“Asmodeus, Commander of the First Legion of Hell, first Prince in line to the throne.” Eisheth smiled. “The fallen angels Rafael and Michael have brought accusations against you. They believe you are working against our King. This is your opportunity to prove they’re wrong. Sacrifice this human’s soul, and all will be forgiven.”

Eyes flying wide, I screamed against the cotton dishrag in my mouth, but only a muffled whimper came out. Heart rattling beneath my ribcage, I tried to scuttle back, but my bound ankles and wrists didn’t let me get far. Suddenly, I understood everything. They’d trapped Az in an impossible situation. This was his chance to show them they were wrong, to prevent Lucifer from finding out the truth, and to save his Legion, but…surely he wouldn’t go through with it.

Surely he was just playing along until he found an opportunity to rebel against them.

He wouldn’t actually sacrifice my soul…

Would he?

His words rang in my ears.

I will do anything to get what I want.

Just because I am helping humans doesn’t mean I am good.

I am still a demon, Mia.

The Legion are my family.

But I had seen the good in him. He’d proven it ten times over. He could have been pretending, but what would have been the point of that? If he’d wanted to sacrifice my soul, he didn’t need all these games. He could have just done it.

But how could I trust him when I was literally lying bound in the middle of Lucifer’s demon seal?

Everyone else in my life had let me down. My parents had abandoned me. My friends. My neighbors. The whole damn world.

Fear thrummed through my veins.

Eisheth took a deep sniff of the air and smiled. “Do you smell that?”

“The delicious scent of fear,” Az murmured back.

“Good,” Eisheth said. “Very good. Now, do it, Az. Stab her right in her pretty fucking heart.”

“With pleasure.” Az reached behind him and pulled his long gleaming sword from thin air. The blade rippled with flames, splashing orange fragments across the blood-painted floor.

Terror screamed through me as I tried to scrabble back. He was really going to do this. There was no mistaking the viciousness on his face. How could I have been so wrong? A demon loomed before me with eyes the color of ice, and he was going to kill me. My entire body trembled. The fear left nothing behind but a numb heart and a bitter mind. If only I wasn’t human. If only I could fight back…

Wait a minute.

I still had his fucking signet ring.