Lucy’s.

He looked beyond livid, staring at my feet and seething, like he was a second away from beating the shit out of me.

Following his gaze I gasped. It wasn’t my feet he was looking at, but the tips of my wings.

They’d turned white.

“You’re excused for the rest of the day,” the Prince of Darkness snapped, fuming.

Raksha’s eyes met mine, and I knew there would be hell to pay.

Chapter Seven

Raksha was silent all the way back to my room. Only after we were inside did she unload on me.

“Do you or do you not have dark powers? What the hell was that back there?” she shouted.

I rubbed my arms, then stopped because they were still red, and swollen from the burns. “That was Celestial magic. I have the blood and tattoos of four Celestials inside of me. “Was Lucy really surprised?” I snapped.

Her face clouded over. “Don’t call him that. Are you trying to get us all killed?”

I sighed dryly. “No! I gave you what you wanted! I went in and picked a fight with that demon. I gave Lucifer what he wanted. I killed the demon! Now, I’m trying to keep a little something for myself. I can’t lose myself to the darkness. I won’t allow that.”

She rubbed her temples. “He watched you in the Tainted Academy fights. He wants that dark magic.”

I’d suspected he was watching me somehow, and now this confirmed it.

I shrugged. “I only did that to save my mom. I’m not doing it again. If he wants a warrior, I can do that, but on my own terms.”

She looked down at me with an unreadable gaze while I crossed my arms in defiance. Finally she sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You’re too good for this place. You’ll never be what he needs.”

Then she threw open the door and slammed it shut behind her, locking me inside.

With a sigh, I fell back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

‘I’m never going to survive here,’ I confessed to Sera.

She was silent for a whole minute until finally she spoke. ‘Yes you will. I have a plan.’

It was about damn time.

“You wanted to speak with me.”

Lucifer scowled over his desk, which was littered with maps of what looked like Angel City. The moment he saw me looking, he covered them.

Play the part, Brielle.

Casually, I shrugged. “I know you’re pissed about yesterday, but there’s a reason I’m fighting with Celestial magic.”

He glared at me, raising one well-manicured eyebrow. “You’re too weak to handle my magic?”

With effort, I refrained from rolling my eyes. “No. Your goal is to storm the gates of Heaven, right? Training with dark magic users is easy, but teach your demons to fight my magic, and they’ll be well equipped to handle other Celestials.”

Obvious delight crossed his face, before he quickly stowed it away. “And what about you? What about your training?”

I shifted my stance. Did he honestly want me to become some evil little archdemon? It was never going to happen.

‘Lie. Quickly,’ Sera commanded.

“Honestly, using the dark magic is easy for me. I don’t need to train with it.” I shrugged. “But I would like to learn more about making the creatures.” I gestured to his creepy-ass gurney, where jars of bones and batwings sat.

He grinned, and dammit he was so good-looking, which was utterly revolting considering what a douchebag he was.

“You liked that, didn’t you?”

Ew, that sounded sexual.

I just nodded.

He stood, stepping out from behind the desk and advancing on me.

‘Oh God, what if he can read my mind?’ I asked Sera.

‘He can’t. I’ll protect your mind. Be cool.’

Lucifer looked at the white tips of my wings and tsked. “You know, the art of demon creation is one of the darkest gifts out there. To master that would make you truly evil.”

Shit.

I gave him a light smile. “Where do I sign up?”

I had to do this. It was all part of the plan. Demon creation happened right here in his office, near Sera. If I could earn his trust, I’d be close enough to break her out one day.

The pleasure became evident in his gaze before he turned to walk over to the table. With his back to me, my eyes darted around the room quickly, looking for the case that held Sera.

‘Where are you?’ I finally asked her, unable to locate it on my own.

‘In a safe under his desk.’

Great.

‘Does Raksha have the key?’

‘I don’t think so. It’s only ever been him to open it. And it’s not a key. It’s a fingerprint.’

Fabulous. I was totally going to have to cut off his finger when the time came.

The Dark Prince walked back over to me, holding a small bone dusted in black powder. “You will train twice a day with my crew. Then in ninety days you’ll help me storm the gates of Heaven, letting them all inside. Do we agree?”

My heart started pounding in my head so loud that I could barely hear myself think. Why was he holding the bone? Why had he suddenly asked me this?

I swallowed hard.

“Swear on your soul, Brielle Atwater. Swear you will help me open the gates of Heaven.”

The bone suddenly flared to life, glowing a deep blackish green.

‘Abort mission!’ Sera screamed.

The Dark Prince stepped closer. “Do I need to motivate you further?” he asked.

Shea. Lincoln. My mom. Mikey. There were so many people he could hurt to force me.

God, forgive me.

