“There you go again with those ominous statements. Will you please tell me what’s happening? How does he know we’re here? Why does he want to feed us?”
“In here.” He dragged me through a doorway and pressed a button on the wall.
“You use elevators in Hell?” My mouth hung open, so I snapped it shut. Aside from the lava stream, the beasties, and everything being black, Hell looked so…normal.
“We’re heading to the thirtieth floor. Would you prefer to use the stairs?” He finally loosened his grip, and I tugged from his grasp, rubbing my arm and rotating my shoulder.
“Elevator’s good. Is this an apartment building?”
The door slid open, and he stepped inside. “Yes.”
I followed. “Do you live here?”
He missed a beat in his reply. “No.”
Gravity made me heavy on my feet as the elevator whisked us upward. “Then why are we here? Where do you live? Or…where did you live before you were imprisoned? In that palace?”
He cut me a sideways glance. “You ask too many questions.”
I parked my hands on my hips. “If you would tell me what the actual eff is going on, I wouldn’t have to. This stoic, man-of-few-words persona might’ve worked on women in the seventeenth century, but we have agency now. I want answers.”
He growled softly and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of the elevator and, once again, dragging me down the hall. Shiny red sigils dotted the black wallpaper, glittering as we passed, and my heels thudded on the black marble floor as we made our way to the door at the end of the hall. He pushed it open and gestured for me to enter, but I held my palms toward him.
“You expect me to walk in first when I have no idea what’s inside?” I arched a brow. “I’m not leaving this hallway until you answer my questions.”
“As you wish.” He crossed the threshold, and the door swung shut behind him.
“Are you kidding me?” I grabbed the knob, but it wouldn’t budge. The nerve of that man! “Open the door, Discord.”
Silence answered me, so I pounded it with the side of my fist. “Open it right now, or you will regret it.”
“Will I?” Amusement tinged his words. “And what, fair witch, will you do if I refuse?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but he had me there, didn’t he? I was a light witch in a dark realm, bound to a demon prince, with the ruler of the Underworld expecting me to show up for dinner any minute now. I was screwed.
“If you take me to Lucifer looking like this, he’ll probably shred my soul. What do you think will happen to you when he does that?” I moved closer to the door, resting my palm against it and lowering my voice. “With my soul bound to yours, I imagine it would be painful for both of us. We may be on your turf, but I think, right now, you need me as much as I need you.”
Five seconds of silence passed before the knob turned and the door swung open. I stepped through the threshold before either of us could change our minds and found myself inside a demonic penthouse apartment.
Translucent red tiles covered the floor, and the wall to my right had streams of what looked like lava flowing down it, disappearing into a black marble drain beneath. A hellcat-skin rug lay in the center of a recessed living room, and leather couches formed a U shape around it. I didn’t dare ask where the leather came from.
A black suit lay across the back of the nearest sofa, and Discord picked it up, draping it over his arm. How he planned to fit his massively muscled body into a human-sized outfit was beyond me.
“She is a pretty one, Discord,” a demon purred as she stepped out of a room to my left. “I can see why she was able to disarm you.”
I fisted my hands as she slinked toward me. Her forked tongue darted out from plum-colored lips, and her yellow irises constricted, her pupils turning to vertical slits like a cat. Aside from the eyes and tongue, she could’ve passed as human, with umber skin, long, flowing hair, and a shimmery gold dress that was slit up to her hip.
“She did not…” He blew out a hard breath. “She needs clothes. Something worthy of an audience with Lucifer.”
The demon looked me up and down. “If she hadn’t already bound herself to you, I’d demand you let me have my way with her as payment.”
Discord’s nostrils flared. “You owe me, Belira. Don’t forget that.”
She laughed. “You’ll never let me. You could join us…just like old times.”
Oh. She was a succubus. I’d let him lure me into the lair of a sex demon, and she was an old flame who wanted a three-way to boot. Fabulous.
His jaw tightened. “Four centuries later, and you still try my patience.”
