Ling hid a smile at Jingzhi’s puzzled frown. “They’re going to kill you for stealing from the Dragon King. Cao took the qì stone.”

“That old prick?” He flung off her warning. “Won’t be a problem.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m a fucking demon, duh.” He rolled his eyes. “No dragon is going to stop me from getting what I want. Not after I offer them this one instead.” He waved the shimmering stone through the air.

The complete shén stone. Her eyes hurt just looking at it. Though her soul whispered an assurance that Cao hadn’t intended to betray her, the glittering stone declared otherwise. “You can’t give it to them.” Not after all these years of searching. Her plans. They would crumble if the stones fell into the wrong hands.

“Why not?” Jingzhi cocked his head. “Did you really hope to unite them? You? A pathetic half-breed?” He grimaced at her. “No one would rally behind you. No, I’m going to give the dragons what they want. After they leave this world, it will finally be ours.”

Ours? “Who are you working with?”

The malicious gleam in Cao’s eyes was so disturbing. His features became harsh and cruel, his beautiful body being abused by that creep.

“You’re not very clever.” He shrugged. “At least you’re hot.”

Ugh. She resisted the urge to scrub his kiss off her mouth. “Is it Xiaodan? Xing? Dì Xīn?”

“Look at you, putting the pieces together.” He mock-clapped. “Who do you think brought them together? No fucking way was I going to spend eternity being tortured. I offered the demons something else. Leadership. A chance to roam free and feast off human souls to their fill. When I showed them the stone, well, they flocked like the mindless little dumbasses they are.”

This was worse than she’d envisioned. “You’re the fourth Demon King.”

“Actually,” he scratched his jaw, “I’m the first, but who’s counting.”

The first. For months, the Chosen had speculated who number four could be. Cao’s brother obviously hadn’t even made the short list. If Cao’s description of him—conniving, opportunistic, amoral—was accurate, Jingzhi as a Demon King made perfect sense.

It also explained how he managed to switch bodies with Cao. Even with the stone, only a being of immense power would be capable of performing such a task. Jingzhi had had centuries of evil deeds to fuel him.

Was there any solution out of this? Killing Jingzhi would destroy Cao’s body. So that was off the table. She didn’t know enough about switching bodies to change them back. Lucy might be able to help, but she wasn’t here.

She couldn’t let Jingzhi off this island. If her grandfather got his claws on that stone, the last hope of humanity would be gone.

Ling shifted her weight between her feet. There had to be a solution. Think think.

Jingzhi held the fused shén stone. He must have figured out how to manipulate the spiritual energy to switch bodies.

What about her other stone, jīng? She pressed a hand to her ribcage. This Demon King might deem himself omnipotent but, like all demons, he didn’t appear to be that bright, and she might be able to subdue him.

At least, long enough to save Cao.

“Fine. You win.” Ling transformed into her human shape and bowed her shoulders. “I can’t fight you, and I can’t stop you from leaving with the stone, but please, don’t hurt my friends.”

“Friends?” That caught the bastard’s attention.

Good. Bait him. “Yes, my half-brother Taelen, and Ry.”

“These friends, they’re both Qinglong?” He flipped the shén stone between his fingers. “Being a dragon would be a hell of a lot more fun than wearing this crummy old body.”

“If I gave you a better body than Cao’s, would you put his soul back into his?” A bargain with the devil. She held her breath, hoping this would work.

“Hey Ling, we missed you at dinner,” Taelen called from outside the cave. Shoot. Time was up.

She blocked the entrance. “Not them. You leave them alone.”

“Why should I?” He snorted. “I’ve decided to be a dragon instead.” A flash of greed flickered across his menacing scowl.

Ugh.

“You can be.” She raised her chin, looking him squarely in the eye. “What if I offered you a better deal? I told you I love Cao. Well, he also loves me. So how about this? You can have my body. Leave Cao’s alone, and all this is yours.” She swept a hand across her torso.

“Ling, no!” Ry stepped forward, but Ling held out a hand to halt her.

She knew what she was doing.

Sort of.

C’mon, Sheep. Don’t fail me now.

Jingzhi might desire a dragon body, but he sure as hell wouldn’t have bargained for a Chosen one.

“Why? You’re not trying to be clever, are you, sweetheart?”

“No, not clever, but I love him, and I would do anything to save him. Even sacrifice myself.”

