asterisk to our plan.” She turned it over and pointed at each gem, counting them out to six. “This is a timer. Once you put it on these gems will light up, one for each month that has passed. You won’t be able to take it off until time’s up.”
“What happens when all the gems are glowing?” I asked, taking the bracelet and turning it over. My fingers warmed against the unnatural heat coursing through the metal.
“You get pulled into Hell.”
“Damn,” I murmured with a low whistle. “And then what?”
She chewed on her lip. “So, Yuri wasn’t able to be more specific than that, but my guess is it’ll be on Luc’s turf to challenge him, but I doubt he’ll fight fair. You won’t be able to bring anyone with you and we don’t know if there’s even a way to get you back.” She gripped my arm. “You don’t have to do this, Lily. We could find another way.”
“What happens if I say no?” I asked, matching her gaze. “He’ll send his entire army, right? Then the Dean will make sure none of us get into the Monster Arena. I’ll never see Kaito again, or get Cole on my side, assuming we even survive.” I leaned in. “Tell me the truth. How bad has it been since Lucifer began his attacks?”
“Bad,” she admitted. “But that doesn’t mean you have to—”
I slapped on the bracelet before I could think too hard about it. A groan escaped me as a shot of scalding heat ran through my body, spreading up my arm and going through my bloodstream until I thought I’d burst on fire.
Olivia jerked back from me as my skin turned red. “Shit!”
I panted as I allowed the Hellfire to course through my system. I was part Demonspawn and Princess of Hell, which meant that I could survive anything Lucifer threw at me—that was my working theory, anyway.
Don’t burst in flames, Lils. You can do this.
It took three long, deep breaths before the pain subsided. Dazed, I turned the bracelet around my wrist, looking for the latch in case I wanted to take it off again, but the entire band had gone solid.
“Don’t scare me like that,” Olivia chided as she gave me a hug. “You’re so damn reckless.”
“I didn’t want you to talk me out of it,” I admitted. “I have to get to Kaito and Cole, and I need time to figure this out. Now we have six months.” I hugged my best friend, grateful that I didn’t have to do this alone. “We’ll figure this out, I promise.”
She squeezed me. “We better.”
I hoped I didn’t just make a promise I couldn’t keep, because I’ll be damned if I let anyone else I cared about down.
Chapter 16
Five months, twenty-nine days and twelve hours. It felt like an eternity and now I had precious time left before I got yanked into Hell.
The last gem on my bracelet had already started to emit a faint glow and that didn’t help ease my nerves any.
It had been a long five months and I missed my Virtues, except Orion. He found plenty of occasions to warm my bed even if the others had kept away, although he hadn’t been pleased when I’d explained the bracelet to him.
My other Virtues, though, didn’t know I was on a timer, and I preferred it that way. Something was messing with the mate-bond and until I found Kaito and Cole, I knew I wouldn’t be able to repair it.
Still, I couldn’t hear their thoughts and they didn’t seem to be able to hear mine, and it made everything feel… off. Orion thought it had to do with Cole after I’d told him about my dream. He also said that the Dean was watching us, so while it wasn’t so odd that I might hook up with the god of sex, messing around with my other Virtues might get me the wrong kind of attention.
I’d kept myself busy trying to get to Kaito and Cole while figuring out how to deal with the Dean. Once I had Cole, the mate-circle would be complete and I would have the strength to face Calamity. Plus, I didn’t have to fight the Conduit. I just had to distract her long enough to trap her in the Angelstone.
Still, I knew that wouldn’t be easy. Gwen was a powerful supernatural in her own right and with pure chaos driving her madness to new heights, I’d only get one shot to do this