“Then my answer is yes. If we ever manage to get out of here, I’ll follow you to the human realm.”
Justin leaned harder against Mynor’s side and sighed in relief. That was step one done. Now, he needed to focus on the next step, which was actually getting them out of their cell.
He’d thought about talking to Anya. He’d thought about begging her and going along with what she’d ask of him. He refused to do that, though. Maybe he’d change his mind if he were forced to stay here for much longer, but right now, he couldn’t do it. He knew that she’d want him to prove himself, and she’d do it in the worst way possible. He’d stood up to her when it came to the prisoners and Mynor. Justin might not know how her that well, but he was sure she’d ask him either to imprison someone, or worse, to hurt Mynor. She wanted Justin to be loyal to her, and to her only.
He never would be.
Mynor hadn’t meantto be so honest about his fear for Alphan, but he suspected that it didn’t matter and that Justin hadknown anyway. He had brothers. He knew how Mynor felt. Their situation didn’t make trusting each other easy, but they’d spent enough time together that Mynor was sure Justin was on his side. He wasn’t a spy for Anya. He wouldn’t change his mind about her. He was willing to attempt to convince his brothers to get two demons out of Hell just so he could stay with Mynor.
Mynor couldn’t say he’d ever been truly happy. Anya hadn’t been the queen the entire time Mynor had been alive, but there was a reason it had been so easy for her to step in and get the role, and it wasn’t only that she’d killed the former king. She was as bad as the king who had come before her. They’d both made life hard for the people who lived in their territory, and Mynor couldn’t see that changing anytime soon. As much as he wanted to help people, it wasn’t his responsibility. He’d done so for years before getting captured. Maybe he’d want to come back eventually and do it again, but for now, he wanted to rest. He wanted to recover from the time spent in this cell and, for the first time in his life, be happy. He wanted to think of himself and not of everyone else.
It was selfish, but when he looked down at Justin, he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Justin was offering him something he’d never dreamed he could have. He was offering him freedom and love. How could Mynor say no to that? Why should he?
He unhooked his hand from Justin’s and wrapped an arm around Justin’s shoulders. Justin’s eyes widened, and he glanced at the door that led into the hallway, but it was still closed. They were alone, with no guard in sight. They couldn’t risk this for long, but Mynor felt he needed to show Justin that he cared.
He kissed the top of Justin’s head. He knew it had been the right thing to do when he looked down again and Justin was beaming at him as if he’d just given him the world. As far as Mynor was concerned, it was the other way around. Justin wasgiving him things he hadn’t known were possible, and it was making him hope again, which probably wasn’t smart. What hope did they have? They were stuck here.
But that didn’t seem to matter, not to Mynor’s heart, and he didn’t think it mattered to Justin, either, because when Mynor leaned down to kiss his lips, he answered with a sigh and pressed closer.
Chapter Eleven
The sound of a door opening woke up Justin. He didn’t think much of it, knowing that Mynor would say something if it was important. He felt Mynor move next to him, but he kept his eyes shut, clinging to the dream he’d been having.
It was nice. He and his family were having Christmas dinner, and Caitlin was there. Yancey and Calyx weren’t fighting. Shelby kept teasing Justin about his new boyfriend.
“Justin,” Anya said, shattering Justin’s peace.
Justin’s eyes flew open. He hadn’t expected his mother to come down here. She usually did so once a week, but recently, she’d started skipping a week or two. It was like she knew that she wouldn’t be able to convince him, no matter how many times she tried.
And shehadtried.
Justin groaned and sat up. He didn’t get to his feet. He didn’t see any reason to, not when he already knew that she was here to convince him to see things her way. He wasn’t sure why she believed she could do it, even though he’d been here for months. Would she ever stop trying? It might be a bad thing for Justin if she did. Maybe she’d decided to get rid of him or something.Maybe she wouldn’t want a son who didn’t want to follow in her footsteps.
“You should let him out,” Mynor said.
Anya wasn’t looking at him, but she heard him. There was no way she hadn’t. She didn’t react at all, but Justin frowned at him.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“You don’t belong here,” Mynor said. “You should accept her offer.”
Justin understood what Mynor was doing, but he couldn’t let it stand.
He pushed away from the wall and got to his feet, wincing at the pain in his back. Sleeping on the cold floor never got easier. “I’m not accepting anyone’s offer. I’m not hurting people. You two can stop thinking of ways to change my mind because I won’t.”
Anya nodded. “That’s what I thought, although I hoped that giving you one last chance would help.”
“Why would it? You want me to do something I find horrifying. You might not think much about hurting people, but I’m not like you.”
“You’re my son.”
“Only biologically. I still don’t understand why you wanted a child with a human, but I’m starting to believe it was an accident. You left as soon as you could. You didn’t want anything to do with me or my father, and I wish I hadn’t changed that. I wish I hadn’t come here.” The only thing it had given him was pain. Well, he’d also met Mynor, and he was glad for that, but since they were both stuck in a cell, he couldn’t say that he was happy.
“You won’t ever change your mind, will you?” Anya asked.
“I don’t think so. I refuse to be like you. I refuse to hurt people. Maybe if you change completely, I might consider it, but we both know you’re not going to do that. You’re not the queenbecause you want to help people. You’re the queen because you’re helping yourself, and you don’t see anything wrong with that.”
“I hoped you would, so I wouldn’t have to go through another pregnancy, but maybe this is for the best. You’re only half-demon. I don’t think anyone would ever respect you. Well, Justin, I hope you enjoy your cell. You’ll never leave this place. I should have known that you’d be too much like your father.”
