The only sound was the soft thuds of our feet as we speed-walked down the long hallway. So far there were no hordes of demons coming to stop us, no signs at all that we wouldn’t be able to simply leave the same way I had four and a half years ago when I’d first walked out of Lucifer’s palace after making the deal with him. But I wasn’t willing to believe it would be easy until we were out. My muscles were tense, ready for the fight I had to believe was coming.
There was no warning. One second we were walking down the hall, hand in hand, and the next my legs gave out. I fell to my knees hard, little jolts of pain radiating through my legs and up the rest of my body.
“Jor.” Laila dropped beside me. “What’s wrong?” I hated the panic in her tone, the fear on her face.
I wanted to tell her I was fine, but, well, I clearlywasn’tfine. I couldn’t make my mouth open, couldn’t force out so much as a single syllable. My brain no longer seemed to control my body. I pitched forward, catching myself with a hand on the cold floor.
“Joriel,” Laila repeated. “Please.”
“He can’t answer you.” The voice held no emotion. It wasn’t cold or angry or excited. It just was.
“What did you do to him?” Laila demanded, turning her attention on the demon prince behind us.
“I haven’t done anything to him,” Lucifer answered. “I’m simply exercising my right to claim his being, to determine what happens to his physical body.”
“Your right?” Laila gritted out, her voice hard and cold in a way I’d never heard before. She’d always seen the good, the light in everyone, but there was nothing warm or forgiving in her tone as she spoke to Lucifer.
My head bowed, my chin falling to my chest as my eyes closed. Panic exploded in my gut, icy hot and all-consuming, but it didn’t do me any good. My mind screamed and thrashed, but my body remained motionless in its position of submission. I was blind and utterly powerless.
“You should have known better, little angel, than to marry one whose soul belongs to me.”
I had to stand up. I had to fight whatever he was doing to me. For her. I had to be stronger than this for her. But my body wouldn’t obey me. Iwasn’tstrong enough.
“When yourhusbandgave me his soul,” Lucifer continued, “he became like a demon, bound to Hell and to my will. I can make him do anything.”
It was weird and terrifying to feel my body move without knowing what it was going to do, without being the one in control of the movement. I was aware that I was climbing to my feet, but in a distant sort of way. My eyes were still closed, shutting out the world around me and leaving me in darkness.
I felt Laila’s warmth against my skin as my arm wrapped around her neck, holding her against my body. I felt more than heard her sharp intake of breath as my hold tightened just enough to be uncomfortable for her.
Lucifer’s chuckle sent a wave of fury through me. I wanted to kill him, wanted it more than I’d ever wanted anything… except Laila’s safety. I didn’t have time to be mad at the Devil. Doing my best to quiet the panic in my mind, I embraced the darkness of my closed eyes. It had been years since I’d felt connected to Father, since I could feel the bond between us. Lucifer was right when he’d described me as being like a demon. But doubt wasn’t something I could afford at the moment.
Please,I prayed with every fiber of my being, with the heart that would never belong to Lucifer.Please protect her. She doesn’t deserve to pay for my sins. She loves You. She loves like I’ve never seen before. I don’t care what happens to me as long as You keep her safe. Give her strength and comfort. I’ll do anything in my power,anything. Please, Father. Don’t let me hurt her. Take my life, destroy my soul, whatever it takes. Just don’t let me hurt her.
My eyes snapped open, breaking my concentration. I was staring straight at Lucifer. A cruel smile adorned his beautiful face.
“Come,” he said unnecessarily as my legs moved on their own, dragging Laila with me as we headed for the throne room.
Lucifer went straight to his armchair and sprawled in it, the utter picture of lazy indifference. One of his hellhounds sat beside the throne, his red eyes locking on Laila and me with keen interest. I pulled Laila to stand in front of the dais and then released her, moving to Lucifer’s side and dropping to my knees hard. I wasn’t sure if his control over my body was sloppy or if he was being deliberate and wanted it to hurt. I bowed my head toward the Prince of Darkness, my whole back curving in a show of respect.
“Take him,” Lucifer said, gesturing to one of the grand princes I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure I’d seen him at any of the parties Laila and I had been to since arriving in the Devil’s court. He was perfection made flesh. Even Lucifer looked unremarkable next to him.
The prince approached me, pulling my wrists behind my back and fastening shackles around them. He gave Lucifer a pointed look, and I sagged with relief as the compulsion slipped away and my body became my own again. Not that I was in a position to do much of anything as the prince who’d chained me pulled me to my feet and started hauling me out of the throne room.
My gaze shot to Laila. She was watching me, and the look in her eyes broke my heart all over again. There was nothing but affection and kindness in her eyes. A promise that it would be okay even though we both knew it wouldn’t.
I couldn’t leave her alone with Lucifer. The heavenly fire in my blood flared, flooding my veins with heat.
“Don’t try it,” the demon who held me warned low in my ear. “It won’t end well for you.Eitherof you.”
“I’m not leaving her,” I growled.
“You will if you care about her at all. His Highness doesn’t have any claim on her. She was stolen out of Heaven and never agreed to anything. He’ll let her go back to where she came from. It’s you he won’t let go of.”
I had no way of knowing if the demon was telling the truth, but if he was, fighting might only make things worse for Laila. And he was right about one thing. No one in Hell had any claim over Laila. She belonged to Father, and Lucifer wouldn’t hold her prisoner. He couldn’t without starting a war between Heaven and Hell, one that none of us wanted anytime soon.
So I let the demon prince drag me into the darkness beyond the throne room.
A deep cold sank into my skin, all the way to the bone. It was excruciating but only lasted a second before I was standing in a dimly lit hallway with rows of heavy-looking doors.
