Infernal Games by Jenna Wolfhart

27

“Mia.” Caim swept me up into his arms, and his dark hair tickled my cheek. “You’re never allowed to leave like that again. Do you hear me?”

“I’m sorry,” I eked out as he crushed me against his chest. “I was just trying to do the right thing and save you from the flamey burning place.”

He chuckled, a familiar sound that warmed my heart. “Well, your little stunt did one thing. It convinced Az to fight back. So, maybe it was the right thing to do after all.”

“From what I heard, you weren’t very keen to fight either.” Slowly, he lowered me to my feet.

He ruffled his hair. “You’re right. And that’s not like me. But I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Only a temporary lapse in judgement, that’s all. It isn’t in our blood to give up. No matter what this world throws at us, we have to keep fighting.”

“One day at a time.” I smiled.

He clasped my hand in his and nodded. “One fight at a time.”

Serena appeared just behind him, her hand clutching her throat. She let out a little growl and threw herself at me like a feral wolf. I opened my arms as she slammed into me. Her arms clutched my neck, and her angry tears dampened my cheek.

When she pulled back, she shoved a finger into the center of my chest. “I can’t believe you left without saying goodbye. After calling me about that damn fae. I thought they’d eaten you up and spit you out. You can’t do things like that, Mia.”

“I’m sorry.” I took her shaking hand in mine and squeezed. “I thought you’d try to stop me.”

“Damn straight I would have,” she said fiercely. “I’m not going to let you run off and face the world alone. You and me, we’re a team. Always. Never do this again, okay? If you need help, come to me. I know you’d do the same for me.”

“You’re right.” I nodded. “I would.”

“We’re going to figure this out together.” At that, she pulled me back in for another hug. I clung on tight, regretting my decision to run. I’d only been trying to do the right thing and save those close to me. But all I’d done was cause them torment and fear. For so long, I’d depended on myself and no one else. I’d had to get by on my own. But my life wasn’t like that anymore. Thank god. This was my team. My family.

We quickly got to work when the rest of the crew drifted in with more pizza and beer. Hendrix waddle over and poked at my foot, and I could have sworn I saw an accusation in the pigeon’s eyes. I’d left him, too. But that sounded crazy. To make it up to him, I gave him his own slice of pizza.

The penthouse filled with movement and noise, reminding me of the many nights I’d spent surrounded by the Legion before Lucifer had appeared in Manhattan to terrorize us all. But a heavy cloud hung over our all our heads. The lack of the demons’ presence was like a black hole sucking all the light into it. They should be here with us, plotting and scheming.

Valac should be in the back corner, watching from the shadows, his clever mind twisting ideas into fully formed plans. Phenex should barge around and make jokes about feeding our enemies to the fishes. Stolas would pour over a book with a silent determination in the set of his strong shoulders. Bael would toss a ball from hand to hand and comparing our tactics to players on a cricket field.

We had to get them back.

“Only Lucifer knows where the Legion is.” Priyanka settled down beside me and hung her head in her hands. “We don’t have time to search every building in this city, especially not without tipping him off. He’d see us coming a mile away, and that’s if we even found them. Do you know how many buildings are in this damn city?”

“Approximately five gazillion,” I said flatly. “Especially if you’re counting the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think he would have crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. He would have stayed nearby.”

Something flickered in the back of my mind as Priyanka’s words cut through me. She was right. Lucifer was the only one who knew where he’d hid the Legion. We didn’t have time to check out every lead we’d scribbled on the whiteboard. There were about thirty of them so far, all places where Lucifer had once stayed during his trips into the city. Which meant we needed to narrow it down. Way down.

To one lead.

And Lucifer had said instructions were incoming. Hmm.

I motioned to Caim. He trailed over from the whiteboard where he’d been scribbling what looked like nonsense for a good half hour. “Caim, do you remember everything that letter said?”

“Sure.” He grinned. “I have a photographic memory. Most of the time, it’s an asset. Good for remembering phone numbers.” He leaned closer and whispered. “Phone numbers from women, if you know what I mean.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I think we all get what you mean, Caim. How did the letter end? What are we supposed to do when we’ve made our decision?”

“Doesn’t really matter, does it?” The smile slid from his face. “We’re not handing you or Az over to him.”

“No, but he doesn’t know that,” I explained. “So, what’s his plan? Where are we supposed to make the swap? Is he coming here? Or are we supposed to go to him?”

Caim’s brows winged upward. “We’re supposed to meet him at the club to tell him our decision.”

“Infernal. That’s good.” I nodded. “That’s our territory, not his.”

“What are you trying to say, Mia?”

“Lucifer knows Az would do anything for his Legion, and he has a pretty good idea about the bond I share with him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble to keep us apart.” I glanced over at Az in deep discussion with Serena. Even now, his shadows were frantic strands whipping around his arms. He wouldn’t relax until all of this was over.

“Right,” Caim said. “Which is why Lucifer plotted this whole abduction scheme in the first place. It was the easiest way to get Az to do what he wants.”

