I nodded toward Anya. She was safe now, but we’d been so close to losing her. “We can’t let them get away with this.”
“I’m pretty sure your Legion agrees. They’ve been having a pow wow in their meeting room with Asmodeus for the past half hour.”
While I’d been standing here, staring at Anya, just making sure she still kept breathing.
“Come on,” Sarah said, tucking her arm into my elbow. “She needs to rest, and we aren’t helping by lurking over her. Let’s go help the demons plan a way to destroy these fucking cult members.”
I couldn’t argue with that. Together, Sarah and I strode down the corridor and stopped just outside the meeting room where the demons were engaged in a tense conversation. Voices were edged in anger, which I hadn’t expected. Mia sat on a stool in the back corner with Valac, watching the exchange with a pinched expression. She was the only human, other than us, that had been welcomed into the Legion, and I couldn’t help but be curious about her position among them.
Most importantly, did they let her fight?
The demons fell silent when they realized we’d joined them. Caim slowly stood, concern painted in the depths of his eyes. “You okay, Eva?”
“Yeah,” I said, hugging my arms to my chest. “I’m okay, now that Anya is safe and sound.” With a rattling breath, I turned toward Az. “Thank you. For saving her.”
According to Sarah, Caim had sent out an SOS to his boss. Az and Mia had been carrying a trunk of great importance through the northeast, and they’d had to tuck it away someplace safe in order to get to Manhattan quickly enough to save Anya. The trunk was too heavy for them to fly it back.
I knew, without them telling me, what that trunk held. They’d found Morax.
“You’re welcome,” he said with a nod. “I’m just sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. I hear you’ve made quite the impression on my Legion.”
I braced myself. Az didn’t know me, and while Caim had been in charge while he was gone, the First Prince of Hell was the true boss here. The one who had made the proclamation to keep humans out ofInfernal. Mia was an exception. I half-expected him to escort me and Sarah back to our apartment and tell us to stay the hell away from them all.
Instead, he stood and pulled a chair out from the table. “Come join us. I hear you have a unique insight into the cult, and we need all the help we can get in making a plan. The next time we go up against them will be the last.”
I glanced at Sarah. “Sure. As long as my friend can join us, too.”
He smiled. “You’re all welcome here.”
“Frankly, I’m happy as hell to see you three,” Mia said with a kind smile from the corner stool. “It’s about time we even out the testosterone in here.”
“Might need a few more of us then,” I said, unable to stop my own smile. “As it stands, I think there’s barely enough of us just to even out Phenex.”
He grunted, and Mia grinned.
“I like you already.”
Sarah and I took a seat around the table while Caim continued to fill Az and Mia in on everything that had happened while they’d been gone. He’d kept them updated as much as possible in the past few weeks, but they’d still missed a lot. By the end of the story, Az’s entire face was pinched.
“I don’t like that a witch has been working with them,” he murmured. “It leaves us in the dark about a lot of things, namely what they’re capable of. Without the witch’s help, they’d be far more limited in their power.”
“Hell, they’d never have gotten as far as they have,” Stolas said, tapping one of the books on the table before him. “That power-numbing seal went a long way.”
I cleared my throat. Every head in the room swivelled my way, and I couldn’t help the blush that spread across my cheeks. I wasn’t used to commanding so much attention. I’d spent so much of my life in the shadows of my illness.
“Yes, Eva?” Az asked with an arched brow. “You look like you have something you’d like to say.”
I cleared my throat again. “Yeah. It’s about that witch seal that numbed your powers. Every time the cult wants to fight you, they set a trap. We’ve walked into it every single time. Maybe we should play their own game against them.”
34
Eva
Ileaned forward and palmed the table. “This time,weset the trap. We use the same witch seal they did, subduing their powers. Caim said something awhile ago. You guys are way stronger than they are, better trained. With swords, we’ll win. Once and for all.”
Caim sucked in a breath, and Az gave a slow nod. The others began muttering amongst themselves. They didn’t jump to their feet and proclaim their agreement with the plan, but I could tell I’d gotten their attention. It wasn’t a bad idea. Hell, it was a pretty damn good one, all things considered.
Az leaned back in his chair, rubbing his hand along his strong, angular jaw. “Lure them intoInfernal?”
