“What prize?”
“A favor,” Lucifer said.“It’s the same every tournament.”
“That’s it?”
“A favor from Felditch is nothing to sniff at.The freakish mofo is the whelp of an ancient god and has the power to prove it.”
I shoved my fingers through my hair.“Okay, but again, why me?”
“As you know, each team is made up of two representatives, and I find myself in need of someone with…well, a level head, shall we say, to partner with the handmaid I’ll be sending.”
“I’m not sure why you think I care?”I growled, getting more heated with this whole conversation by the minute.
Lucifer’s head tilted to the side.“The handmaid I’m sending is bloodthirsty, highly skilled in battle, and I have someone on the inside that assures me that her specialty will be more than useful in this tournament.But she’s known for losing her temper and lashing out.For occasionally making rash decisions.”His yellow gaze bored into mine through the screen, and my gut clenched.“I need someone with a steadying influence, someone who can talk her down when she wants to slaughter every competitor with a big mouth before the first event can even start and get us disqualified.Someone who can also match her as a warrior to ensure we win this.”His gaze flashed and his eyes glowed.“Because we need to win this, Silas.”
If he was talking about who I suspected he was, he’d lost his senses.
“Will you say yes?”he asked.
“Who do you want me to compete with?”I asked, and my gut clenched in anticipation of his reply.
He grinned.“Come now, Si, you know exactly which handmaid I’m talking about.”
I swallowed thickly.Yeah, I knew.At least that explained the wary excitement I felt right before Lucifer’s call, a feeling that still throbbed through me now.“She won’t go for it,” I said instead of flat-out refusing like I should.
“She’ll come around.”
“It’s not a good idea,” I said, even as my heart pounded harder, faster at the idea of seeing her again, of being close to her.
He was silent several beats before his gaze locked on mine again.“No?Then let me ask you this.Do you trust anyone else to go with Ursula in your place?”
My heart slammed against the back of my ribs, just hearing her name.
No.
No, I did not.
“Thought you’d see it that way,” he said when my silence dragged on.“Just remember, Si, when Urs feels threatened or exposed, she lashes out.”His gaze darkened.“And if someone she truly cares about is stupid enough to cause her pain, she will cut them the deepest.”
Was he saying she constantly lashed out at me because she cared?Or was it just another way to manipulate me into doing what he wanted?“What are you implying?”
His grin returned, and he shrugged.“Not a thing.”
He was purposely being abstruse.Prick.I should say no.It would be the sanest thing to do.“If I agree to this,” I said despite myself.“You need to know that I won’t kill for you, not for something like this.”Yes, I killed demons regularly, but only those who had gone rogue.Killing for a tournament wasn’t something I would do.And that included Nathaniel, even if I’d love to hack him into tiny pieces.It couldn’t happen, for several reasons.
“I never asked you to, Si.”Lucifer turned to whoever was in his torture chamber and flashed them an evil grin.A terrified cry echoed down the phone.His gaze slid back to me and he winked.“Glad to have you on board,” he said, knowing he had me.“I’ll be in touch soon.”
I walked into the common room after showering off the demon blood and dirt and gotten rid of the forest worth of leaves I’d somehow gotten down my shirt and in my hair.Zen, Roc, Laz, and Kryos turned my way when I stopped in the doorway.All four were sitting on the floor surrounded by toy cars and trucks and several dolls.Zen was leaning on the couch, Zeph asleep on his chest, the scarred and inked warrior’s hand protectively resting on his son’s back.Lysander and Revere, Laz and Roc’s sons were lying on a huge beanbag chair together watching one of their favorite shows.And Astra stood behind Kryos, putting sparkly barrettes in her father’s hair.
“You look so pretty, Daddy,” she said, leaning around to look at his face.
He grinned at her.“I feel pretty, bug.”
His brothers chuckled.
“The blue ones match your eyes,” Roc said.
Astra smiled proudly.“I’ll do your hair next, Uncle Roc.I have lots of blue barrettes left.”