Had the Princess been awake for this, I might’ve passed out. But she hadn’t moved and I was thankful.

The Prince of Hell stood behind my right shoulder, his mouth pursed in a straight line, hands clasped in front of him. He had to realize what was at stake, and knew his bride would surpass him in power, yet didn’t try to stay my hand. He had likely come to the same conclusion I had—this was out of our hands. The power of the Underworld had to go somewhere, and if it didn’t choose his bride, or she couldn’t be revived, it would probably choose me.

With the power of five supernaturals inside me, I had surpassed him in power.

His Princess was the lesser of two evils.

Suddenly Tyler was next to me. He reached over and parted the demoness’s chest so I could place the heart inside. My love for both my mate and my brother almost took me to my knees. I swayed but stood my ground, knowing I had to complete this task.

I brought my empty hand down and reached into the opening in her chest and clasped it around her deadened heart. “Ray, as I take this out,” I ordered, “make sure her soul stays rooted. It’s the only way I believe she will heal once we’re done.”

“Got it,” he said, placing his hands alongside her temples gently. “The quicker this is over, the quicker we can get the fuck out of here. I’ve had enough of this place to last an entire lifetime.”

“I hear you,” I replied. “I want out of here just as bad.” I tugged at her damaged heart, trying not to tear the tissue around it too much. It wasn’t the same shape as Lili’s. It was smaller and I could only feel three ventricles.

One more tug and it came out. I tossed it to the end of the gurney.

The Princess’s blood was like the Prince’s, thick and amber, not like Lili’s, which was red. With my other hand, I slowly guided Lili’s heart into the Princess’s chest cavity, positioning it as best I could. When I felt like it was in the right place I glanced up and met Ray’s gaze. “This is going to be the hard part. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m going to try to spread the magic I just received around her heart. You do whatever you have to do to get her soul to accept it, including any sweet talk you may have stored away in there.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” he grunted. “This soul seems to be waiting for something.”

I gathered the new magic in my mind. It was a mass of lightness mixed with dark, all the different signatures creating a kaleidoscope of energy twirling around inside me. It made me feel strange, not quite myself. My wolf yipped. I hope that means this will get easier to handle later. My brain feels scrambled right now. I concentrated on pulling what I thought I needed, amassing it and sending it out into the Princess’s body, down through my arm.

Her body accepted it immediately, almost greedily, and as my magic spread into her chest cavity, the new heart gave a tentative beat, and then another. Once I felt her body start to heal itself, I withdrew my hand. I hoped it would be enough.

“If she does not come back, as promised to me by the Queen of Vampires,” the Prince of Hell said quietly behind me, “your kin will feel my wrath. They are not stronger than I.” His voice was hard, but I heard his feeling behind it. He wanted her to survive. I did too.

I glanced over my shoulder. “Not only is she coming back, but when she does, she will surpass you in strength.” I stated the obvious so he couldn’t manipulate the situation. “And when I’m done healing your bride, we will all leave this plane unharmed and you will publicly declare your fight with me finished. You and your Princess owe me a life debt, if not more. I will consider it paid if you agree everything between us is completely resolved. As you can see, I never wanted to rule this plane and if this doesn’t prove it, nothing will.”

The image Fate had burned into my mind flashed again, making me shudder.

The Prince’s pupils elongated and anger radiated outward. “I owe you no such promise—”

“You shall leave this place unharmed,” an unfamiliar female voice interjected. “With my blessing and thanks.”

I glanced down, startled. I hadn’t expected her to heal that fast.

The Princess’s voice had been surprisingly refined. She had a regal stature about her even while lying flat on her back. Her long jet-black hair flowed carelessly over the gurney, her features precise, much like the Prince’s, but her skin was pearlescent—not quite scaly, but not regular skin either. Depending on the angle, it shimmered, like everything else around here. She couldn’t have been holding her glamour in death, so it surprised me that her real appearance seemed almost human—if you discounted the wings. I knew the Prince of Hell would look much less human if he dropped his own glamour. “You look more human than I’d thought you would without your glamour,” I commented a little stupidly as she continued to stare up at me.

Power radiated out of her as she finished regenerating from her wounds. I stepped back and watched as her chest wound healed. Once it was done she reached up and pulled her dress together as neatly as she could, and sat, her wings retracting into her back seamlessly. Her pupils were definitely reptilian, however, and they expanded and contracted as she continued to adjust herself.

“Yes,” she said, her English laced with a thick Demonish accent. “The Prince has mandated that everyone in the Underworld conform to the likenesses of humans, but the demonesses don’t have to glamour themselves as much.” She said it with some disdain, which led me to believe her new rule would likely mandate some immediate changes in the glamour department. “Female demons are born to supernaturals, bred by Demon Lords, so their gene pools are stronger by nature than those of their male demon counterparts, which are hatched from what are called ‘birther demons,’ whose sole job it is to populate our species. My mother was a nymph, so my appearance favors her.” She swung her legs over and motioned to the Prince to come to her side. She turned and addressed him. “You have been very patient, my love,” she cooed in a surprisingly nurturing tone. “This has been a long road, but you must understand my deception was necessary. Without it, Lili would have ruled in my stead. And because you stood by me, instead of siding with”—she purposefully omitted Lili’s name—“the other, you will be rewarded. I could not share what Fate had intended once the new Scriptures were unveiled, or the Underworld would have been tossed into chaos, as you well know. My only concern was with our race and keeping them all safe.”