Page 307 of Sorrow & Strangers

“Al, you’ll need to organize a trusted council while you’re at Avalon,” I say.

Alice nods. “I’ll have to spend the summer here doing that,” she agrees with a tone of solemnity that is foreign to my best friend, but that is part and parcel of the crown nestled on her head as if it were made to be there. She turns her gaze to Rafe. “Lucifer does not do anything for nothing,” Alice says, quoting the stranger.

I also look at Rafe.

He lifts his chin, not paling under our scrutiny. “He doesn’t.” His voice holds no sign of regret. “I heard Mira scream, and you were both too far.” He looks between us. “So I did what I had to do.”

“And what was that?” Alice asks, the power of the queen still lining her voice.

“I made a deal,” Rafe says, still with no regret.

Alice lifts the crown from her head and places it on a cushion that appears beside her. As soon as it is in place, it disappears again.

“What was the deal, Rafe?” I ask, tension pulling my muscles tight. This could be very fucking bad. Everyone knows how badly Lucifer wants his heir at his side.

“Three months,” he says, and Alice curses.

Is that three Hell months or three normal ones?

“I had to.”

I shake my head. “Rafe⁠—”

“How long will that be for you?” Alice cuts me off, her own anger rising.

Rafe finally looks away, regret staining his cheeks. “A little more than two years.”

This time, it’s my turn to curse.

Alice starts to pace. “How do you know he’ll let you go at the end of the summer?” Alice asks.

“He’s bound by the same deal I am.”

“What about Mira?” I ask, and his eyes flash to meet mine. While there is a tentative agreement between Pyrrhos and Hell, the only way for her to get there would be to actually be in Pyrrhos, and though I haven’t heard her story yet, I know the stranger liberated her from a less-than-ideal situation. “Two years without her.”

“I could hear her dying,” Rafe says, his eyes turning turbulent. “I could feel it.”

I shake my head again. There must have been another way out of it. We had planned for everything. Well, everything except the dark fae, and that was an oversight. I didn’t think they wanted me to the extent of liaising with another species.

“Rafe, this wasn’t . . . There was another way.”

“I didn’t know the stranger was here. He went to you first. I couldn’t . . . I needed her to live,” Rafe says, and there is a deep sadness in his voice at even the thought.

“We can . . . we can get you out of it. There has to be a way,” I say, pushing my sai back into my thigh sheath. “We just have to . . . fuck.” I shake my head. “This wasn’t part of the plan.”

“He won’t hurt me.”

“It’s literally Hell, Rafe!” Alice says, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

“And it’ll hurt Mira.”

Rafe rubs the back of his neck. “I’ll talk to Uncle Lu about Mira⁠—”

“No,” Alice growls. “That will only lead to another deal.”

I nod. “Alice is right. Don’t mention her.”

“Then what should I do?”