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I watched the tree sizzle and smoke as the sigils etched in. I wondered if the tree itself was important for the ritual. But this was not the time to ask for some trivia about summoning demon princes.

I walked to the other side of her, circle almost complete, ankle beyond excruciating as the locket began to burn hotter than ever. The air felt as thick as honey, making inhaling difficult, an acrid taste staining my lungs.

“When you sell your soul to a demon, Shay, you’re gonna have to pay the piper at some point.” I did my best to sound like I wasn’t about to pass out. “What do you think the weather is like in hell? Maybe pack some sunscreen. You look like you’d burn.”

Shay ignored me, chanting Latin under her breath. She was speaking too quietly and quickly for me to catch most of it, but it was a summoning spell, I knew that much.

As she spoke, the scalding heat of the locket got to a point where it was unbearable, where I was sure it had burned past sock, flesh, and bone right into my soul.

But I got the circle done, wiping the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. As I readjusted my handhold on my knife, I caught the last ingredient of my spell.

The demon’s name. The vowels were thick, complicated, and I knew it would steal a part of my lifeblood to even say it out loud. But I’d sacrifice that. It’s not like I had an overly long life ahead of me anyway.

I grinned, my blood pressure skyrocketing as I advanced on Shay. I didn’t risk anything fancy, knowing she was technically much stronger than me. Blood inside the circle—that was all I needed.

And she was too into her little demon summoning chant to even notice me until I sliced into the skin of her arm.

Her chanting paused for a beat as her head darted in my direction.

But it was too late. Her blood hit the ground. It was thick, black sludge. I jumped from the circle as a low boom hit the air.

I reached down to grab the locket from my boot, dangling it in front of her with a wide grin.

She blinked like an owl as she realized what I’d done, her eyes flaring with fear. It was tasty to see that. But she didn’t stop chanting. It was as if she was under a spell of her own, chained to finish what she started, obey her master’s orders.

The tree began to burn, a black hole opening in the center.

Fuck.

Demon prince incoming.

That was the last thing I needed to deal with. I dropped the locket onto the ground, stomping on it with my boot. A whimper escaped me as the impact reverberated up my spine, as if I’d just jumped from the roof of a two-story building and landed flat on my feet. Something broke. Hopefully just a small bone. “I’ll see you in hell, baby.” I sank my teeth into my lip as I fought to remain standing. “Save me a window seat.”

Then I said the name that curled along my tongue with an acidic taste and hit the air with a snarl. Shay let out a screeching wail as I trampled over it again, the locket finally cracking, causing her to sink to her knees. It took all of my strength not to do the same. I was standing out of sheer force of will more than anything.

I felt it as soon as I spoke the name of the demon. Years of my life shaved off, a piece of my soul yanked from the very core of me. The sensation was horrifying, as if I’d plunged into an icy lake and couldn’t catch my breath. A price. There was always a price.

But when I was buying Shay’s death, I’d gladly pay it.

The tree continued burning, the hole not shrinking as I’d expected it to. Shay needed to hurry up and die before the demon prince came through.

She was getting there but fighting it. And she was stronger than any other demon-blessed witch I’d killed.

“You will die.” She crawled toward me, eyes pure hatred and coughing up black blood. “Not before they take you as their slave, though. Not before they make you the—” She was cut off by another wet cough. More black blood.

I gave her a finger wave.

Her arm waved back. And again, I went flying through the air, my back hitting a tree with a sickening crack that stole the air in my lungs and left me blindingly paralyzed by the sudden, white-hot pain.

Bitch had a hell of a death rattle.

I breathed thinly, mindful of the fact that I’d probably rebroke a freshly healing rib.

My eyes rushed to the flaming tree. Shay was still inside my salt circle. She was motionless, but I couldn’t see if she was dead or not. She should’ve been dead. But the big hole in the tree should’ve been gone too, since the witch who summoned it was dead. Yet it was still there, stretching the space-time continuum and giving me one hell of a headache.

“Hadley!” a voice yelled.

I groaned, rolling onto my back just in time to see Dante standing over me. He was breathing heavily, as if he’d sprinted there, eyes running up and down my body, assessing.