“Let her go.” My voice broke.
“I don’t think so,” he said, stepping in front of me. “You defied me.” His voice boomed for all our audience to hear. “Now you’re to be punished.”
“But you promised.”
His lips quirked, his expression amused.
Hestia was right—I was in fact the village idiot. How could I for a moment have assumed the devil was to be trusted? Or that I could ever have the upper hand with him? He’d gotten me to place the last nail in my own coffin.
“Not a promise, consort. A deal.” The devil’s eyes slid to Andre. Only too late did I realize that my soulmate had heard, and he stared at the devil with murder in his eyes.
“An ill-stated one on your part,” the devil continued. “You named the people that were not to be hurt. I chose someone you had not mentioned.”
The intent of my request had been clear—he wasn’t to harm my friends or family. Cecilia counted as both. But he was right, I hadn’t mentioned her. A sociopath would take advantage of something like that, and the devil was far, far worse than a sociopath.
“Really, Gabrielle,” he continued, “I expect better if you are to stand by my side one day.”
My stomach dropped. “Don’t punish her. Punish me.”
“Soulmate, no,” Andre said, jerking once more against his captors. He growled at them, his hair rippling with his rising anger. I could feel the power surge tug at our connection.
The devil stepped in close, his eyes alight. They were too bright. “It doesn’t work like that, consort,” he said. “I will never break you. Others will pay the price for your offenses.”
“You’re breaking your promise.”
“You are the oathbreaker,” he said, his rage seeping into his voice, “not me.”
He swiveled away, agitation written in his features. “Bring Nona forward.”
The demons dragged her towards the devil. I fought against my captors, bloody tears obscuring my vision. He’d done this once before, to Leanne. Luckily he’d only killed off her doppelganger.
My breath caught.
Her doppelganger. Cecilia had helped Leanne then, which meant Cecilia knew how to create a doppelganger. Perhaps the woman in front of me was only her doppelganger. Hope bloomed within me.
“Cecilia?”
She looked up and stared at me with tired, heavy eyes.
“Are you … ? Are you … ?” I didn’t dare utter what I was thinking, but maybe she’d understand.
“Mi tesoro,” she said gently, “tonight will not be like Samhain. But it will be okay. Everything is going to be okay.”
It wasn’t a direct answer, but it ripped my heart all the same. There was no doppelganger. Just this kind woman who had helped me over and over again. And for knowing me, she would now die.
I shook my head, feeling several tears roll down my cheeks. “I am so sorry. Please forgive me, Cecilia.”
“There is nothing to forgive, mi tesoro.”
“Moving, but time’s up, I’m afraid,” the devil said, moving between Cecilia and me. He sauntered over to Cecilia and stared down at her. “You have been a pain in my side for quite some time now.”
She laughed at the devil. “Killing me off will not stop me from helping, Gabrielle. It is too late for that. You are not the only one to set events in motion long before they’ve come to pass.”
Rage colored the devil’s face. His lips curled inward and his nostrils flared. I could tell he wanted to hit her by the way his fists clenched and unclenched.
He swooped in close. “You will die slowly, and I will make her watch. And she will know what comes to those who cross me.”
“Pain doesn’t scare me, nor do you, Pluto.”
The devil leaned back on his heels, studying her for a second “Perhaps it doesn’t scare you, Nona, but I fear it will frighten my future queen.”
His gaze returned to me. “Let this be a warning: next time you will think twice before defying me.”
He snapped his fingers and all those demons holding my arms now released me. I glanced around at the sudden melee, only to see them descend on Cecilia. They’d clustered around the fate, obscuring her form with their dark bodies. Her shrieks ripped through the night air.
I screamed along with her and tore my way towards the demons. I was now weaponless, but that was only a minor detail at this point. I’d pull them off of her with my bare hands if I had to.
Arms encircled my waist and dragged me away from the swarm. I kicked against my captor.
“Soulmate, it’s me. We have to go.”
“No,” I sobbed, my eyes blind with tears. “They have Cecilia.”
“It’s too late for her,” he said quietly.
I knew he was right. Already her screams were becoming moans.
“Consort!” the devil yelled. “You are not to leave.”
Several demons paused what they were doing, glancing up, their eyes reflecting in the moonlight.
Andre’s grip on me tightened. “Hold on.” Our surroundings blurred as he sprinted away from the devil and the carnage we left.
Above us I heard the flap of wings as a demon pursued us. Already it fell behind. Demons might be stronger than us, but apparently they couldn’t keep pace.
That, or the demon just wanted to get back to its kill.
My throat closed up at the thought.
“Andre,” I croaked, “you can put me down.”
He ignored me, but I began to wiggle in his arms. “Seriously, put me down.”
He kept running, cutting across dark fields. If anything, he clenched me tighter to his chest.
“Put me down.”
At the tone in my voice, Andre said, “We need to keep running.”
“I know.”