All the blood rushed from my face. “Sacrifices?”

“He wasn’t actually going to sacrifice you,” Caim interjected. “It’s just a trick to snag an invite.”

I frowned. “But why do you want to get in?”

Fury rolled off Az’s fisted hands. “I plan to stop the sacrifices.”

“Oh.” I leaned back in the chair. Everything was starting to make a lot more sense. I’d thought it was weird he’d fake a girlfriend just for a few dates. Why would business investors care if he had a plus one to some lame parties? Now I knew why. I was to be…bait.

I swallowed hard.

“I need you to listen to me very carefully, Mia.” Az’s eyes bored into mine. I felt myself captivated by them, lured in, and held firm. His voice was as soft as a caress, even with the underlying danger in it. What would happen if I stretched out my hand and placed it on the table between us? With my breath locked in my throat, I palmed the metal.

Az leaned forward and gripped my fingers. Heat sizzled up my arm.

“These people need to be stopped,” he said in a low growl. “They’ve held this party every year for over a decade, and at least twenty humans are sacrificed each time. That’s over two hundred deaths. Two hundred souls lost to Hell. We can’t let this continue, and the only way I can get inside is with a human companion. One meant to be a sacrifice.”

My heart throttled forward into next gear.

“I never wanted you to know because I didn’t want to scare you. We had a plan to keep you safe, none the wiser. You were my ticket in, and then the Legion planned to sneak you out safely before the bloodshed began.” He sighed, and his gaze went sharp. “But now that you fully understand who we are and what is happening here, I am going to give you a choice. Will you help us stop these deaths, or do you want me to break our deal?”

15

My blood crackled in my ears like static. Az dropped my hand and pushed up from his chair while my eyes followed his every move. This was…unexpected. He’d been dead set on forcing me to remain in the contract, and now he was offering up a way out as if it meant nothing at all.

Annoyingly, I didn’t jump to my feet and accept. An hour ago, I would have. But an hour ago, I’d had no idea there was a group of supernaturals out there, sacrificing humans to…what, exactly?

“What are the sacrifices for?” I whispered.

“Ah.” Caim nodded. “Good question. And I don’t think you’re going to like the answer.”