I took a deep breath. Unable to meet his eyes, I pushed off the sink, my middle coming to rest against the center counter. The petits fours were sitting there, and the plate scraped as I pushed it away. “Dali’s hands are tied,” I said softly. “Ceri went willingly with Ku’Sox.”

“What!” Jenks rose up on a column of dust, and Bis turned an apologetic shade of black.

Trent’s face became ashen. “Ku’Sox took Lucy,” he breathed, and I nodded.

“And Ceri went willingly to keep her safe,” Jenks finished, now darting between Trent and me in agitation.

My head hurt, and I rubbed it. It was so simple, so devious. Trent’s feet scuffed, and I pulled my head up.

“That’s it, then,” Trent said, every vestige of softness gone in the hard clench of his jaw. “If there’s no chance at a political resolution, then I will use more drastic means.”

I froze. A creak came from Bis’s chair as he tightened his grip. Drastic measures? The last time Trent had instigated drastic measures, San Francisco was trashed and I ended up in a spell-induced coma for three days. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I said, hand in the air. “You’re not going to give yourself up in exchange. It’s exactly what he wants.” What all the demons wanted.

“Which is exactly why it will work.”

I shook my head, but he wasn’t listening, wasn’t even looking at me as he stared at the wall two feet to my right. Cool and distant, he ignored even Jenks hovering inches before his face. “No fairy fart way, elf-man,” the pixy said, a bright red dust spilling from him. “We talked about this, remember? You give yourself up, and then Rachel’s just going to have to bail your ass out again, which means I’m stuck saving hers. I can’t take it anymore. I’m not a young pixy. She’s a demon, let her do her Tink-blasted job!”

Trent’s iron-hard hold on his emotions cracked. Turning, he tossed his hat on the table. “If I call his bluff, he’ll kill them,” he said. “You know he will. Then he will steal someone else for leverage and it starts again. I do have feelings, Rachel. I do love people. I’m not going to let them die for me!”

“That’s not what I meant,” I said softly, and his glare fell from me. “We can’t get them back through the courts, but in the meantime, I’ve got four days to balance the line.”

Clearly frustrated, he spun away, his coat furling. “How does that help Lucy and Ceri?” he said, his back to me as Jenks shot me a look and landed on his shoulder.