She knocked away my hand. “Then you’re a bigger fool than I’d thought possible. The only reason the Prince of Hell is not bashing down those doors right now is that the Underworld mandates he go to his Qeby and make sure she is okay. And just to make sure he does so, his wife has summoned him. He cannot resist her. They are bound by a firm supernatural link. The Princess alone has given us an out. The only real out I’ve had in centuries, and you are mistaken if you think I’m not leaving this plane—with or without your help.” She leaned into my personal space, my wolf snapping her jaws. “And for your information, I can leave here on my own. But if we go together, you will have some control once we arrive on your plane. Which will it be?”
My wolf urged me to fight her, to eliminate her altogether. She shoved adrenaline through me like a hypodermic full of juice. It raced through my body and my fingernails ached, my claws an inch away from springing. It was everything I could do to rein my wolf in. I know this is bad, but let me handle it. If the Prince couldn’t kill her, we may not be able to either. And I’m not killing anyone in cold blood until we know the full story.
I cleared my voice, trying to stay calm. “We’ve already covered this, Lili—if you could’ve left, you would’ve already. You’re stuck here, and according to the myth I’m familiar with, it’s for a damn good reason. I’m not going to be the one to unleash you in our world, so if you can manage to get to our plane on your own, and cause trouble, I’ll figure out a way to deal with you then. But I’m not willfully bringing you with us. So you need to stop asking.”
She shook her head. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve stayed here by choice, because I didn’t want to leave. I had a good life up until—”
“The Princess of Hell found out you were banging her husband?” I finished as Rourke growled behind me, moving in closer. He sensed my distress, but had no idea what had happened between me and Lili thus far. I appreciated his patience, especially when I knew all he wanted to do was get rid of the threat and hurry us home.
“I’ve been ‘banging’ her husband for eons. That’s not the issue.” She shooed my comment away. “We’re not attached to our… mates… here”—she glanced behind me at my imposing significant other—“like you seem to be. The demoness seeks power, and she feels it is her time to rule. But she cannot do it if you or I stay behind. We are a distraction to the demons and our power is greater than hers. In order for her to ascend to power, and take the Throne of Astaroth from the Prince, we must leave this plane.”
That was new, game-changing information. “If the demoness is truly seeking power,” I countered, “then we should all stay here and help her win the throne. Even though I want nothing more than to escape this plane, leaving before it’s all finished will guarantee the Prince will go on another manhunt to find me if the Princess doesn’t win. And if you think I’m going through another mock trial, you’re wrong. When I leave here, it will be for good. The Underworld is never going to interfere with my life again. The demoness either takes the crown and sets us free, or we kill the Prince ourselves. If we achieve either, she will be in our debt and set us free. But whatever the outcome, I’m still not taking you with us. She’s going to have to find another place for you to go.”
Lili crossed her arms. “You have no choice in the matter.”
“Excuse me?” My wolf snapped her jaws.
“The reason I was jailed wasn’t that I was an insufficient lover. It was that I discovered something just before you arrived. Something that has shaken the internal fabric of the Underworld to its very core. Because of this, things are moving on their own and we are just along for the ride. It was no mistake you found me when you did and it’s no mistake we’re standing together right now. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can all leave this place forever.”
I glanced around the group to see how everyone else was taking this information. Ray appeared stoic, Tyler concerned, and Rourke’s mouth was set in a determined line. “And what exactly was the big news you uncovered?” I asked, crossing my arms as I turned back to Lili. “If I truly have no choice, you’re going to have to do some heavy convincing. And I’d suggest you start with the truth.”
Lili was speaking of Fate, there was no question. And we all knew that if we were in the middle of Fate’s true choice—for me to bring Lili home—it would be very hard to veer from that course.
“There was more to the Scriptures than any demon originally thought,” she started. “When I happen to uncover more of the Old Writings in their entirety, I was as shocked as anyone. Once I gathered the impact, I took them to…” She paused as she glanced down at her hands.
It wasn’t hard to guess she had broken her allegiance to her lover, so I took the most logical path. “You took them to the Princess, instead of the Prince,” I finished. “And when the Prince of Hell discovered your betrayal, you fell from his grace. He unceremoniously kicked you out of his bed and had you put into prison. I see where this went wrong, but that still doesn’t explain the facts to me. What did the sacred Scriptures say exactly?”
She smirked at me. “Are you always this disagreeable?”
“I’m disagreeable to those who try and continually manipulate me, which you’ve done from the very start. You could’ve told me the truth—if this even is the truth—when we first met, but you chose not to. You have done very little to gain my trust, why should I believe anything you tell me now?”
