sponge. I bet Willow thought he was doing you a favor by sending you in here like that.”
She thought it was Willow’s power raging through me? Interesting. I saw no reason to enlighten her.
“I didn’t come for a fight, but I’m ready if you want to give me one.” In a brazen move, I reached out psychically to test her, making sure she was still powerless. Shya’s binding was still in place.
“Come on now, Alexa. Do you really think I’d resort to getting my hands dirty if I had access to any power?” Lilah asked with a small smirk. “As you can see, I don’t let things like that slow me down. So, you say you want to talk? Let’s talk then, ladies.”
Lilah gestured to the big easy chairs across from her. She was going to play the gracious hostess and milk this thing for all it was worth. I wasn’t in the mood to play games.
“Did I say talk? I meant threaten.” I let the energy wall drop.
I kept expecting to feel some kind of fear or apprehension. Though I feared what she might do to others, I didn’t fear what she had planned for me. I was ready to take her on.
She pressed the tips of her fingers together and looked at both Jez and me in turn. “That’s more like it. There’s no reason we can’t all be honest with each other. I didn’t think you came here leaking borrowed power just to talk. Go ahead, I’m listening.”
It was weird to see Lilah so dressed up. I’d never seen her in anything but army fatigues and boots. She cleaned up well. Playing the role of demon queen spoke volumes in regards to her determination. She was ready and willing to do whatever it took to reclaim her throne.
“I know who you’re hiding from,” I said, watching her reaction. “I think it’s time he finds you.”
“So, you do have Veryl’s information.” Lilah nodded knowingly. “I figured as much. That’s the problem with people like you and Veryl. You think knowledge is power. It isn’t though. Knowledge can get you killed. Or worse. So, this is blackmail then?”
“Don’t look so surprised,” Jez spat. “You gave us no choice.”
Lilah fixed Jez with a dark glare. “This was never personal, Jez. Why make it so? Besides, I did that hybrid a favor by putting her out of her misery.”
Jez lunged forward, and I stopped her before the hellhounds did. I didn’t blame her one bit for having murderous intentions. Knowing Lilah couldn’t be killed drove me nuts; I wanted to make her beg for mercy.
The demons standing guard near Lilah didn’t move, but I could sense that they held their power ready should one of us give them a reason to use it. I held tight to Jez’s arm, hoping she wouldn’t fight me. The hate-filled energy thrumming through her spilled over me, drawing my attention to the pure Were blood pumping hot through her veins.
“You didn’t kill Zoey in an act of mercy, Lilah. You think you can force my hand by killing my wolves. It’s a coward’s tactic.” I focused on staying calm when all I wanted to do was set the bitch on fire.
“Yes, well it worked, didn’t it? Here you are.” Lilah’s wan smile made it clear that blackmail wouldn’t be enough. It might buy me time, but it would never stop her.
“I won’t give my blood to you. I’m here to tell you face to face that it’s over. You have no shot at breaking the curse. Not with me.” I tried to stifle the spark burning its way quickly through my short fuse. If I lost my precarious hold on the power testing my resistance, this would get ugly fast.
“So what now then?” Lilah rose, and the demons on each side moved closer. She waved them away with a scowl. “You take over where Veryl left off blackmailing me? We can call a truce, Alexa. I can make it worth your while.”
“I don’t want anything you can offer.”
“I can change that.”
“Save it,” I snapped, and a vase filled with flowers went up in flames. Oops.
Lilah watched the fire die out with pursed lips and a raised brow. “That’s the problem with being a mortal succubus. You can soak up all the power you touch, but that doesn’t make it yours. I can help with that.”
“You’re used to dealing with power-hungry dirtbags like Shya, I get that,” I said, the condescension heavy in my tone. “I’m