Page 61 of All's Hell That Ends Well

“You don’t get to make that call.” I balled my hands into fists, my power coalescing around me.

“Oh, but I do.” His smirk was straight up diabolical. “Since my father has been delegating his duties more and more, I have stepped up to take on some of the tasks he is not handling any longer. I am his acting second, and as such, I have the authority to decide on matters such as this.”

My breath came choppy and fast. No, no, no, this couldn’t be happening. “I won’t let you take her.”

“As admirable as your dedication to your hound is,” Samael drawled, “it will not save her.”

He made a gesture to his lackeys, and half a dozen of them stepped forward, staffs raised and the tips crackling with blue lightning.

“Take the hound to the kennels to be held for execution,” Samael said and then jerked his head at the remaining three demons next to him. “And you make sure dear Zoe here won’t make a fuss.”

Vengeance snarled at the advancing demons, but she was swaying on her feet just a little, still not recovered from the earlier fight. My heart beat all the way up into my throat, and I battled nausea rising from my stomach. Inside me, my power throbbed and swelled, fueled by my fear and desperation.

The next few moments whizzed by like a movie played at twice the speed.

Spears raised, the demons went for Vengeance, circling her in the blink of an eye. The three other buddies of Samael were on me before I could launch myself at the ones corralling my dog. I was so focused on getting to Vengeance, on using my power in a way that wouldn’t hurt her further, I didn’t notice the dagger coming for me until it rammed into my chest.

Gasping, I jerked, my lids fluttering, pain shooting outward from the puncture wound. Darkness encroached from the periphery of my sight, and the last thing I saw was Vengeance snapping and snarling at the demons who shooed her down the hallway, toward certain death.

I woke with a start,sucking in huge lungfuls of air. Wide-eyed, I jolted upright and glanced around.

I was on the floor in the hallway in exactly the same spot where the demons had knifed me, the evidence of the earlier bloody fight still all around me. While I absent-mindedly pawed at my chest—the dagger was gone, and the wound had closed already—I looked up and down the hallway but saw no sign of Samael, his demons, or Vengeance.

Fuck. How long had I been out? Usually, it only took a few minutes after removing a dagger or sword from the heart for a demon to regain consciousness, but I had no idea how much time had passed between them planting a dagger in my chest and removing it.

Was Vengeance still alive?

A full-body tremor shook me to my bones, my pulse thrashed so loud that it pounded in my head, and my chest constricted so hard I had trouble getting air in.

Dizzy, limbs tingling and fear soaking my spine, I struggled to my feet and stumbled away from the fight scene.

She couldn’t be dead yet. Shecouldn’t. I refused to entertain that thought.

No, she was alive, and I’d stop this from happening.

I staggered into a run, the sound of my boots hitting the marble floor echoing in the hallway. Seconds later, I skidded around a corner and into the private wing of the palace. Three more turns and two more staircases, and I came to a screeching halt in front of Lucifer’s door.

I didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in Hell of stopping the execution by myself—I wouldn’t be able to fight Samael and all of his buddies, and even if I succeeded, the law was on Samael’s side, and nominally, I’d have to bow to his authority.

But there was someone who outranked him.

Throwing the door open without knocking and waiting for a call, I rushed inside.

It was still pitch black in here and cold enough to make my teeth clatter. Lucifer hadn’t moved from his position, his body yet prone and appearing in deep slumber.

Had he slept this entire time? It’d been hours since I’d first checked on him this morning.

No matter, I was going to rouse him now and hope for the best. He didn’t need the sleep, butIneeded him awake.

“Your Grace?” I asked loudly. When he didn’t react, I raised my voice more. “Excuse me. It’s an urgent matter. Please wake up.”

Still nothing. He slept on.

With my fast breaths steaming in the chilly air, I bent over him, laid my hand on his shoulder, and tapped him.

No response. Not even a twitch.

I squinted at him. His eyes were moving behind his closed lids. He was dreaming.

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