“He’s been searching for you for a long time,” Deidre continued.“I’m sure Luc?—”
Instinct kicked in, and I ripped Inferno’s Kiss free from her chest.Deidre choked on a gasp, then coughed up a mouthful of blood.Good.Coughing meant she couldn’t talk, and as long as she was coughing, she couldn’t speak Lucifer’s name.
Deidre sagged forward as far as the daggers pinning her hands would allow.None of these wounds would kill her, but they sure wouldn’t feel great either.When she straightened, her eyes met mine before sliding to Eliza.Understanding smoothed Deidre’s features.“She doesn’t know, does she?”
“Know what?”Eliza asked.
“Nothing,” I retorted.
“Oh, that’s rich.”Deidre’s crimson eyes locked on Eliza, and amusement flared within.“I could really have some fun here.”
“Focus,” I snapped.I grabbed Deidre’s chin and pointed Inferno’s Kiss’s tip at her throat.“My father knowsexactlywhere I am.He’s the one who sent me here.So why would he be searching for me?You’re lying.And I don’t like it.”
A frown puckered Deidre’s face.“What are you talking about?Your father didn’t send you here.”
“What?”I demanded.“Of course he did, he?—”
“No, he didn’t,” Deidre said.“Trust me.I’m the one who’s spent the last ten fun-filled years searching for you.”
That didn’t make any sense.Who else could have exiled me?And how?Lucifer knew everything that happened in his kingdom, his domain.Nothing escaped his notice.My father was many things—cruel, calculating, tyrannical—but never careless.If he’d cast me out, he wouldn’t have lost track of me, let alone needed Deidre to find me.
Unless she was lying.But why?What would she gain?It changed nothing.
I’d assumed Lucifer was responsible—who else could it have been?But maybe I’d been wrong all along.And if I was wrong about that, what else had I gotten wrong?
The ground seemed to shift beneath me, the foundation of my reality crumbling yetagain.And, just like before, Deidre was here to witness it.
I forced my thoughts back to my arrival on Earth, desperately trying to piece everything together.But, as always, the second I did, agony speared my brain.I pressed a hand to my throbbing temple, trying to block out the pain.If I pushed any harder, I’d regret it.I’d tried once and had woken up two days later with a bitch of a migraine that had lasted a week.
“Lily, are you okay?”Eliza asked.
Blinking, I pushed the pain aside and focused.“You said my father is searching for me.Why?What does he want?”
“To drag you home, of course.”Deidre’s laugh was sharp, grating, and entirely too amused for someone in her current predicament.“He’s beenquitedistraught without you.”
Distraught, my angelic ass.“Bullshit.”
She snickered, her eyes gleaming with dark delight.“Okay, maybe distraught is a slight exaggeration.But it doesn’t change the outcome—you’re going back, whether you like it or not.”
“Not happening,” I said.
Deidre smiled, her fingers twitching slightly as she tested the daggers keeping her pinned.I knew she could free herself if she wanted—no blade could hold her for long.That she hadn’t already meant we were all unwitting players in one of her twisted games.“Bet I can change your mind.”
“I highly doubt that.”I levelled a glare at her.Nothing could convince me to return to Hell.I quite liked Earth and its luxuries—the few I could afford.
“Don’t you want to know what’s been happening back home while you’ve been here playing human?”she asked, her voice a soft purr.
I kept my expression neutral.“I don’t care.”
“Oh, but you should,” Deidre said with mock sweetness.“Because while you’ve been here, others have been paying for your defiance.You left quite the mess behind, Lily.And you know your father—someone had to pay the blood price.He made sure of that.And the lucky winner is someone you know very well.”
I narrowed my eyes.“Enough games, Deidre.Say what you came to say, or I’ll finish this right now.”
Deidre’s smile twisted, her eyes glinting with malicious glee.“I’m not playing any games, darling.Just telling you the truth.”
“You don’t know the definition of the word,” I spat.
She chuckled darkly.“Touché.But for once, I swear—no lies have passed my lips.”