Jingzhi narrowed his gaze on her, nodding. “Never imagined taking a female shape, but it would make my brother fucking crazy. Yeah, this will be even better than living in his body. Especially when I fuck every one of his friends in your body.” He edged close to her, smirking satisfactorily.

Ling shuddered at the notion of this asshole occupying her body, but if that was what it would take…

“Then we have a deal. My body for his. My soul switches places with his, and he goes back into his own body.” She extended her fingers, and he snatched her hand, shaking it. “Swear it, shé xià.” Under the tongue. An iron-clad oath, meaning that if broken, one’s tongue would be ripped from one’s mouth.

He scoffed. “Oh, trust me, I’m going to see this deal through precisely as agreed upon. If it makes you feel better, I swear it, shé xià.”

His grip tightened on her wrist, and the shén stone glowed in his other hand. She closed her eyes, concentrating on Sheep. Praying the spirit animal would help them.

Her body jolted as the energy glowed around them, pulling her soul from her body.

Sending it straight to Dìyù.

* * *

Blackness twisted around Cao, tossing his spirit back and forth, finally to slam like a wave onto the shore.

Or in this case, a soul into a body.

Grunting, he pried open his eyes. What the hell?

One minute, he’d been in the middle of having his tongue ripped out again. The next, he was lying on a stone floor, the sulphuric stench no longer heavy in the air, and his tongue quite whole inside his mouth.

“The fuck,” he muttered, staggering to all fours and lifting his head. “Ling?” He squeezed his eyes tight and then flung them open, focusing on her. “Thank the gods.” How in the hell had she managed to save him?

He stumbled to his feet, staggering toward her with outstretched arms.

She flipped over her hand, examining it, and cast him a spine-chilling leer. “Hello, dearest…brother.”

Bile churned in his gut, spewing searing acid into his throat, making his stomach heave.

Fucking hell, no.

“What? Not happy to see me?” Jingzhi smirked at him from within Ling’s body. Which could only mean…Ling was in Jingzhi’s. In Dìyù.

The room spun while his mind played catch up. How—and why—had Ling switched places with him?

“Easy, Cao.” Ry stepped to his side, slipping a hand under his arm to steady him.

He met her gaze and the somber resignation within gutted him. Hell, no, he wasn’t about to surrender. He wouldn’t let them, either.

“Here I thought you said you’d missed me.” Jingzhi sniggered, then stretched out his arms and studied them, making fists. “Not bad. I’m going to enjoy your girlfriend’s body. There’s a lot more strength in her than appears.”

Cao clenched his jaw, fury searing across his skin. The movement made his face hurt. “What the hell?” He prodded his cheek, blood coating his fingers.

“Oh, that. Yeah, your little whore wasn’t too happy when she figured out I was occupying your body. She’s got a nasty sting, heh? You should’ve kept her on a tighter leash.” Jingzhi crossed his arms, chortling.

She’d fought back. He was damned proud of her, but… Now, she was stuck in Hell, being tortured.

“Why did she agree to it?”

Jingzhi puffed and lowered his arms. “Some kind of love bullshit. How the fuck should I know? Or care? I got the better end of the deal.”

Love? Dammit, Ling. Cao bowed his head and squeezed his eyes, once, before cramming his tumultuous emotions into a tiny box inside his chest. His mind had to be clear for him to maneuver an escape.

“Now, what should I do first?” Jingzhi tapped a finger to his lips. “Hey, you.” He jerked his chin at Taelen.” You wanna fuck?”

Taelen reared, disgust twisting his features. “No, mate. She’s my sister.”

Jingzhi curled his lip. “Your loss. I bet her cunt is super tight. Am I right, heh?”

The smug slyness in his sideways glance was meant to test him. Provoke him. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t follow through with his threats.

“But, for real, I’ve been waiting for you to track me down for ages. What took you so long?”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t figure out how to contact you,” he chose his words carefully, “or even where in Dìyù to find you.”

Jingzhi waved off his mention of Hell. “I found a loophole out of purgatory a long time ago. Just been biding my time, collecting my minions, hanging with my buds, the other Demon Kings, until you came along.”

Other Demon Kings? Shit. Jingzhi was one of them. Explained a lot. “Wait, so you haven’t completed your penance?”

