going to hide something, I’d secret it at the back of a bookshelf, hidden behind thousands of paper decoys. I hurried to the shelves, my gaze racing over the spines.
Which one?
There were so damned many, and his organizational system was completely insane.
I started to pull them off the shelf, quickly peeking behind to see if I could spot the key. After a dozen books, I realized that this would take far too long.
I stepped back, studying the shelves. Assuming that my idea was right, it would be behind an important book. But which?
Finally my gaze landed on a title I recognized. The Oresteia.
His favorite book.
I hurried to it, pulling it off the shelf.
An ornate brass key sat behind it.
A low growl sounded from the middle of the room, and I felt him fight the vines that bound him. Fight the cuffs that weakened him.
I grabbed the key and the book, then turned back to him, feeding a last bit of magic into the plant, making it knot to bind him fully. He was wrapped up entirely now, so that I could only see his face.
“You’ll be forced to return,” he said.
“Never.”
“You’ve eaten of this world.”
“I have not.” A cold chill raced through me, a memory surfacing. “The healing potion.”
“Not a healing potion. Pomegranate juice.”
“What?” That chill turned my whole body to ice.
“I healed you with my power. The pomegranate juice was meant to force you to return.”
“You tricked me. While I was wounded.” Rage lit a fire inside my chest, hardening me against him. Driving away any regret or doubt. “You’re a monster.”
“You forgot.”
“I did.” My tone could have cut diamonds. “I won’t again.” I turned away, grabbing my cloak and sweeping it over my shoulders. I put The Oresteia in my cloak pocket. Key clutched in my hand and heart pounding like a charging rhino, I slipped from the room.
I just did that.
I couldn’t believe it.
His roar echoed after me.
I flinched, then sprinted down the hall. Please hold, I begged the cuffs. I didn’t know how long the cuffs would hold him, but I didn't stand a chance once he broke through.
Would I truly be forced to return?
I couldn’t think of that now. Getting this cure to Mac was my priority.
Quickly, I shoved the key into my tightest trouser pocket, next to the cure for Mac. Hades kept shouting, threatening to bring down the castle. But the place was so big that the noise soon faded.
Would anyone hear him and come for me?
His rooms were notoriously secluded. With any luck, I would have a bit of time.
Just in case, I reached into my bag and pulled out one of the potion bombs that I’d taken from the armory.
My lungs burned and sweat dampened my skin as I ran, down the stairs and through hallways. The place passed by in a blur, and I saw no one, thank fates.
Until I reached the hallway leading to the back door.
Lucifer was striding right toward me.
His eyes widened as he saw me, and I could only imagine how I looked. Wild hair, wild eyes. Running like the hounds of hell were on my heels.
“Escape?” He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
I hurled the potion bomb right at him, moving so quickly that he didn't see it coming. One moment, he was staring at me. The next, the brilliant red glass ball slammed into his chest and exploded, driving him backward against the stone wall.
He slumped against it, unconscious. As I ran past, I caught sight of his blackened face. Not burned—not too terribly—but there was a horrible wound in his chest.
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
I didn’t want to kill him.
He was a bastard, no doubt. He was Lucifer.
But that wasn’t me.
I couldn’t be that person. My conscience would not allow it, but also because killing would awaken the darkness inside me. I knew it like I knew my own name.
I knelt at his side and felt for a pulse, my own hammering a mile a minute. It was faint, but there. Could he even die?
I should have asked.
Too late now.
Quickly, I dug my hand into my pocket and pulled out the little vine. Life flickered inside it, powerful and new. I forced my magic into it, making it bigger. Then I pressed the vine to the wound and his chest. I had no idea if this would work, but something similar had worked in the past.
Shaking, I pressed my hand to the plant, using my magic to force its life into Lucifer, healing him.