6
When I stepped one leather black boot insideInfernal, I expected something terrible to happen. Like, for the heavens to open up and smite me right then and there. My soul was bound to this place. I’d made a deal with a demon to stay the hell out. But when I walked through that black door, nothing happened.
Interesting. Did I even have a soul? If I really was a fallen angel—and I still wasn’t one hundred percent convinced that I was—did that mean a demon contract even meant anything?
Maybe I was immune, like I was to the werewolf venom.
“Ah. Here we are.” Lucifer smiled and led me down the hallway toward the dancers’ dressing room. My heart pounded as we drew closer. The girls would have no idea what had happened in the past few hours. When they saw me, would they greet me the way they always had? I cast an uneasy glance up at Az, who silently strode on my other side, but he avoided my gaze. Shouldn’t he do something? This could all come tumbling down on us in less than a second.
Lucifer pushed open the door and dragged me inside. The chattering suddenly hushed, and half a dozen eyes peered at us from beneath thick lashes and carefully curled hair. He pressed a hand to my back, and I fought the urge to wince away from him.
“This is Sansa,” he announced to the room. “Your new dancer.”
Priyanka slowly stood from her stool beside the bank of mirrors, wrapping a colorful silk gown around her hourglass frame. Her face was entirely unreadable. “Hi, Sansa. Welcome to the crazy house. Come on in. We’ll help you get ready.”
Her voice was even and unbothered. Good. I doubted if I spoke, I’d sound that relaxed. Lucifer frowned but drifted out the door with Az, leaving me alone with the dancers. A heavy breath whooshed out of me, though my nerves felt like they’d been shot with a bolt of high-voltage electricity.
Priyanka gripped my elbow and dragged me over to the mirrors. She sat me down and then pulled her stool over close. Her raven hair curtained her face as she dropped her voice to a whisper. “Why are you here? What the hell is going on? And why, dare I ask, do you smell like a werewolf? Don’t tell me you’ve been turned.”
I arched a brow. “You can tell?”
“Honey, we canalltell.”
“You all have enhanced smell?”
“Of course we do.” She glanced behind her at the girls gathering around us. “We’re supernaturals.”
Strange, since apparently I was supposed to be one, too. I couldn’t smell a damn thing other than their perfume and hairspray.
Quickly, I filled them in with what little I knew. They shifted uneasily on their feet as I told my story. There were a few shocked gasps. Hands lifted to lips. And Priyanka’s grip on my knee tightened so much I could feel her sharp nails through my jeans.
“Holy shit, Mia.” Priyanka’s eyes flicked across my body. “A fallen angel? Really? What does Az thing about this?”
“He seems confused.” I pressed my lips together. “We haven’t had a chance to discuss it beyond that. Lucifer swooped in and dragged me back here right after we left the fae.”
She leaned forward and sniffed. “Well, River did a hell of a good job, and it’s a good thing Az took you to her instead of me. He’s been lurking around here all day. He would have caught us. Even if he suspects anything, he won’t be able to prove it. Nothing about you says fallen angel to me.”
“Right. Because I should have powers. And I don’t.”
Her brows furrowed. “It is strange. You’ve never had enhanced hearing? Or extremely good eyesight?”
I shook my head, my heart tumbling through my chest. This was why I couldn’t get past this bizarre development. In the movies, the secret supernatural always has some kind of power, hints that there’s more to them than meets the eye. But I literally had nothing. I was just a girl lusting after a demon and trying desperately to stay alive.
“Well, we’ll have to figure it out later.” Priyanka let out a sigh, shook her head, and stood. “I’m sorry. I know you want answers, but we can’t get them right now. We have to dance. Lucifer has been...difficult to deal with since he arrived in Manhattan. If we don’t do what he expects, he makes life very difficult for us.”
I blew out a breath and took her offered hand. “I don’t like this. The whole thing is strange. Why would he have asked a random werewolf he met on the streets to come dance here?”
She arched her brows with a meaningful look in her eyes. “I think you know.”
My heart pounded. “Even with the scent glamor, he suspects I’m me.”
With a pat on my shoulder, she nodded. “Probably.”
My mind spun with possibilities. This was really bad. I needed to get out of here. If I went out there now, I might never get to leave.
“So what if this whole thing is a trap to get me in that cage? What if all he’s doing is setting me up? He could lock me in there and never let me out. Not until he takes me to Hell.”
“We’ve got your back,” she said firmly, glancing behind her at the girls, who nodded in agreement.
