His eyes landed on me. Searched my soul. I eased myself down into the crimson chair, the same one I’d taken the day Sitri and I first met. Alarm bells rang out in my mind. My instincts told me this wasn’t the same demon who’d nearly earned my trust in the forest. He’d become a monster on the hunt, and I was the only prey in sight. Obedience had kept his dangers at bay before. Even that knowledge didn’t curb my urge to spite him. It took great effort to clench my jaw and bite back bitter words as I settled in to face him.
“Better,” Sitri said once I’d heeded the command. “Now, what is it that weighs on your mind?”
“You’ve been absorbed in your work lately,” I started.
“I must be if I’m to win this war.”
“That means you’re losing, then. Or am I wrong?”
The smile on Sitri’s face faded. “It means that war is not a simple thing, and I cannot afford any distractions. You rely on my protection, don’t you? You should be invested in my success… unless there’s something that you’re keeping from me.”
Sitri lifted another forkful of meat to his mouth and eyed me as he tore it free with his teeth. His voice carried an edge of danger. He watched me the same way he had in the mushroom forest; still-faced and with suspicion.
“That’s exactly why I’m worried. You promised to protect me, and if you can’t follow through, I deserve to know.”
He laid down his fork and took a tall drink from his glass, returning it to the desk once it was empty. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, my heart pounding in my chest.
“I don’t think that concerns you,” he answered. “If you are a stray, there’s nowhere for you to hide. If you had an owner to return to,something tells me you would have gone back to him by now, or else you’ll be waiting for him to collect you. I’m the only out you’ve got, darling; whether I win or lose.”
“I can go back to Zaleos.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I wished I could take them back. The Prince’s quiet intensity broke, revealing the cruelty beneath. Sitri gave a deep, hollow laugh that made his ridicule clear.
“Oh, yes. The human who has barely spent ten days in Hell will stumble through the darkness alone, in a world full of demons who would celebrate her capture, to beg the infamous Zaleos for help.”
“Infamous?” I reeled from his words. Slowly, that smirk I loathed crept onto Sitri’s face.
“Yes, Lillia,infamous.Even the Kings of Hell know better than to involve him. He eats pretty little things like you for breakfast. If I were you, I’d keep my distance.”
“He helped me,” I said, failing to suppress my rising anger. “He clothed me, advised me, lit the way. He guided me to safety.”
“You believe Dukes carry clothes and light wherever they go? He expected you, darling, and he brought you here to me.Thisis where he wants you. I’m warning you not to cross him.”
“He’s the Duke of Peace and Love. Even if he did expect me, what harm could he possibly do?”
“Ask the late Princess who used to call this place her home,” Sitri mused, bringing his knife to his plate. “She thought Zaleos was a charmer until she found my dagger in her back. I never would have gotten to sheath it there if not for his help.”
“You’re lying.”
Our eyes locked, and Sitri’s smile deepened. “Are you certain of that? I don’t tell proper lies, darling; they always fall apart in time. Omissions and spun truths, when well applied, serve for centuries.”
Smoke and mirrors, meant to keep me here, meant to make mereliant on him. My brief stay with Sitri was proof he’d earned his title as the Prince of Lust and Lies. That was a confession, if ever there was one, but even that shred of honesty wouldn’t allow me to uncover the truth he concealed.
“Suppose it’s true, then. Why would you do something like that? Take the help of a Duke and assassinate your own Princess?”
“I found her tastes offensive.” Sitri speared a mushroom with his fork and held it up to the light. “Bisque dolls shouldn’t play God. When they fall, they shatter.”
A hushed silence fell over the room. I felt like I might vomit. The idea of the demons wielding lust and love as weapons, plotting a woman’s downfall, luring her in for the kill… My stomach twisted. She must have seen the same hope in Zaleos that I did, and it had cost her everything.
At least, that was the story he’d have me believe.
“What do you want from me?” I asked.
Sitri set his elbow on the desk and rested his head on his hand. He never broke my gaze, even as he moved. “I want respect, darling. That’s something you seem to lack.”
Then, he launched himself from his chair and over the desk. I shrank away from him. His glittering silver eyes gleamed cold as ice, but I saw a hint of emotion hiding in them. The dark shadow of regret; for what, I wasn’t sure.
“Now, if you’d like to go crawling back to the Duke who cast you out, be my guest. I will not chase you if you leave, nor will I protect youshould you turn on our arrangement.”
