“Sounds pretty insane when you say it out loud, but...yes.” I lifted the map I’d been studying. “We’ve tried our best here, and time is running out. We’ll never find where he’s hiding them unless we get extremely lucky. Think that’s going to happen?”
“Probably not,” he muttered. “Az might not like this. I know we planned to fight him, but we wanted to find the Legion first. Otherwise, it’s just me and Az up against him.”
“You don’t have to fight him by yourselves,” I said with a meaningful arch of my brow.
“You?” Caim shot me a lopsided smile. “You know I love you, Mia, but you’re human.”
I wrapped my hand around the signet ring. “I still have Az’s ring, and I haven’t used it in weeks. If I wait for the right moment to blast it, Lucifer will never see it coming.”
Caim shook his head and caught Az’s attention with a flick of his fingers. As he left Serena to join us, Caim spoke out of the corner of his mouth. “Just going to warn you now. He’s not going to go for this.”
“Go for what?” Az folded his arms, and his swirling shadows reached out toward my heart.
“Mia’s had an idea.” Caim grinned. “Haven’t you, Mia? I’ll let you fill him in on your little plan.”
“Should have known you’d be a coward,” I muttered.
“It was your idea,” he said in a singsong voice.
I rolled my eyes and told Az about the plan. We’d pretend to go along with Lucifer’s demands, get the Legion back, and then surround him. While Az and Caim distracted him with battle, I’d blast him with the ring. It would be enough to catch him off guard and give the demons a chance to...well, rip out his heart.
“I don’t like it,” Az growled.
“Told you,” Caim said.
“It doesn’t matter if you like it or not,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “There aren’t any other options. We have a few hours until we’re supposed to make a decision, and Lucifer will make his move regardless of whether or not we meet him to make the trade.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near him, Mia.” His voice was firm and unyielding, but I wasn’t going to back down that easily.
“It’s not up to you.” I squared my shoulders and met his eyes. “It’s my life, and it’s my decision to make.”
He captured my face in his hands and searched my eyes with an intensity that made my toes curl. Even here, in front of everyone, when we were hours away from our potential deaths, I wanted him desperately.
“I know you remember a time when you were strong and powerful and brimming with magic.” He pressed his forehead against mine. “But you’re human now, Mia. Your life is fragile. I can’t let you put yourself in that kind of danger.”
“But that is precisely why Ishoulddo it,” I whispered back. “Lucifer will never expect me to do a damn thing. He’ll be focused on you and Caim. I am not a threat to him.”
He shook his head. “I don’t like it.”
“And I don’t like the idea of you sacrificing yourself to Hell so that the rest of us can stay here.” I lifted my hand to where he clutched my face. My fingers laced with his, so that our bodies were locked together like matching puzzle pieces. “We fought him before in a different life. Let’s do it again.”
A low growl rumbled in his throat. “And we lost. He destroyed you and wiped my memories. He could very well do the same thing again.”
“And I’ll find my way back to you if he does,” I said softly. “No matter what he throws at us, he can never rip us apart. Not permanently. And he knows it.”
“Well, if you’re going, we’re going.” Serena and Priyanka popped up beside us with stern looks on their faces. “It’s close enough to a full moon, and my wolf is hungry for Lucifer's blood.”
I pulled away from Az and gave my best friend a pointed look. “That’s creepy, Serena.”
She shot me a wolfish smile. “Creepy was exactly what I was going for, so yay.”
Priyanka held up a finger. “I’m not sure about the whole blood thing, but I’m a fan of fighting the demon king.”
Az grunted and pushed away from us. The four of us folded our arms and watched him pace the full length of the penthouse. When he twisted on his heels, he caught us all staring at him. Shaking his head, he let out a chuckle of annoyance.
“You know, I am the First Prince of Hell.” He jerked his thumb toward his chest. “I can order you all to stand down.”
“Sure you could.” I shrugged. “Doesn’t mean we’ll listen.”
