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“You are.” He doesn’t ask what that is. Maybe he’s worked it out for himself. He steps closer to me and rests his hands on my shoulders. Heat washes through me.

“You won’t go alone. I won’t allow it.”

Yup. He knows.

But his words warm me as much as his touch. Hecate has always said that she’ll come to Hell with me. But she’s needed here.

While I’d been terrified of going alone, at the same time, I hadn’t wanted to ask anyone to go with me. I’m sure they would all come if I asked. But this isn’t a situation where numbers will help—at least I don’t think so. Hey, what do I know? But Khaosti is different. He’s damaged, and I think if I left him behind now, he might not survive intact. That’s not me being a big-head or anything but for some reason we’re connected. I’ve felt it from that first moment I crashed into him. Which reminds me of what Selene said about bonded mates. But I’m still not ready for that conversation with Khaosti, either.

He drops his hands to his sides and steps back, and I bite back a snarl.

Because that’s another thing I’m scared of—that Khaosti is never going to kiss me again. But I don’t mention that either. Maybe he doesn’t see me like that anymore. Maybe he’s caught the horrible ‘let’s-worship-her-she’s-a-goddess’ bug that’s going around—instead of the more accurate ‘she’s a nineteen-year-old girl desperate for a shag before she heads into Hell and gets obliterated by her own father.’

I catch him looking at me sometimes, and I’m pretty sure he still wants me. But he’s keeping his distance—at least inthatway, if not in any other.

I blow out my breath and head for the meeting room, Khaos beside me. But he stops me at the door with a hand on my arm. “Leave this to me.”

He pushes open the door and steps inside, leaving me on the outside.

“Amber can’t make it today. She’s…incapacitated.”

I hear voices break out, but he’s already backing out of the room and closing the door behind him. He grabs my hand. “Come on, they’ll be out here any second.”

And then we’re off and running. I hear a shout behind us, but we don’t stop until we’re out of the building.

He grins down at me. A grinning Khaosti is intoxicating. “Where do you want to go?” he asks.

“Winter’s library,” I say. It’s the perfect place to hide out and I’ve been meaning to go back since that first time but just haven’t had the chance. I need information that people either don’t know or don’t want to talk about. I asked Thanouq if there were any records in the palace that I could read, but he said everything was destroyed in that final battle.

I’m betting that there’s a lot of information in that library. Probably too much. The problem will be finding anything useful.

I have a list. Lucifer, Hell, my mother, and Hecate—I feel a little like this is going behind her back, but she’s so goddamnsecretive that I don’t feel like I have a choice. And it’s not as though I don’t have a good reason.

The sky is clear and walking through the city with Khaosti, quiet at my side, I realize I feel better than I have done for a while.

It’s weird, but I think my revelation of who I really am, has intensified all the goddess-worship stuff. I can sense them all wanting something from me. But now that I’m out of headquarters and out from under the oppressive weight of all those expectations, I feel lighter. My stomach has settled. It’s not that I feel like I can do this. It’s more of an ‘enjoy the day as it might be your last’ feeling. Right now, I’ll take that.

We pass a vendor selling fruit—the city is coming alive which is a sort of pity considering, and Khaosti buys some—I don’t know what—nothing I recognize. I don’t actually have any money and that makes me wonder where Khaosti found some. I think about asking him but decide I might not like the answer. For a prince, he sure has some shady morals. He hands me one. It looks a little like a cross between a plum and an apple. Purple but with firm flesh when I bite into it. It’s delicious and I spit out the pip and hold out my hand for another. He gives me another one and then bites into one himself. He has white teeth, and the purple juice stains his lips. His tongue flicks out and I realize I’ve stopped walking. He raises an eyebrow and smirks. So I walk on.

When we reach the coven house, I stop in front of the door. I whisper the words of a spell and the door swings open—I’m still at the stage where this sort of thing impresses me, and I take a moment just to appreciate myself. Despite everything that comes with it, I love being a witch. I really hope I get a chance to explore my witchy side once this is over. I have a feeling it could be fun. But maybe, I can also be a source of good in the world. Let’s face it, the world needs all the good it can get. I think aboutall the suffering here and on Earth. I could do something about that.

If I get the chance.

Inside we head for the library and find Winter curled up on one of the sofas reading a huge book. She looks up and smiles, as though she expected us. Maybe she did.

“Hi,” I say. I’d love to sit down and have a chat about her and Zayne. I’m pretty sure they’re sleeping together (Josh let something slip) and it’s a sister’s duty to be nosy about things like that. But somehow, I just can’t seem to do it—she has such an air of reserve about her. I make a mental note to pin Zayne down at some point in the near future and quiz him over his love life. “Is it okay if we take a look at some of the books?”

“Of course. They are as much yours as mine.”

I stand for a moment staring at all the bookshelves and wondering where to start.

“There’s an index system,” Winter says. “Over there.” She points to an ornate dark wood cabinet. “It might help you find what you’re looking for.”

“Thank you.”

“Whatareyou looking for?” Khaosti asks as we head over.

“Anything to do with Lucifer, Hell, my mother and Hecate.”