She bared her teeth at Belial, forcing a sweet drip into her voice. “Aw, Luci, you didn’t tell me your prince was a raging bitch.”
Belial struck out at Gali in a whir of movement, and Lucifer stepped in casually, stopping his prince with a hand around her throat before Gali could complete an inhale. He lifted Belial into the air and tossed her aside, sending her body flying to the other end of the room. She twisted midway and landed, snarling, on her feet, but Lucifer gave her a quick look, and Belial froze. The room was motionless for a beat, then she huffed and threw herself into a chair. Gali stared at Lucifer, and he smiled down at her.
“Let’s introduce you to everyone else,” he said, all sharp and pleasant.
The tension in the room was coiling like thick smoke, brushing against Gali’s skin and setting her nerves on edge. She glanced at the other princes, recognizing two of them as the guards from Oriak?’s father’s house. The glint of a sword caught her eye, and she bit her cheek at the sight of Leviathan polishing his blade with spare, efficient movements, his long locs knotted at the base of his neck and the pale corner of his mouth turned down as he returned Gali’s stare.
“You’ve already met Levi,” Lucifer was saying.
“She called you Luci,” the prince said, shifting his gaze to Lucifer. “And you allowed it.”
There was distinct accusation in his voice and Gali frowned. “Is that a problem?”
Levi growled at her, low and warning. “Don’t address me. You’re dead and you don’t even realize it.”
A murmur of agreement rolled around the room, and Gali felt her nostrils flare, her muscles clench in preparation for a fight she would certainly lose. Lucifer had promised, but she was standing in a room full of very powerful creatures who wanted her life. Celestial and Nana Darling’s plan to rescue her and rain wrath down on everyone else didn’t seem like such a bad idea anymore.
Lucifer sighed. “You can’t touch her yet.”
Yet.He was still betraying her with casual words. A beckoning altar, and Gali already knew which prince would slit her throat if he had the chance. Levi had looked away from her, but one of the other princes let their red-scale eyes drag over Gali’s body.
“It’s not a problem, Luci. Let us know when you’re done with her—I’ll gladly wait for my turn.”
Nausea pricked Gali’s stomach, but she didn’t let it show on her face. Was this normal? Did they pass women around? Lucifer had promised he’d never make her do anything she didn’t want to, but he was theDeviland she didn’t know him. How could she, as old and unfathomable as he was? Gali would never know how many unthinkable things he had done or what kinds of punishments he had inflicted or allowed his princes to inflict. He was the oldest enemy, and she’d just spread her legs for him, because what, hefeltgood?
Lucifer’s hand slid around hers and he squeezed it gently, as if he could tell what she was thinking.
“Mephis,” he said to the leering red-scale prince, “if you insinuate anything like that again, I’ll send you back to Hell in unidentifiable pieces.” His voice layered slightly as he delivered the threat, and goose bumps skittered down Gali’s arms. Mephis snapped their teeth but drew back, lowering their gaze.
Levi put his sword aside gently. “I don’t pretend to know what you’re thinking, Luci. You shouldn’t have brought her here, and you most certainly shouldn’t have walked her into this room.” He stood up gracefully, and Gali stared at his unfolding height. Leviathan was taller than Lucifer, colder and sharper. The rest of the princes fell silent and looked to him, even Belial. “You know how this will end. You brought her to this house and she knows what we are. The reasons to eliminate her keep compounding.”
Lucifer waved a hand flippantly. “We can argue about that when the time comes. I’m just here to tell you that Galilee’s family is on their way. No one is to harm them.”
He made it sound so casual, like people were joining them for dinner, and Gali had to stifle a mad giggle. The princes didn’t look remotely amused. Their eyes kept flicking to Lucifer’s hand wrapped around hers.
Another of the princes leaned forward, a soldier with gray eyes who had been at the mansion the night before. “Why are they coming here?”
Belial’s eyes narrowed. “Asmodeus asks a good question, but I have a better one. How did theyknowshe was here?”
Gali looked at Lucifer. How would the princes react if she told them what the Kincaid women were like? Would they brush it off, or would Nana and the others be seen as threats as well?
Before she could decide what to say, Leviathan tilted his head, his yellow eyes fixed back on Gali. “They’re tracking her.”
“Or she simply told them where to find her,” Mephis countered, a cruel smile flickering around their lips. “All the more reason to kill her.”
“I don’t evenknowwhere I am,” Gali snapped out.
“Why,” growled Levi, “are you stilltalking?”
His words felt like a slap, and Gali’s face colored. “Fuckyou,” she shot back.
Lucifer hissed gently, and Gali felt his fingers tighten against hers. “Careful, Levi,” he warned.
Belial stood from her chair. “Luci would never divulge our location, not even to his plaything. If they were able to track us, that means they’re a hunter clan.”
Asmodeus’s eyes lit up. “We haven’t battled with hunters in so long,” he said, with a slow grin.
“Always such a fun massacre in the end,” Mephis agreed, watching Gali’s face for a reaction. She tried not to give it to them, but the thought of these princes, these demons and devils, descending on the family she loved so dearly made her veins ice over. Nana and the others would fight—of course they would fight—but some of them would die and many of them would be hurt, and Gali couldn’t bear that happening just because she’d let herself want Lucifer with all the force her grandmother had warned her against. It was shameful, and for an equally shameful moment, Gali simply felt small and powerless. She turned to her monster, returning the pressure on Lucifer’s fingers and glancing up at him with a plea hidden in her eyes. Levi and Belial saw it anyway, and both their faces hardened.
