I opened my mouth to retort. Before I got any words out, a knock at the door interrupted me. The harsh sound shattered my thoughts.
“Come in,” Sitri called.
When it opened, two demons stood in the entryway. I recognized Apollo on the right, still clad in armor. Beside him was a demon I had never seen before, another of the human-like sort. The only signs of his demonic heritage were his crimson eyes, matching those of every demon I’d met so far, save for Sitri, Zaleos, and Vapula.
He’d cropped his uneven brown hair close to his scalp in a utilitarian style. He was just as well-muscled as Apollo and must have stood several inches taller. Where his skin was visible, thick, gnarled scars crossed it. Tattered clothes showed through the gaps in his leather armor. A subtle cherry-red glow shone out from where they failed to cover his shoulder. Though I couldn’t make out the shape, I immediately recognized it.
“Is now a bad time, Prince Sitri?” the new demon asked in a voice as dark and smooth as stone.
“No, not at all. I was just reminding my guest to mind her manners. Please come in.”Sitri’s head tilted towards me.“And you should run along. I have important matters to attend to.”
I wanted nothing more than to tear Sitri a new one, to unleash every frustration I harbored and push him to address me as an equal. Even I knew better than to challenge a demon Prince and his two armed guards. In this place, I was an outsider. My window of opportunity had closed. If I valued what remained of my life, it was time to leave.
With a bow of my head, I stood from my chair and wove my way past the demons, my mind racing with insults I didn’t plan to speak aloud. Apollo shot me a sympathetic look as I stumbled out of the room. The door slammed shut behind me.
I glanced down the hall to either side. Empty. No sign of Mara, or any other demons who might try to apprehend me. With a deep breath, I dropped to my knees and pressed my face to the gap beneath the door. If I held myself at the right angle, I could glimpse the meeting I’d been ejected from.
“Apollo, Draven.” Sitri nodded to them both. “Please have a seat.”
He gestured towards the pair of chairs in his office, where the demons made themselves at home. The Prince’s face returned to its emotionless baseline as he settled himself back onto his throne.
“So that’s the lucky dame, eh? You ever planning to bind that little brat?” It was the new demon, Draven, who spoke.
Sitri pushed aside his plate, discarding the remnants of his meal. “She’s only just begun to tolerate me. Would you have me risk compromising such a feat?”
Apollo heaved a sigh. “She’s human. She isn’t a danger to us, and there’s no reason to act on fear.”
“That’s impossible,” Draven said. “She has his bindings, doesn’t she? The girl can’t be human.”
Sitri planted his elbows on the desk, crossed his hands, and set his head atop them. “Ask Mara for her opinion on the matter. She knows of a way to bind a human soul. Costly though it is, Vapula must have managed it.”
She knows of a way to bind a human soul.I pulled back just enough to glance at my left arm. Lifting my sleeve exposed the emerald green sigil that lay beneath my clothes. I’d been right. Ithadcome from Vapula, and it was the reason Sitri spared me, not in mercy, but hoping to exploit an enemy.
How long would it take for him to realize I wasn’t a saboteur, but escaped property on the run?
And when hedidnotice, when he realized who he really held in his custody…
My stomach lurched, and nausea clawed its way up my throat. I did my best to swallow it back down, returning my face to the door at the sound of Sitri’s voice.
“I took her out to test her. Four days ago, actually.”
That’s what it had been that day in the forest?A test?
“And?” Draven pressed, leaning forward, craning his neck toward the Prince.
“Dull reflexes, poor night vision, the worst balance I’ve ever seen, and she still reeks of life,” Sitri reported. “We have an understanding fornow. I shall defend her so long as she stays here.”
“Do you think that alone will hold her?”
Apollo shifted in his seat. “I’m not sure it’s going to. She doesn’t trust us, and she certainly doesn’t trustyou,Sitri. She’s one bad day away from bolting into the badlands and never coming back. It takes time to bend a will. Time you don’t have.”
Tension followed Apollo’s words, locking muscles and hardening Sitri’s eyes. The Prince clenched his jaw. I couldn’t see the other demon’s faces.
“One more reason to detonate the bridge. She won’t make it across the gorge on foot, and it should slow Vapula’s armies. If Zaleos seeks to interfere further, he will have to approach from the west. There is little to be done if Haagenti sides with him; if she doesn’t, she becomes his obstacle to overcome. Draven, we survey the sulfur mines and report back. Apollo, the order to evacuate is yours to give.” Sitri straightened, towering over the two tall, muscular demons who addressed him.
Draven growled in response. “Don’t change the subject, Sitri. You want to bed her. You aren’t even trying to hide it! If you’re going to throw me into the line of fire, keep it in your pants and do your job as Prince.”
“She is a tempting morsel, I won’t deny, but to have her warm my bed would be a waste. Vapula sees value in her, as did Zaleos. We must learn what that value is, how best to harness it.” Sitri raked his gaze over his subordinate, and Draven flinched. “I have contacted the President and await her response. Until one arrives, Lillia is to stay here, by choice or by force. Am I clear?”
