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The heat was unfathomable. The pain so instant and cruel that my legs nearly failed me, and I had to use half of my strength and will just to stay upright. It felt like every nerve was being simultaneously stabbed and pressed onto a hot stovetop. But this was only the first step.
I ignored the tears that welled and fell, tried to push the pain into a corner of my attention.
I punched farther through the magic, sweat joining the tears on my face, until I touched Rosantine and drew a quick circle on her shoulder with a fingertip. I hoped I wasn’t supposed to see anything happen, because her skin stayed clear.
She jerked, snapped her head back to look at me. Gone now was any semblance of the pretty looks and soft voice. She tried to pull away, but Lulu held her firm.
Demonettes clawed around me, trying to get close enough to pull me off or break our connection. But Connor and Alexei swiped and generally pummeled so I could do my work.
Each line in the sigil took effort; I had to consciously force my assaulted nerves to respond, my fingers to move. My knees were wobbling now, my vision blurry. My mouth felt like sandpaper from the sheer heat of the circle, and my eyes burned from smoke and magic.
Rosantine screamed her fury, vibrated from the effort of trying to beat back Lulu’s hold.
“Seven!” Theo called out over the roaring wind and the unending crackle of the sigil’s flame.
“Last one,” was all I managed to say, and in barely a hoarse whisper, as I drew the final mark.
There was a contraction, an expansion, and the pop of obligation settling into place. The fire dropped to a low blue shimmer on the ground, and Rosantine sank to her knees, looked back at me with banked fury.
“You,” I managed before falling to my knees, “are commanded.”
***
There was silence for a moment. I ventured a look at my hand, expecting to find horrifically charred skin—and was shocked to find it looked completely normal. That power, that heat, had been magic. Not fire.
“Lis?” Connor asked.
“I’m okay,” I said, and could feel the weight of Rosantine’s obligation under my skin. I might be able to command her, but I’d have to carry those chains until the order was carried out.
“Five minutes,” Theo said. His voice was quieter now that the fire was no longer roaring.
Slowly, I climbed to my feet, adjusting to the weight, and looked at Rosantine.
“Return Cadogan House and its inhabitants. Immediately.”
Rosantine grinned, and there was evil in it—actual malice—that had my blood running cold. “The moon turns. Even if I must do as you ask, I am strong enough to delay. I am strong enough to wait until it is too late. Until there is nothing but stone and glass.”
Fury roared inside me, and I nearly lunged at her, until Lulu’s voice, powerful and booming, called out.
“Andaras!” Lulu said, the word a demand. “You have been commanded. You will return Cadogan House and its inhabitants, alive and well, immediately.”
“No.”
Lulu clucked her tongue. “I don’t think you understand. You have no choice—if you wish to live. You do as you are commanded, and you will live. But if the House and its inhabitants are not returned in time”—her voice was low, terrifying—“you will die by our hands. Those are your only choices.”
She bared her teeth, but there was more desperation than anger in her eyes now. “You will seal me. To be sealed is death.”
“Not literal death,” Lulu said. “And that’s your other option. Make your choice, or we will make it for you.”
I pushed glamour into the chains that bound me and Rosantine, watched her fight back against us. Then gave her another push. She growled in frustration, but I saw the magic move over her eyes, urging her on.
“I will return your House.”
“Great,” I said, my heart beating with terrible, delicate hope. “We have a deal in principle. Here are the entire terms.” I turned to the vampire who stood with Theo and the others; they’d agreed to meet us at the House to see this through. They handed me a screen. I looked it over, held it out to Rose.
“This is the contract which will bind you. You can read its terms, but basically, the House comes back in the same condition in which it left, as do the occupants, the furnishings, et cetera. It’s all detailed in the fine print. In exchange, you will be sealed in the hell from which you came.”
“I will sign no contract.”