I nodded and met his gaze. “So, we make Lucifer think Az is going to do exactly that.”

Realization dawned in his eyes, and he sucked in a sharp breath. “You want to set a trap for Lucifer.”

“Sounds pretty insane when you say it out loud, but...yes.” I lifted the map I’d been studying. “We’ve tried our best here, and time is running out. We’ll never find where he’s hiding them unless we get extremely lucky. Think that’s going to happen?”

“Probably not,” he muttered. “Az might not like this. I know we planned to fight him, but we wanted to find the Legion first. Otherwise, it’s just me and Az up against him.”

“You don’t have to fight him by yourselves,” I said with a meaningful arch of my brow.

“You?” Caim shot me a lopsided smile. “You know I love you, Mia, but you’re human.”

I wrapped my hand around the signet ring. “I still have Az’s ring, and I haven’t used it in weeks. If I wait for the right moment to blast it, Lucifer will never see it coming.”

Caim shook his head and caught Az’s attention with a flick of his fingers. As he left Serena to join us, Caim spoke out of the corner of his mouth. “Just going to warn you now. He’s not going to go for this.”

“Go for what?” Az folded his arms, and his swirling shadows reached out toward my heart.

“Mia’s had an idea.” Caim grinned. “Haven’t you, Mia? I’ll let you fill him in on your little plan.”

“Should have known you’d be a coward,” I muttered.

“It was your idea,” he said in a singsong voice.

I rolled my eyes and told Az about the plan. We’d pretend to go along with Lucifer’s demands, get the Legion back, and then surround him. While Az and Caim distracted him with battle, I’d blast him with the ring. It would be enough to catch him off guard and give the demons a chance to...well, rip out his heart.

“I don’t like it,” Az growled.

“Told you,” Caim said.

“It doesn’t matter if you like it or not,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “There aren’t any other options. We have a few hours until we’re supposed to make a decision, and Lucifer will make his move regardless of whether or not we meet him to make the trade.”

“I don’t want you anywhere near him, Mia.” His voice was firm and unyielding, but I wasn’t going to back down that easily.

“It’s not up to you.” I squared my shoulders and met his eyes. “It’s my life, and it’s my decision to make.”

He captured my face in his hands and searched my eyes with an intensity that made my toes curl. Even here, in front of everyone, when we were hours away from our potential deaths, I wanted him desperately.

“I know you remember a time when you were strong and powerful and brimming with magic.” He pressed his forehead against mine. “But you’re human now, Mia. Your life is fragile. I can’t let you put yourself in that kind of danger.”

“But that is precisely why I should do it,” I whispered back. “Lucifer will never expect me to do a damn thing. He’ll be focused on you and Caim. I am not a threat to him.”

He shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

“And I don’t like the idea of you sacrificing yourself to Hell so that the rest of us can stay here.” I lifted my hand to where he clutched my face. My fingers laced with his, so that our bodies were locked together like matching puzzle pieces. “We fought him before in a different life. Let’s do it again.”

A low growl rumbled in his throat. “And we lost. He destroyed you and wiped my memories. He could very well do the same thing again.”

“And I’ll find my way back to you if he does,” I said softly. “No matter what he throws at us, he can never rip us apart. Not permanently. And he knows it.”

“Well, if you’re going, we’re going.” Serena and Priyanka popped up beside us with stern looks on their faces. “It’s close enough to a full moon, and my wolf is hungry for Lucifer's blood.”

I pulled away from Az and gave my best friend a pointed look. “That’s creepy, Serena.”

She shot me a wolfish smile. “Creepy was exactly what I was going for, so yay.”

Priyanka held up a finger. “I’m not sure about the whole blood thing, but I’m a fan of fighting the demon king.”

Az grunted and pushed away from us. The four of us folded our arms and watched him pace the full length of the penthouse. When he twisted on his heels, he caught us all staring at him. Shaking his head, he let out a chuckle of annoyance.

“You know, I am the First Prince of Hell.” He jerked his thumb toward his chest. “I can order you all to stand down.”

“Sure you could.” I shrugged. “Doesn’t mean we’ll listen.”

“Maybe I’ll lock you up in my bedroom,” he shot back.

“All of us?” I arched a brow and turned toward Caim. “Even him?”

Az fisted his hands. “If that’s what it takes to keep you safe.”

“It’s my decision, Az.”

Asmodeus stared at me across the room, conflicted emotions churning in the depths of his eyes. Shadows glided along his skin like ribbons of silk, and a dark tension pounded through the penthouse like a hammer against steel. I understood that all he wanted was to keep me safe. I couldn’t fault him for that. But this was my decision. This whole thing had started because of Az and me. I had to be there when we ended it.

“Fuck,” he said with a growl, jamming his fingers into his hair. “Fine. We’ll do this together. But if something goes wrong, you have to do everything I say. No heroics, Mia. Got it?”

I smiled. “We’ll face down the King of Hell together.”