Eliza growled low in her throat but agreed, the tension in her steps evident as she grudgingly backed away.
Deidre’s smile only widened, despite my blade digging into her neck.“How sweet.Nice to see you’ve made friends, Lil.Though, that didn’t work out well for you last time, did it?Doubt it will this time, either.”
Before I could stop myself, I pushed my blade’s sharp edge into her throat, splitting her skin.Blood slicked her throat, and, for some reason, the sight of it appeased the storm raging inside me.
Deidre had been my only friend in Hell—a sad reflection on my life, I know.Hell wasn’t exactly a friendly place.Its residents preferred disembowelments over tea parties.But Deidre had been different.I’d trusted her, bonded with her, shared all my secrets with her.And how had she repaid me?By selling me out to Lucifer faster than I could say “eternal damnation.”
I was missing a lot of memories, but sadly not the one of her standing next to my father, cold and detached, as my world crumbled around me.I’d only recently uncovered the prophecy—the one that claimed I’d destroy Hell and my father.And like a trusting fool, I’d confided in Deidre, only for her to scurry off and whisper all my secrets to Lucifer.Turned out, our so-called friendship had been a lie from the very start, a sham orchestrated by my father so he could keep tabs on me.She was his spy, her loyalty to him and him alone.
That was the day I learned to trust no one.
Fury broiled my veins.I wanted to shove my sword up her ass and roast her like a stuck pig.But again, I couldn’t.Not yet anyway.First, I needed answers.
What was she doing here?And more important,howhad she gotten here?I couldn’t ask either question with Eliza in earshot.I also wouldn’t get any answers if I shoved my blade through her mouth.At least, not right away.Obviously, Deidre was the hellspawn Mason had spotted, but that didn’t explainhowshe’d opened the portal in the first place.Looked like checking out the Legislature grounds had just climbed to the top of my to-do list.
I gave Deidre a rough shake.“You have five seconds to tell me what you’re doing here before I remove your head.So, start talking.”
“I kind of need my head to talk, Lil.Do you want answers or not?”Deidre commented casually, as though this was an everyday occurrence for her.Then again, it probablywas.It certainly had been for me when I’d lived way down south.Violence was the way of life there.
Deidre lifted her hand and touched the blood at her throat.Hunger ignited in her eyes, and while holding my gaze, she licked her fingers clean.Her mind games wouldn’t work on me, though.
“So help me, Deidre?—”
She rolled her eyes.“Would you believe me if I said I missed you?”When my expression flattened, she burst out laughing.“Guess not.”
“You have two more seconds,” I said.“And then I start chopping things off.”
“Oh,” she said, mimicking a shiver.“So scary, Lily.Guess you really are daddy’s little girl, after all.”
Guess she needed some motivation.
With a snarl, I wrenched Inferno’s Kiss back from her throat, even though it pained me to do so, and stabbed her right through her chest.Before she could so much as choke out a curse, I grabbed two of my daggers and drove them through each of her hands, pinning her to the wall like a butterfly.I silently thanked my infernal blades and their otherworldly strength, then stepped back and crossed my arms over my chest.
“Ready to talk now?”I demanded.
“I…guess that’s one way,” Eliza muttered, stepping up beside me.She lowered her crossbow as she studied Deidre.Her gaze then shifted to me, and she eyed me oddly, as though she was seeing a new version of me and trying to decide how she felt about it.Had I not been so angry, I might have laughed.Eliza wasn’t seeing a new version—she was finally seeing therealme.Someone I hadn’t let out in ten years.
Deidre’s bored gaze flicked down to the blade lodged in her chest, then quickly snapped back to my face.Her smile didn’t so much as waver.Instead, she raised her brows as though to say, “Really?”
“Time’s running out,” I told her.“The next blow won’t be something you can survive.”
She gave a melodramatic sigh.“I forgot how uptight you can be.”
“Deidre,” I warned.
“Fine.I’m looking for you,obviously,” she said, rolling her eyes.For someone with a blade through her chest, she was awfully glib.
“Why?”I demanded.
“Why?”she repeated, her gaze boring into mine.“Take a wild guess, Lily.I’m sure you’ll only need one.”
I frowned.Deidre was a hellspawn.She literally lived in Hell, under Lucifer’s rule.Really, there was onlyonepossible reason she’d be here.
“My father sent you,” I surmised.
“Good girl,” she said, her tone dripping with condescension.
I shot Eliza a sidelong glance.I wanted to shake all the answers out of Deidre, but I had to tread carefully.If Eliza learned my identity—well, let’s just say, I would be the only one walking out of here.And I didn’t want that.I quite liked the siren.
