Kalia still managed to sound put-out by Saer’s lack of insight despite the reopened emotional wounds.“Think about it.”
Saer’s lips parted to answer immediately, but he stopped himself.
It was no secret Envy embodied his aspect in just about everything he did, just as the rest of theDaemoenicadid for their own.Saer never did stop to consider how much Errshek might desire everything he, as the First, possessed: Power, status, physical prowess and appeal, Lucifer’s favor, and…
…Neyu.
The possibility crept into Saer’s brain, and his eyes widened just enough for Kalia to read his awareness.
The expression on Sloth’s face answered his question, but Saer needed it spoken, leaving no room for uncertainty.“Errshek was in love with Neyu?”
“Of course he was, Saer.”Kalia spoke it not as though Saer was an imbecile, but as a soft and simple truth.
He faltered for his next inquiry, dazed.“Did she...?”
Kalia anticipated his question, cutting him off with a head shake.“No.Neyu didn’t know.”She smiled, but it held no joy.“She only saw you.”
Kalia’s words slammed into his heart, crushing and cradling it all at once.
Saer swallowed, then grasped for one thought he could make sense of.“Then how—what happened?Errshek learned from you...?”
Nodding with sadness, Kalia turned her attention to her fingernails and picked underneath them.“He had no one else to pair with, so he came to me.Errshek told me how he felt because…” Kalia sighed and made a hopeless gesture, walking back around so she stood in front of Saer, her voice cracked as it raised.“I don’t know!I don’t knowwhyhe told me, I wish—” The demoness choked on the last word and then cleared her throat.The unmistakable fizzle of demon tears made itself known and she growled, rubbing her eyes with angry swipes.“Hellsfire.”
Saer curled his trembling hands into fists, forced himself to remain seated, and waited.
Kalia fought for composure, though her voice still quivered.“It was one offhand comment.”She grimaced, shaking her head.“I told him, ‘If you want Neyu, you’d better be prepared to go through Saer.’”Her eyes darted to him, then away again under his glare.Her cadence of speech picked up, as though desperate to get through it all.“He went quiet after that.Never brought it up from that point.We finished our harvest.I didn’t think about it again.”She ended by letting out the rest of a shuddering breath, gaze lowering to the ground.A few heartbeats passed before her miserable conclusion.“I had no idea he would tell Father.”
Kalia’s eyes raised to Saer’s, this time holding the contact despite her sorrow.“I thought you came here to unmake me,” she whispered.“I thought you knew.”
Saer growled, and while it carried discontentment, it held little anger up front.Unflinching, he answered her unasked question.“I’m not here to end you.Errsheken…” The rumble in Saer’s chest deepened, his lips thinning.“You challenged him to go through me.He chose to do that via our maker.”
And after he explains to me what in the Hellsfire he was thinking, I’ll revel in his destruction.
A timid knock resounded on the calefactory door.
“Miss Kalia, the sun has almost set.We gave you as much time as we could, but—”
Saer recognized the voice of one of the monks from before.Expecting Kalia to curse and lash out at them as she’d done prior, befuddlement struck when her eyes widened.Her head jerked to glance out the small warming room window, confirming their words.
“It’s time,” the brother outside the door finished apologetically.“May we come in?”
“Oh no.No, no, no,” Kalia muttered under her breath as she went over to the window.Only a sliver of the daystar remained showing over the horizon.She backed up a step, addressing Saer without looking at him.“You need to go.”
“What?Why?”
“In case the calendar isright!”Almost stumbling as she turned back to the First, Kalia reached out and grabbed his forearms, pulling him up and out of his chair.“I have a routine.You’re a complication, if they see—”
“Kaliaspher, what in the frenzied Hells...!”
“Miss Kalia?”More knocks at the door came with increased tenacity.
“Saer, please!”Desperation sliced through her plea as she attempted to tug him towards the door.Saer planted his feet, outweighing and overpowering her.
The last fragments of sunlight disappeared behind the crest of the earth.
The First pulled his wrists out of Kalia’s grip with a snarl.“Tell me what you know of Errshek’s whereabouts, and I’ll do as you ask.”
She gasped and froze, her head slumping, face downturned.
