Remiandhisbandmatesburst through the front door, laughing at something stupid Liam said, but Remi’s laughter died when he saw Skye’s phone and laptop on the floor in the living room.
He walked over and picked them up.“Skye?”he called out, tucking the laptop under his arm and putting her phone in his pocket.
“Maybe she’s taking a nap,” West said.
Remi sucked on his lip ring, nodding absently.Dread formed a pit in his stomach as he sprinted up the two sets of stairs to his attic bedroom.
“Skye?”he said as he opened the door.He exhaled in relief when his eyes landed on her silhouette.She was staring out of his bedroom window.“Your phone and laptop were on the floor—”
“Oh,” Skye said, turning from the window.“Totally forgot about that.”
Something was off about her voice.Any relief he felt dissipated again.He closed the distance between them, laid the laptop on the bed, and rested his hands on her hips to pull her into his body.“What’s wrong?”
She twisted out of his grip, pushing on his chest to disentangle from him.“I’m not interested.”
He blinked, a little dumbfounded, but stepped back an inch.“Okay,” he said, elongating the word.An awkward beat passed.“Did something happen?You seem upset—”
“The label dropped you,” Skye said.“There’s a lawsuit against the band for plagiarism.”
Remi’s head jolted back like he’d been slapped.“What?”
“The bargain is breaking, Remi,” Skye said, opening her laptop and turning the screen toward him.“Itisbroken.This is just the beginning of it.It’s only going to get worse.”
“I thought it was okay—” He squinted at Skye’s email and barely saw the words.Breach of contract.Notice of termination.Legalese that he didn’t even try to decipher.
“Your soul is too powerful,” Skye said.“You have to make a deal with the Devil himself, or you’re going to lose everything.”
“I…Okay,” Remi said, shaking his head.He rubbed a hand over his forehead.Adrenaline coursed through his body.He’d never heard Skye sound so serious before.The urgency was overwhelming him.“Okay.Alright.I’ll do whatever you think I should do.”
Skye nodded vigorously.“Okay, let’s go.”
Remi reached for her hand, but she grabbed his shoulder instead.The flames of her demon magic engulfed them.His stomach dropped as the ground under his feet disappeared.
Oppressive heat greeted him first, and the tang of smoke hung heavy in the air.Remi squinted against the flames that lit every inch of the ornate room he was in.The ceiling was too high for him to tell where it stopped.Rows and rows of metal holders of some kind lined the walls, but they were all empty.
Skye pushed Remi.He stumbled forward, turning around and furrowing his brows at her.Skye nodded toward the front of the room.Remi held a hand up to shield his eyes against the bright assault of flames.The fire died down just enough that he could make out a smoke outline of a giant man sitting on a golden throne.Zara and Laurie stood beside him.
“He’s accepted that he and his band are worthless without your deal,” Skye said.
Remi whipped around to throw a confused look at Skye, but she kept her gaze steady on the throne.He bit his tongue and took a deep breath.He probably needed to play along with whatever act this was for the Devil, but he wished Skye would have warned him first.Maybe there was no time.
The heat was sweltering, worse than even the desert when their tour bus broke down.Sweat broke out under his arms and along his hairline.
“Good,” the Devil said.
“Bow to the flames, human,” Skye said, grabbing Remi’s shoulder and forcing him to kneel with her demon strength.His knees buckled, and the shattered glass on the ground cut into his jeans.“Now tell the Devil how pathetic you are.Beg for him to fix everything.”
Remi sucked on his lip ring, something inside of him chafing.“Why are you saying this?”he whispered.
Skye laughed.“The bargain between us is over, Remi.Beg the Devil to make you and your pathetic little band famous.”
Remi clenched his jaw.“I—”
“Lawrence, Zara, bring him to me,” the Devil’s voice rumbled through the room.
“Lawrence?”Remi chirped under his breath as the demon grabbed one elbow and Zara held the other.They both dragged him toward the throne.
Laurie scowled at him.“Shut up.”
