I’d never heard that at the Half-Blood Academy. I’d just assumed those mages and witches had betrayed their own kind to serve Lucifer.
“I’ve been downplaying my power so I don’t draw attention to myself. Yet I have to display enough power to be useful to stay alive.”
“Don’t you know when you backed me up in class today, you sealed your fate?” I asked. “If I go down, they’ll put you down, too.”
“I placed my bet on you, princess,” she said darkly. “You won’t go down, but Iwillat a certain point. I’ve made peace with that.”
I walked around the room to inspect the place. Angel padded along on my left while Lisa scurried along on my right so she could talk to me while cleansing the bad energy.
As she’d said, she was handy.
“I need a new bed,” I said. “I’m not going to sleep on the incubi’s bed.”
Lisa clapped her hands and murmured something, and the old bed vanished. In its place was a new bed with clean pink sheets. A weird white wind twirled through the room as Lisa rearranged all the furniture.
“This place can host at least ten people,” she said admiringly. “I’m moving in with you.”
“That’s not going to happen, Black Widow,” I said firmly.
Angel growled his agreement and glared at the witch.
“I can cook. I’ll clean. I won’t bring boys here. You’ve seen what I can do, and I’ll be at your convenience. You need someone you can trust to watch your back, Icy Dagger, and Iamthat person.”
“No,” I said coldly.
I didn’t trust anyone who’d sworn fealty to the devil, and everyone in Hell had done just that, except for me and possibly Loki and his dukes.
The witch’s face dropped.
“Spill,” I commanded. “It’s time you tell me what you really want from me.”
She didn’t answer.
I turned to her, my arms crossing over my chest. Angel gave her an evil eye.
She swallowed hard, then lifted her eyes and met mine.
“I heard about you before they brought you to Hell,” she said. “There were rumors about the Lost Princess. They said that you’d ended up in the Half-Blood Academy, drinking pink wine, eating crème brûlée, and fucking all four demigods. They also said you were of weak blood because you were too attached to mortals. You would defend your friends above all.”
“You think being my friend will benefit you?” I said softly. “I brought more danger to them than I could protect them from.”
“Yet they’re all safe in the Half-Blood Academy and you’re in Hell.”
I blinked.
“I don’t care about my safety,” she said. “I’m a lost cause, but I have a little sister who’s only nine years old. When she reaches eleven, they’ll drag her here to be a servant, as they did to me. All I want from you is that when you get out of here, you find my sister in Prague and bring her to your demigods-controlled realm so she’ll have a life.”
I skimmed her mind and saw her sister’s image—a mousy-haired cute little girl.
I knew how it felt to care for someone so much yet felt utterly helpless to protect them.
“I might not get out of Hell either,” I said.
My main mission wasn’t getting out of here, though I’d try my best to return to my demigods. I had to bring down Ares and Lucifer first, and if I had to go down with them, so be it.
“But I can promise you this: I’ll send a message to my demigod mates as soon as I have the chance. They’ll get your sister to Staten Island in North America. They’ll take care of her. Tell me her address.”
I’d ask Héctor to find the little girl in Prague and bring her to safety when I saw him again in the Dreaming.