“Nah, bro. They couldn’t keep me there.”

That might be why his soul was so corrupt. He’d never finished cleansing it.

“Now that I have the both halves of the stone, and the power to switch souls, I’m gonna free the other Demon Kings and bring them to this side. Give them new bodies.” He slanted his stare between the three of them. “Yours will do just fine.”

“You promised Ling you wouldn’t inhabit Cao’s body again,” Ry snapped.

“Oh, and I won’t. But I never said nothing about anyone else.”

“You motherfucker,” Taelen lunged to within a few inches from the demon, fists clenched. “I’d like to see you try.”

“That will be arranged shortly.” He brushed his nails on his shirt.

Any trace of the innocent small boy Jingzhi had once been was gone. Extinguished. The man before him was tainted. Twisted. Cruel and savage.

Cao had gone about this wrong. There was no saving someone like Jingzhi. The humane thing to do with him…was to put him down.

* * *

Ling forced open her eyes and surveyed a desolate expanse, dry sand beneath her and her ankle chained to a post.

Other souls wailed around her in the darkness, illuminated by an orange-red hue setting the horizon aglow. They were chained, too, and they thrashed their limbs, their hands bearing bloodied stumps where their fingers should have been.

This must be the second chamber of Hell, the Chamber of Scissors, where those who broke up marriages had their fingers chopped off.

She blinked, frowning at the hands she opened and closed, not recognizing them.

Because they’re not mine.

They’re Jingzhi’s hands.

Right. She’d switched bodies with him, so he occupied her body now. Tentatively, she prodded her chest, sighing in relief at the presence of the shén stone safely stored within her spirit.

“Ah, fresh blood,” one demon cackled, hobbling toward her. Its face resembled a blow fish, with blotches of black pus oozing from various open sores. One furred leg was disfigured, the cause of its limping. The fish-goat hybrid paused in front of her. “Welcome, Immortal. We’ve been waiting for you.”

Wait. Immortal? Did this demon believe she was Cao? So then, it must be aware of Jingzhi’s plans.

What if she altered those schemes?

“Fuck off, fish-face,” Ling sneered. “It’s not my brother in here, it’s me, you motherfucking idiot. He switched places with me again.” She offered her best disgusted grimace, imitating the uncouth creep.

“M-master?” The demon jumped back a pace, its head twitching.

“Yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “Is it that hard to get into your fucking head, shit-for-brains? Now, unchain me and take me to Xiaodan.” Ling held her breath while the creature studied her, hoping she’d come off obscene enough to fool him.

Luckily, demons weren’t the smartest beings in the universe, and this one dipped its ugly head in acquiescence, before bending to unhook the chains binding her.

“About bloody time,” she muttered, rubbing her ankle. Like the other souls in Dìyù, Jingzhi was naked, and viewing herself as a male—as him—was freaking her out. The idea Jingzhi was in her body at the moment, well, she couldn’t even go there. “Don’t just stand around flopping like dumbasses. Get me some damn clothes.”

“Right away, Master.” The demon hobbled off and returned a minute later with pants, boots, and a shirt.

Ling yanked them from the demon and dressed, her mind racing for her next move. Tricking a minion and getting out of this torture chamber was going to be the easy part. To keep up the ruse among Demon Kings, she’d have to tread very carefully indeed.

Being without Sheep left her empty inside, but she steeled herself. She had the tools she required to make it out of here alive.

As long as she played them right.

Ling followed the minion through the layers of Hell, unable to block the putrid stench of sulphur and the metallic tang of blood from her nostrils. So much blood. The screams echoing around her made her itch to cover her ears, but that would give her away. She dismissed them and concentrated on her plan.

After what seemed like an endless journey, the demon directed her toward a massive, dark fortress. Four twisting spires rose from its peaks, tipped with flaming spindles. She wended up the long, flat staircase and pushed through the steel doors. The inside was dark, smooth, and reflective. She caught her image bouncing off the mirrored walls, or rather, Jingzhi’s reflection, and stifled a shudder. Cool air rushed over her skin, like a whisper of death. The demon marched straight forward, past a double staircase, toward a large ballroom.

Inside the room, she made out three looming, shadowy figures.

The Demon Kings. She’d had a hand in taking down two of them—Xing and Dì Xīn. If any of them figured out who she really was…

She’d be worse off than dead.