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She follows my instructions, acting quickly and without hesitation despite the fear that flickers in her eyes. I swoop and dive through the air, and as Sophia finishes placing the call, she has to scramble to keep her hold on the phone as I bank to the left suddenly, nearly jostling it out of her grip.
Distantly, I hear the phone ring, then Naamah’s worried voice comes through. Sophia must’ve put it on speaker.
“Lucas? What is it?” Naamah asks.
“Naamah, it’s Sophia.” The woman in my arms speaks quickly, clinging to me with one arm as I kick out at an attacking harpy and surge higher into the sky. “Lucifer and I need help. His house is under attack.”
“Don’t send her here,” I tell Sophia quickly. “Tell her to round up everybody and get them to my office building. It’s fortified more strongly. We’ll need that.”
“Did you hear what he said, Naamah? Get everybody to the office building.”
Naamah’s voice comes through the line, but I only pick up snatches of it as a winged demon with six arms cuts through the air and swipes out toward me. Sophia pauses, listening, then tilts her face up toward mine, raising her voice over the wind.
“She says there’s a lot of demon activity downtown, and they aren’t even trying to be subtle about it.”
“Damn it,” I growl. “Then Naamah needs to get there on the double and have my people form ranks. Prime the building defenses to full. Have them ready to engage by the time I get there.”
Sophia passes the message on, listening before she speaks to me again. “She says she just pulled up. She wants to know how far out we are. There are reports of ‘big ass demon birds’ showing up online.”
“Two minutes,” I tell her, then double my speed.
I’m dodging the big ass demon birds—nice umbrella term, I think I’ll keep it—and leading them on a high-speed chase through the skyscrapers. One connects with a wall behind me with a satisfyingthunk, but some of the smarter ones are simply following from above.
Muttering a string of curses, I drop down under balcony level. It’s too close to human eyes for comfort, but it’s better than being torn to shreds on the fly, forcing our pursuers to come down if they want to keep eyes on me.
Nothing catches up with us, although I hear their frustrated shrieks not too far behind. I’m skimming over the ground now as I whip around the final corner, letting my feet touch the ground just outside my towering office building. Sophia and I race the last few steps and dive inside, where Naamah and my entourage are waiting.
“There are more coming,” Naamah tells me by way of greeting. “A lot more. Whoever coordinated this attack took their time with it. They must’ve been planning for months, and taking out the Eleventh Street Psychos was either too little or too late. Or both. This isbig, boss.”
“Fucking hell,” I hurl between my teeth.
I can hear them coming. The floor is vibrating with the force of hundreds marching in time— hundreds of traitorous demon bastards on their way to meet their deaths. I should’ve squashed this rebellion against my rule on Earth a long time ago, but I plan to make up for that oversight right now.
Pulling Sophia tight against me, I kiss her hard, memorizing her taste and the way she feels in my arms.Just in case. Then I push her toward Naamah.
“Take her,” I tell my second in command. “Keep her safe. We’ll take care of this.”
I nod around to my entourage, all of whom return the gesture grimly. Sophia opens her mouth, her eyes frantic, but before she can speak, Naamah grabs her arm, tugging her gently away from me even as Sophia digs her heels in.
The reinforced glass of the doors vibrates as demons crash into it, and I spare one last reluctant look at Sophia.
I don’t have time to convince you, little bird. I just need to keep you safe.
“Go!” I shout at Naamah.
She stops playing around and lifts Sophia’s heels off the ground as she drags her away to safety. Confident in my second’s abilities, I turn to face the threat.
“These fucking demons should know better than to attack the Prince of Hell,” I growl loudly enough for my people to hear.
Especially now that I have something to fight for.
A feral roar leaves my throat, and it’s echoed by every one of my followers as we brace ourselves to meet the threat, determined to leave none of our enemies alive.
Chapter29
Sophia
Racing awayfrom the battle feels wrong. My heart is thudding with terror, but Lucifer is in danger. I hear him bellow, and I tug on Naamah’s hand, desperate to go back, to help, even if all I can do is distract the attacking demons.
