I focused on the courtyard framed by the buildings. There were a number of posts standing proudly in the middle of the square. They were kind of gorgeous—black stone with detailed carvings wrapping around them—but there was something dark and sinister about them that made me shiver.
Joriel’s hand settled on the small of my back, guiding me to the left. We skirted around the plaza toward a collection of mansions, so large they could have housed a village each.
“Lucifer’s palace is on the other side of the court,” he murmured. “That’s how we get to Hell’s lobby and get you out of here.”
“We can’t just walk across the Devil’s court and waltz into Lucifer’s palace,” I hissed under my breath. “There’s no way that’ll work.”
“You’re right,” a voice said from the shadows of the trees.
I looked toward the sound, and my eyes connected with a pair of light amber ones that I’d recognize anywhere.
I sucked in a breath as Roth stepped out of the shadows enough for the light to illuminate his features. He was every bit as handsome as I remembered, his dark curls falling across his forehead in a careless manner. And even knowing how he’d betrayed me, I couldn’t help the way my heart wanted to sympathize with the pain I felt radiating from him. It was instinct to want to use my powers to take away the emotional suffering of anyone even though I knew Roth didn’t deserve my help.
He tipped his head in a nod of acknowledgment. “Laila, it’s good to see you again.”
I hated that his words rang with truth. He genuinely was glad to see me.
“You have no reason to listen to me, but you know when I speak the truth. If you stay here, looking like you just crawled through Hell, you will end up right back in the prison realm.”
I replayed his words, searching for some kind of hidden meaning or trick, but I couldn’t think of too many ways to take that sentence.
“Come to my house,” he said. “I promise you, neither of you will come to any harm under my roof. I will do everything in my power to ensure that.”
“What counts as harm?” I asked, my first words to Roth since I pleaded with him in that cavern right before he left me to Soneillon.
“I cannot promise that no word will be said that could hurt you, but I do promise you overall safety to the best of my ability. I do want to see you succeed, Laila.”
There was not a single lie. And even if there was some way he was playing me, we didn’t have a lot of options. A promise of safety in his house was more than we were going to get anywhere else in this court.
I glanced at Joriel, but he didn’t say anything. I was the one who could sense lies, and he was leaving it up to me whether we agreed to Roth’s invitation.
I gave Roth a single nod. I wasn’t going to pretend to be enthusiastic about this, but he was the best option we had at the moment. And damn if that didn’t make me want to hate him just a little bit more.
We walked along the edge of the forest, hidden from obvious view, and came out in the backyard of one of the massive houses.
Roth led us through a back door into a surprisingly cozy study with dark red walls and lots of wood. Two floor-to-ceiling bookshelves framed either side of a fireplace. The floor was almost entirely covered by a large emerald-green oriental rug. There wasn’t a single window in the room, and most of the light came from a couple of lamps placed on a low table between two armchairs. There was also a small couch and a desk crammed with papers and books. Under different circumstances, the room would be a lovely place to curl up with a book and relax.
But this was Roth’s study, and no matter how comfortable it seemed, this was still enemy territory.
The door clicked shut behind us, and I glared at Roth. “You should know I’m not the same naive girl I was the last time you saw me.”
Roth swallowed, a flicker of what looked like regret flashing in his eyes. “I’m sorry for the part I played in that. I wish there had been another way.”
“Another way for what?”
He shook his head. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Then what can you tell me?” I watched him even though I knew he was a master at using his body and expressions to lie when his words didn’t.
“That I was powerless to change what happened. I can’t stand in the way of deals made between the King of kings and the Prince of Darkness.”
“Can you stop talking in riddles for five seconds and just say what you mean?”
He tugged at the ends of his hair. “I want to help you. I never wanted to hurt you. I didn’t have a choice.”
I stared him down. “There’s always a choice.”
He nodded. “You’re right. I didn’t have abetterchoice.”
