“Against the King of Hell?” I asked in a small voice.
As much as I wanted to believe them, surely they couldn’t go against him without risking everything.Infernalwas a front. The Legion was only pretending to be loyal to Hell. In secret, the demons and everyone else who worked for Az tried to save human souls. Lucifer couldneverfind out. If he did, he’d drag Az and his Legion back to the underworld.
“We’ve got your back, Mia,” Priyanka repeated in a determined voice. “You’re one of us. You have been since that first night you walked through the door. And we will always protect our own, no matter what.”
Tears blurred my vision, and her words filled me with twisted hope. These people felt more like a family to me than my own ever had. It didn’t matter that I’d been gone for several weeks. They’d welcomed me back in with open arms. Zero questions asked.
Okay, so there’d been a few questions. But only to make sure I was okay.
“Can I ask you something?” I said when Priyanka turned me toward the mirror and plucked a mascara wand from the table. The other girls gave me encouraging pats on the shoulder and drifted back toward their own mirrors. We had no more time to waste on chitchat. The club doors had opened, and the patrons would expect us to take to the stage within the half hour.Luciferwould expect us to dance. And I had a feeling that whatever Lucifer expected, Lucifer got.
She leaned in, angling the wand toward my eyes. “You can always ask me anything.”
“What brought you toInfernal? Did you know what the Legion were doing before you agreed to work here?”
I’d only arrived via a flyer taped to a random light pole in Brooklyn. Was that how Az typically recruited new members of his inner circle? Or was there more to it than that? He was so guarded, so untrusting. I couldn't imagine him hiring someone straight off the street.
Of course, that wasexactlywhat he’d done with me.
A soft smile flickered across Priyanka’s face. “I imagine it was pretty similar to how you got hired. I saw an ad for a dance opening and dropped in for an audition. He turned me away at first, but then came knocking on my door a few days later. That’s when he told me what he was and gave me the whole spiel about saving souls. From that moment on, I was in.”
I transformed into a marble statue as she flicked my lashes with the wand. “So, he turned you down at first, just like me.”
“Yep,” she said. “Talking to the other girls, he did the same with them. We think he likes to look into people before bringing them into the circle. He needs to see what kind of person they are. Decide if they can be trusted. What he’s doing here, Mia, it’s important. He’s not only saving souls, but his work could mean the difference in the world ending or not.”
A shudder went through me. This whole thing went far deeper than what was happening to me. This was a game for the future of this world. A deadly game. One that could end in eternal flames.
All those weeks ago, Az had placed his trust in me, hoping my presence by his side would help him stop the King of Hell from winning. And here we were again after my curiosity had come so close to ripping everything apart. I had to do my best now to convince Lucifer I was exactly who I said I was, and nothing more.
Because if he found out that Az really was hiding Mia McNally, he’d have the confirmation he needed. He’d know Az had turned against him. I couldn’t let that happen.
After Priyanka finished my makeup, I changed into a sexy slip dress hanging from the clothes rack in the back corner. The girls kept the changing room stocked with new outfits designed to catch eyes. The shimmering silver reflected the overhead lights, the material hitting my mid-thigh. The plunging neckline clung to my breasts, making it look like I actually had some cleavage.
We walked out from backstage and climbed into the cages to the roar of the crowd. The patrons ofInfernalloved the dancers and treated us like stars of a Broadway show. The gilded cage shuddered beneath my feet as it lurched up toward the ceiling on a heavy metal chain.
My belly did a little flip. I’d done this over a dozen times now, and I still got as nervous as I had on day one. There was something about being locked in a cage far above ground that made my nerves skitter like spilled candy on a marble floor.
Not shocking, really. I wastrapped in an elevated birdcage. If Ididn’tget nervous, I’d be a little concerned about my mental state.
The music pumped through the club. Pulling a deep breath into my lungs, I danced. It was easy to let go of my anxiety when the notes swirled through my head. I closed my eyes and focused on the beat, letting my body take over and giving my mind a rest.
But then I felt him. His gaze on me. As I swayed inside the cage, I popped my eyes open to find Lucifer lounging against the wall in the back corner of the club. His arms were folded over his chest, and he stared straight up at where I danced.
Terror squeezed my heart.
I swallowed hard and tried to glance away, but I felt locked in place. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t look anywhere but at his face. A shudder went down my spine. There was a darkness in his eyes I could see from even here. And anger.
There was no doubt in my mind that he knew exactly who I was.
I tried not to panic. Priyanka had promised they wouldn’t let anything happen to me. But honestly, how could she stop him? Lucifer was the strongest, most powerful supernatural in this room. He could burn us all to ash if he wanted.
I would not put the odds in our favor.
My eyes slid across to room to find Asmodeus. He stood in the opposite corner. Unlike Lucifer, not a single inch of him was relaxed. His entire body practically hummed with pent-up power. Hands fisted by his sides, he glared across the club at Lucifer, who hadn’t seemed to notice his First Prince looked like he wanted to rip off his head.
As if he sensed me, Az glanced up. Our gazes locked, and that old familiarzingwent through me again. That weird thing was happening more often these days. In any other situation, I might spend some time wondering why, but I was too distracted by the tense stand-off between two of the most powerful demons in the world.
Because of me.
