“Should we not go?”
Roth shook his head. “Honestly, you don’t have much of a choice. To ignore or decline an invitation from one of the grand princes is a slight that will not go unnoticed. You don’t really want the Prince of Lust as your enemy.”
I felt Joriel stiffen beside me.
“The one you were dancing with,” he said. It wasn’t really a question.
I wasn’t sure why it mattered which prince Asmodeus was. All the original Fallen were dangerous. They’d all sided with Lucifer in the great war of Heaven. They all ruled over a sin that could cause anyone to stumble and fall.
“When you say we’ll be on our own,” I said, sliding into the chair beside Roth, “what exactly does that mean?”
“You will be Asmodeus’s guests, not mine. I won’t be able to interfere on your behalf if anything happens.”
“Okay. Can you give us a crash course in everything we should know about your brothers before we have to go?”
“We don’t have time to even scratch the surface of that.”
I rolled my eyes. “A rundown of powers and basic personalities would suffice,” I said dryly.
Joriel leaned against the counter beside me, his hand resting on my thigh.
“Our abilities are similar to the average angel. Except we can all sense demonic and angelic power as well as human emotions, and we all have power of influence.”
“That would have been good to know before last night,” Joriel muttered.
I shushed him and motioned for Roth to continue.
“Lucifer won’t be there. He never leaves his palace. Leviathan doesn’t have any powers you really have to worry about. Just don’t make any gambles with him or challenge him to anything. He never loses. If you have an addiction to anything, Abadon will be able to tell. Asmodeus can sense virginity and see the bonds between people.”
My whole body went still, and Joriel’s hand tightened on my thigh. That was a lot of information we didn’t need any demons knowing about us.
“Berith can see blood on another’s hands,” Roth continued, either oblivious to our sudden tension or choosing to ignore it. “Beelzebub can see the bond between a person and the holy spirit. And Python can sense untruths the same way you can.”
“What about you?” I asked.
He shot me a quick grin. “I’m a talented thief.”
I looked over at Joriel. Our gazes connected, and I saw my fears reflected in his eyes. Asmodeus knew how we felt about each other, probably better than we knew ourselves. And I doubted a virgin walking into a party was a common occurrence in the Devil’s court. No wonder we’d caught his attention. The question was, what did he have planned for us?
* * *
My jaw droppedwhen I stepped through the door of Asmodeus’s mansion the following Friday. It was nothing like the rich entry hall of Mammon’s house. While the Prince of Greed had shown off his abundance of… well, everything, the Prince of Lust seemed more focused on atmosphere.
The room was dark with colored lights flashing and moving around the open dance floor. Off to one side of the room was a collection of Saint Andrew’s crosses and tall, narrow cages lit in red. Some of the cages were fitted with swings or poles in the middle.
I quickly looked away from the red-bathed section of the room, my eyes landing on a stage that appeared to be the only part of the room lit with white lights. Men and women danced in front of an LED panel that cycled through pink diamond patterns.
I understood why Roth told us not to dress up this time. There wasn’t a jewel in sight.
A lesser demon approached and bowed her head to me. “Miss, a room has been prepared for you.”
I shot a glance toward Joriel and Roth. The prince was already gone, absorbed by the crowd. Joriel looked at me with the same bewilderment I felt.
“Miss?” the demon prompted, gesturing down a narrow side hall.
I didn’t like the idea of being separated from Joriel so quickly, but I also didn’t want to start a fight over something as small as being shown to a room.
The demon didn’t lead me to a bedroom or a prison cell. There was no erotic furniture or other red flags. The room was small and empty aside from a table with clothes laid out on it and a mirror that covered one wall.