“I swear it,” I said, and then he held the bone out to me, which I grasped tightly.

A painful shock ran up my arm and into my chest, pinching my heart. I yelped, pulling my arm back. The Dark Prince’s gaze fell to my wings. He was grinning.

Looking down, I saw that my once white-tipped wings were black as night again.

‘Oh God, Bri. What have you done?’

‘He trusts me now,’ I replied, trying to explain away my actions, but truly, I was freaking out inside right now.

‘Oh great, the Devil trusts you. What an awesome consolation prize,’ she snapped back.

“Can I see her? My seraph’s blade?” I asked timidly.

He paused for a moment, the grin still on his face. “Sure, why not.”

Excitement trilled through me as he walked behind his desk.

‘I think you just made a soul pact with the Devil,’ Sera rained on my parade.

‘I didn’t really want to. Like, I was under duress. That has to mean something.’

Right?

‘I don’t know about that, Brielle.’

Before I could think more on it, he bent down, and after a soft click, retrieved Sera.

The moment I saw her, I knew something was wrong. She was covered in black sticky magic; it crawled on her like bees.

“A little insurance policy.” Lucifer motioned to the black stuff coating her blade.

‘He feels gross,’ Sera informed me grumpily.

‘I’m sorry.’ I hated seeing her like that.

When the Dark Prince reached out to hand her to me, I recoiled for a moment. He was wearing a smug grin, knowing he’d made her something I wouldn’t want to touch.

Asshole.

Motivated by the prospect of holding Sera, white light suddenly flared inside of me. Trusting my Celestial energy, I let it come to the surface, pouring from my palm, and coating my hand like a glove.

‘Whoa, cool,’ Sera exclaimed.

‘You seeing this?’ I asked with wonder.

‘Grab my handle.’

My gaze flicked up to see Lucy glaring down at me, and my white magic glove.

His nose flared as he inhaled. “That’s Gabriel’s magic.”

Whoa. He could tell that by smelling? I didn’t even know.

With a look of disdain, he dropped Sera into my palm. I winced a little, expecting pain, but instead it was just the feel of cold steel hitting my skin. My white magic wrapped around the black, keeping it from touching me. Lucifer was watching it curiously, and I wondered if I would be capable of getting the black magic off it. Eventually.

I could feel Sera, but not as closely as I normally would. The black stuff was messing with her powers and our connection.

‘Stab him and run,’ Sera advised.

A grin curved my lips. ‘That’s not in the plan.’

‘I changed my mind,’ she said flippantly.

Simply stabbing him wouldn’t kill him. On some level I knew that. With Sera’s powers bound in this black stuff, she’d be no more harmful than a kitchen knife.

The Dark Prince continued to stare at my hand. “In all my time in Heaven, during all my dutiful hard work to the Creator, I was never given a seraph’s blade.”

He looked almost remorseful in that moment.

Almost.

His mouth turned down the slightest bit, and his brow wrinkled as he seemed to be going down memory lane.

I swallowed hard and clutched Sera tighter.

‘I can’t use my light blinding powers, or anything with this darkness on me,’ she shared.

‘It’s okay. I’ll figure it out,’ I promised her.

“So she’s the key into Heaven? The only way you can get your revenge?” I questioned.

That brought a smile to his handsome yet predatorial face.

“Yes. Her and you. Together, you’re my key.”

Reaching out, he swiped her from my hand, walking to his desk to place her back in the box.

‘I don’t think I’m the key. Not alone. I think you need to be there too, and now you’ve just sworn to be,’ Sera admitted nervously.

Her words made my stomach knot into a ball.

‘I had to.’

That was that. I wouldn’t let Shea or anyone else in my family get hurt, and I needed his trust to break out of here.

I would figure everything else out later.

Chapter Eight

The week passed painfully slow, full of injuries from training with the demon crew, and training sessions with Lucifer on how to create dark creatures. I was pretty sure that when I actually died, I would be coming back to Hell for all the bad shit I was doing down here now.

Raksha had heard from her wife, Elodie, and was right; she’d been in the hospital with their son. He’d had a nearly fatal asthma attack, and now Raksha was in my room before practice, venting. We’d become friends of sorts—she was divulging personal information, but she’d also beat my ass if I stepped out of line. She was a survivor and fiercely protective of her family. It was something I understood and admired.

“Elodie wants to sign a demon contract to get a healer demon to cure our son of his asthma,” Raksha explained, pulling at the hem of her shirt while pacing my small room.

My eyes widened. “Umm, take it from me, that’s not a good idea, and they will enslave your son as well. Firstborn.”

Raksha nodded. “Yes, I know. I told her that, but I’m not there, and she’s doing this all alone, and—” Her voice caught.