If Dimri had to guess, the demon was on his way to the throne room so he could take it over as he waited for his people to bring Berith to him.He didn’t expect Berith to be there, waiting for him, and that might give them a few minutes, but it wouldn’t be enough.Berith was in danger, which meant that Roque was, too, and that thought made Dimri want to scream.
They’d expected something like this to happen, but it still made him feel like his heart was about to explode.He needed to be there.He needed to ensure that both Berith and Roque made it out alive.If they didn’t, Dimri would be next to them, and he’d go down with them.
He emerged from the tunnels and almost ran face-first into a guard running down the hallway.He grabbed the guard, clutching their arms to keep them in place.“What’s going on?”
The guard had a deep cut on their forehead that was bleeding copiously, but they didn’t seem to care.“Ramiel’s here,” they said.“In the throne room.The prince will fight him.”
Dimri wasn’t surprised.In fact, he’d expected Berith to want to fight Ramiel if he ever had the opportunity.Berith’s people needed him to show everyone in Hell that he was stronger and more powerful than Ramiel.
That didn’t mean Dimri had to like it.
“Incoming,” someone called out from behind him.
Dimri swore.He wanted to go to the throne room, dammit.He didn’t want to be here, dealing with the tunnels and whatever came out of them.
“You should go to the throne room,” Thale said.
It was tempting to say yes.Instead, Dimri shook his head.“No.We have a plan, and we need to follow it.We’re in charge of protecting the palace and the prince from the demons coming up through the tunnels.We can’t allow them to get in and attack the prince while he’s busy dealing with Ramiel.”
“You’re sure?Because we can stay here and do that while you go to the throne room.”
Dimri desperately wanted to say yes, and Thale had to know it.It was probably why he was offering.But no matter how much Dimri wanted to turn around and run, he couldn’t.
He let go of the guard he was still clutching and turned back toward the entrance of the tunnels.“We have work to do,” he declared, looking at his team.“I know that all of you are worried about the prince and your families.I am, too, and if there was any alternative, I’d already be running toward the throne room.Thisis our job, though.It is our duty to stay behind and ensure that no one comes in through the tunnels.”
One by one, the members of Dimri’s team nodded and walked back into the tunnels.Thale was the last one to do so.After he disappeared from sight, Dimri took a second to get himself together.The guard he’d grabbed earlier was turning around the corner, and Dimri watched them disappear from sight.
There was no time to waste.Even though Dimri’s heart was out there in the throne room with Roque, his mind and his arms needed to be here to defend the palace.He could only pray that Roque and Berith would be all right.He wouldn’t know until the fight was over, which meant that the sooner that happened, the sooner he could go find them.Ramiel expected reinforcements to come through the tunnels.
Dimri would make sure they didn’t.
* * * *
EVERY MUSCLE IN ROQUE’Sbody still screamed at him to go find Dimri and make sure he was alive.His spymaster was smart and good at getting out of impossible situations, but explosions didn’t care how smart someone was.If tons of stone had come down on Dimri and his team, they were gone.
“He’s fine,” Berith said quietly without looking away from the open throne room doors.“Dimri’s survived worse than a tunnel collapse.He’ll find a way to join us here.”
Roque nodded, forcing himself to remain at his post beside the throne.Berith was right.This was what they’d all agreed on.Dimri would handle the tunnels and the threats coming through them, and Roque would protect the prince from Ramiel.
He just had to trust that Dimri would keep his promise to come back.
“You weren’t supposed to be here,” a voice said.
Everyone in the room turned toward the doors.Ramiel stepped through them like he owned the palace, no sign of surprise in his expression.He was everything Roque had expected from the reports—as tall as Berith but broader, with long black horns and black hair.His skin was of a darker red than Roque’s, and scars crossed his arms and his bare chest.He’d survived many battles.
He wouldn’t survive this one.
Ramiel’s yellow eyes were fixed on Berith, almost as if he was waiting for an answer.
“Disappointed?”Berith asked in a casual tone.
“Surprised.My intelligence told me you’d be on the outskirts of town.”Ramiel’s hand went to his sword.“I was planning to take your family and use them to get you back here.”
“Sorry to ruin your plans.”
Ramiel laughed.“Actually, this is better.I won’t have to wait to win.”
Roque wanted to scream.He needed this to be over.He was ready to move forward, but he’d promised he wouldn’t, so he stayed where he was, even though the temptation to try and cleave Ramiel’s head off his shoulders was strong.The guards scattered around the throne room waited for orders, too, their weapons ready.