“There was no time to explain the entirety of it,” she huffed. “We’ve been on the run since you first walked into my cell. Not only that, the demoness had forbidden me to say anything up until twenty minutes ago, when she freed me from the horrors of a mending room.”
“And why did the demoness have such a sudden change of heart?” I asked, remembering our little wink session a few short minutes ago. “And if you’re so much more powerful than she is, why didn’t you just escape on your own?”
“Because in order for this all to move forward in the direction Fate has determined, and for the Princess to ascend to power, you needed to be paraded in front of the entire city. Your presence here had a purpose. It was meant to launch the demons into a civil war—to separate those who believe in the old Scriptures from those who will embrace the new. Your birth has been marked in our books for centuries. And every demon in that audience knew this day would come. Now that it has, and your presence is known, you have triggered a huge, unstoppable change. One that was meant to happen. But now it means you must leave the Underworld quickly, or run the risk of dying. There will be upheaval and turmoil for years to come. This is just the beginning.”
I was livid. My eyes flashed as I demanded, “Do you mean to tell me that it was your goal all along to ‘parade me’ in front of the demons to launch a civil war? If that was your ultimate plan, you weren’t ever leading me to my brother or any real escape. Why bring me through the Sholls if I had to end up in there”—I gestured angrily to the coliseum doors—“and why not let me in on what was going on from the very beginning? I would’ve agreed to aid you in a plan to defeat the Prince and put the Princess on the throne. I despise the Prince!”
She stared at me like I had lost my mind, which I was beginning to think was quite possible. “Fate is at work here,” she cried. “And in case you haven’t guessed, it’s not as easy as you think to defeat the Prince of Hell. But if you must know, I only uncovered the Scripture a few days ago when I was in the Great Library searching for something else. There was no time to formulate any solid plans, and as I told you when we parted, I guessed you would be caught. Again, I never lied. How you were going to get to this place”—she pointed toward the doors—“was just as much a mystery to me as it was to you. But you’re here. The die has been cast, you’ve done your part, and now it’s time to leave.”
Tyler stepped in, placing a hand on my arm. He rang with tension. “Jess, I know all this is important and we need to solve it, but I hear movement and smell something rancid in the air. Let’s move out of this area. We can figure this out as we go.” He eyed Lili up and down. “And, honestly, one wrong move from you, demoness, and we take you out, understood? I don’t comprehend everything that’s going on here, but if my sister doesn’t want you on our plane, you’re not invited. Got it?”
I began to hear shouts and movement too. I sighed, addressing Lili. “Take us somewhere safe, if such a place actually exists here. I’m going to process everything you’ve told me, but I’m not going to make any decisions until I have all the information. And I mean all.”
“I will lead you to safety, which was granted by the Princess,” Lili agreed. “And, once there, we can settle this. But lingering in the Underworld is not advisable. As I’ve told you, we only have a short time to escape.”
Rourke tugged me to the back of our procession by the hand as we followed Lili down a tunnel carved out of rock that had been polished with care. “I understand what’s going on up to a point,” he murmured. “But if the demon Scriptures say Lili goes with us, it might be unavoidable.”
I smiled at him, braiding my hand through his tightly. Gods, I’d missed him. “I agree, but I’m sure you noticed that she hasn’t divulged any particulars of what the writings actually say, only the doomsday disclaimer that I will start a civil war.” While we walked, I gripped Rourke’s forearm with my other hand, leaning in to him and drinking up his scent. “When I first met her, she assured me she could free me and Tyler and get us out quickly.” I filled him in on what had happened and shook my head. “We are definitely missing pieces to this puzzle. She and the Princess must’ve had a prior agreement. What’s worse is my wolf is rabid whenever she’s around. That’s a very bad sign.”
Up ahead Ray asked Lili, “So what gives with these demons? They can’t fight worth a damn. I thought once we got here we’d be ducking and running, trying not to get ourselves killed. But it’s like a comedy skit out there. They have no idea what they’re doing and have no business being on the front lines.”
Lili inclined her head toward him. She was likely trying to figure out what kind of supe he was, but a vampire reaper wouldn’t be on her radar. Ray was one of a kind. “Only demon guards are taught defense. Much like everyday humans, we have no need to learn to fight. We are well protected here and are insulated from outside threats. Not many supernaturals, besides witches or sorcerers, ever come here. Most wouldn’t know how. You were fighting the equivalent of the home guard. Not our army. The troops who fight for the Underworld lie outside of She’ol.”
“But demons have raw power, I can feel it,” Ray continued. “They should naturally pack a better punch than that. Back there was like taking down women and children. It was just sad.”
Lili chuckled. “Well, we also depend on our beasts for our protection. The demon guard will bring them out shortly if we don’t hurry, and then you will be able to see how demons really defend themselves.”