunted by demons and angels alike—was buried in a drawer in Charlotte’s house.
Chapter 28
Hunting Party
Maybe she should tell Ambriel about the amulet or devise a way for him to get it. Surely Charlotte had no idea of its true value. Lady Harrison was known for paying top dollar for the ugliest and oldest pieces of jewellery she could find. The idea of the Harrisons with any tie to witches or demons was laughable.
Elizabeth worried that if she told Ambriel she had seen it at all, he might be angry with Charlotte for its possession, or worse, might assume she was somehow involved with demons. If rumours spread about the Harrisons having such ties, it would destroy them.
Maybe she could discuss the amulet with Charlotte first, then figure out what in the Seven Hells she was going to tell the angel.
She still couldn’t believe that one of the most powerful families in Rhodea had an item of extreme intrigue and value, chucked carelessly in a drawer. She wondered if someone had given the amulet to Charlotte’s mother as a gift, unaware of its actual value.
With her thoughts occupied, she let Fiza dress her in a sweeping black gown. Fiza admired her handiwork and held out a pair of earrings with large onyx drops.
“They would suit,” Fiza said, displaying them beside her face.
Elizabeth thought the gems looked like black tears and immediately hated them. The clothing in this land was so dark and depressing. She nodded anyway, allowing Fiza to dress her however she liked.
The only boundary she refused to cross was wearing anything too revealing. Caspian had purchased several gowns for her with plunging necklines and slits up the sides of the legs that showed far too much skin for her taste. One gown that hung in her closet was hardly more than two flimsy slips of fabric—clothing ill-befitting a lady—and her lip curled every time she beheld it. She was an Ashcroft, and a highborn Lady of Rhodea, and frankly, she was highly affronted that he thought she would wear such things.
And so, she made her way downstairs, wearing a dress that covered her from her neck to her ankles, leaving only her arms bare.
Mammond and Asmodeus were seated at the table with Caspian. “We missed you at dinner last night,” Caspian said, looking bored.
“My apologies, Caspian,” she murmured, trying not to look guilty.
He steepled his fingers together and tilted his head. “I do wonder where it is you go when you’re out of the castle.”
“Nowhere exciting. I wanted to see one of the cities nearby. I apologize for missing dinner with you all.”
