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Maybe that was how Max had managed to find a gap and reach me.

“You realize,” I said, as we reached a corner. “If you do this, your father will disown you.”

Lucien turned his head to the side and looked at me. He didn’t speak. Instead, he cupped my cheek and gently kissed the corner of my mouth. “I’ve already disowned him,” he said. “I’m with you, Bee.”

I nodded. “Then, let’s go.”

Chapter

Thirty-One

In the dead of night, the Diaboli house was dark, and silent. Not a single light was on, not a sound was heard, but we knew we weren’t alone. Mason and Carla were in the building somewhere, Mason’s guards were probably posted here and there, and there were demons around. We had to be quiet, and move carefully.

It wasn’t until Lucien pointed out the security cameras that I realized there wasn’t just magical defenses to contend with. Any illusions I had had about escaping this place on my own were little more than that; if I’d tried this before securing Lucien’s help, I would’ve been caught as soon as I had stepped out of the bedroom.

Lucien had a solution, though.

“You sent a demon to attack the security camera guy?” I asked, keeping my voice low. “Isn’t that risky?”

“Not attack him,” he said, “Just… keep him distracted.”

“How?”

Lucien turned his head to the side and whispered a single word. “Succubus.”

“You sent a succubus to deal with the guy in the control room?”

“It’ll keep him entertained for a while, and when he’s done, he’ll fall asleep. He shouldn’t bother us.”

“How does that… actually, I don’t want to know.” I paused. “No, I do want to know. How does that work?”

Lucien shrugged. “It’s worked for millennia. I could give you the details, but I don’t think right now is the time.”

“Right, right. Focus. Okay, so, what’s next?”

“We need to get to the kitchen.”

“Why the kitchen?”

“Because it’s the closest way to the garage. We aren’t getting out of here without a car, unless you’ve figured out how to cross great distances using the Ether.”

I shook my head. “My skills have grown, but that one’s still out of reach.”

He nodded. “Alright, kitchen it is. There’s probably going to be a guard or two between us… think you can phase us into the floor below? It should put us in the dining room.”

“Is that risky? Won’t your father sense my magic?”

“He shouldn’t.”

“What about the demons?”

Lucien’s eyes flashed red. “They’re doing what I want them to. For now, at least.”

“Okay.” I took Lucien’s hand. “Hold on.”

Shutting my eyes, I summoned my power, and concentrated on phasing us out of the material world. As soon as we were ethereal, I pulled us down, through the floors, and into the dining room below.

“Phew,” Lucien said, “That’s still a rush.”