“No wonder the hunters love this thing so much,” I said. “Effective, right? You don’t even have to be a good shot. You just… Oops!” I squeezed off another round, hitting him square in the chest. “Sorry! Sensitive trigger, I guess. Who knew?”
His eyes glowed demon red, but Sebastian could barely hold up his own head.
For the first time in our long and twisted relationship, it seemed the Prince of Hell finally knew the score.
“So that’s it, then?” he raged, his words beginning to slur. “You’re just going to smoke me like a stuck pig?”
“You deserve it.”
“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t, but are you prepared to deal with the demon who takes my place?”
I shrugged, letting him stew in the silence for a bit. Then, quickly bored of the game, I rolled my eyes and said, “Who said I wanted to kill you?”
“Kill, obliterate, what’s the difference?”
“Are you always this dramatic? God, how did you get so far up the ranks with an attitude like that?” I stepped up onto the altar and crouched down in front of him, enjoying the view of his pathetic body crumpling in a heap. Meeting his gaze, I said, “I don’t need to obliterate you, Sebastian. I just need you to know that Icouldhave. I need you to remember it. To think about it every day for the rest of your wretched existence. For all your machinations, your tortures, your power games—at the end of the day, it was a witch who put your balls in a jar. A witch whose soul you once thought you could buy.”
Sebastian lowered his eyes. He had nothing to say to that. There was nothing hecouldsay.
“I’m officially taking myself off the market,” I announced, getting back to my feet. “As of right now, I’m no longer for sale—for you or anyone else.”
Reluctantly, painfully, he nodded.
“Say it,” I ordered.
“You’re… You’re not for sale, Silversbane.”
“Neither is Ronan.”
His eyes blazed with fresh anger, but before he got another word out, I pointed the gun at his balls.
“Say it. Ronan is not for sale.”
“But his parents bargained away his soul in a fair—”
“There is nothing fair about someone trading the eternal life of a child to further their own greedy ends, and you fucking know it, asshole.”
Sebastian unleashed a scream of frustration, but he’d lost, and he knew it. Resigned, he could only glare at me now. “What are you asking me, witch? Be specific. You know I relish in the fine print.”
“Release Ronan from his contract,” I said. “From all connection to you. And just so we’re clear, I’mnotasking you.” I pressed the toe of my boot against his balls, making him squirm. “I’m telling you.”
Sebastian’s face turned purple with anger, but eventually, he nodded. “You and Ronan are both released from your agreements. My claim on your souls is hereby relinquished.”
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” I took a step backward and lowered the gun. “Hey, don’t look so glum. Lucky for you, Idohonor my own agreements.”
“Trinity?” he asked, perking up.
I nodded. “But before I release her to you, and releaseyouback to hell, there’s one thing I need to know.”
“What’s that?”
“Why her?” I asked, genuinely curious. “What was so special about Trinity’s deal that you spent all these decades trying to find her?”
For a long while, I didn’t think he was going to answer. But then he finally sighed, and said, “It was never about her deal, Silversbane. Trinity O’Leary murdered your father. Do you have any idea what that did to your grandmother? To know that her daughter-in-law murdered her only son? Her only child?”
My mouth hung open, my eyes wide with shock. “You wanted to bring her to justice for what she’d done to my family?”
“No. I wanted to bring her to justice to give your grandmother the peace she deserved. Sadly, I was never able to do that for her.”
