“To my room,” I called behind me, then shuffled through the still-open door.
The shadows stagnating in the hallway were a timely reminder that the Prince’s mansion had darkened in his absence. Sitri burst from the kitchen. I stole a glance at him over my shoulder. His muscles grew tight. The smile he’d spawned at the sight of me vanished, and between heavy breaths, his lips parted to show his teeth. Jagged, sharpened fangs—the same kind he wanted to impart on me.
My heart lurched. With what emotion, I wasn’t sure.
“What happened?” he asked. “Are you alright?”
“No, I’m not alright. A certain demoness tried to butcher me. If it weren’t for Apollo, I wouldn’t be here. You knew she was dangerous, didn’t you?”
Sitri’s eyes widened, and the tension drained from his body. He looked me over, top to bottom, brow wrinkling at whatever he saw. The Prince took a few steps forward. He laid one hand on my shoulder, and I froze. His gentle touch brought comfort I didn’t want to pull away from, but refused to lean into. His contact, once so threatening, felt almost affectionate.
Almost.
“Never once in a hundred years did I think she’d try anything like that. If I had, I never would have left youhere with her.”
“Whether you expected it or not, it happened.” I shrugged off his hand and turned to face him. “If it hadn’t been her, it would have been someone else. You still ran off with that scarlet-haired witch, abandoned me in a house of mutinous demons, and forced me to fend for myself!”
Sitri blinked once, twice, and then his lips pulled back in a snarl. It was a sure sign I’d caught him in a lie.
“I tasked Apollo with keeping you safe in my stead, and it looks like he did his job.” His voice rose with every word he spoke. “There was no one left to go in my place. Apollo and Mara worked together to keep all of Lantyca operational. Draven lies in the gorge. There is no other I could trust not to strike when my back is turned.”
I scoffed. “Besides Bronwen?”
“Besides the emissary sent to collect me? Yes. Check her bindings, if you care to risk your soul. She belongs to President Haagenti. Not to me. Even if she tried to assassinate me, her owner would come for her, just as surely as yours comes for you.”
“Haagenti?” I echoed.
I’d heard that name before, on Bronwen’s lips. It was enough to pull me back to reality. I took a step away from Sitri, who kept his cool, but only barely.
“She is a President of Hell who rules alchemical demons and aids me in this war. If you could hold your own, perhaps I would have brought you along to meet her, but you refuse to let your weakness go.”
The bitterness in Sitri’s words made me flinch. “I thought you said becoming a demon wasmychoice.”
“Itisyour choice, Lillia.”
“Had you ever planned to tell me that my days in Hell are numbered?”
He growled, low and savage. “Would you rather I use your mortality to extort you, to control you, to bind you before you’re ready?”
“I’d rather you stopped keeping me in the dark so I can make aninformed decision.”
“Not a soul in Hell knows what will happen to you. If you are at risk of fading, these little outbursts are going to hasten your demise. Did you want me to tell you, knowing full well you cannot control yourself? That this would be the outcome?”
“All I want is to be treated like a person, not a helpless child, or a tool for you to use!”
The words came as a shout, even though I hadn’t intended for them to. Silence fell over the hallway. Sitri’s face softened. Something inside me crumbled, too; the breaking of the wall I used to cage my feelings. There was no way to know how long I had left, and I didn’t want to spend my last days on the fringes of this world, fighting for a scrap of acknowledgment in a place I couldn’t quite call home.
He’d kept me at arm’s length for a month. I was getting sick of it.
“You’re right, Lillia. You’re right, and I’m sorry.”
“I can’t trust you.” My voice faded to a whisper. “You’re lying to me. You’re keeping secrets from me, Sitri.”
“I am, and to some extent, I must. You know who and what I am. You should also know that not a day goes by where I don’t curse the monster I’ve become. Do you believe me when I tell you this, even after what I’ve said and done?”
“I…”
The words wouldn’t come.
