But after all we’d been through, I didn’t care. My traitorous heart followed his words, rebelled against my mind, thundered ever harderuntil it drowned out all logic.
He was right. I wanted this more than anything else—and I hated myself for it.
I closed my eyes, pressed my face into Sitri’s chest. His warmth, his scent, his body wrapped around me… no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t kill the part of me that needed this.
“Okay,” I murmured. “You can bind me… on one condition.”
“Anything,” Sitri breathed.
I felt his heartbeat quicken, his breath catch in his throat. Just like me, Sitri yearned for something forbidden, something he’d thought was out of reach. At least, I wanted to believe his reaction came from hope, and not from the thrill of the hunt.
“No more lies,” I said. “No more secrets between us, not unless the truth would jeopardize our souls—and if that happens, I expect you to come clean as soon as you are able. I need to know I can trust you.”
“I swear it, Lillia. Total honesty unless our souls are on the line.”
Sitri squeezed me tight, and this time, I embraced him back. I had this, hadhim, and if it was really all a lie, I’d rather let him lead me blindly to the slaughter than lose the comfort he brought me. I’d face the end either way: at Sitri’s whims or by Hell’s magic.
If I had to choose, this was what I wanted.
Hewas what I wanted.
That certainty stilled my sobs until they were nothing more than labored gasps.
When he released me, I allowed my arms to sag around him. The Prince ran one hand through my hair, and with the other, he cradled my face.
“You are beautiful, darling—even now, stained with tears and sorrow. I would love to lie with you all night, but our time runs short. I must prepare for this ritual. In the meantime, you should save your strength.”
“Can I come with you?”
I blurted out the question without thinking. Sitri raised an eyebrow, and I looked to the remains of my broken door. “I… don’t want to be alone right now, and unexpected company might be the only thing I want even less.”
Sitri sighed. “There is a place where your privacy and comfort would be ensured. My demons wouldn’t dare disturb us, and the tools I need are there. Will you allow me to show you?”
I took one last look around the room I’d lived in for the past month. It was as much a prison as a home, but its close walls, plain clothes, and solitude had become my own in a way. It was time to leave it all behind. Wherever it was we’d go next, it would be better than where I’d been.
“We don’t have all night,” I said. “Let’s get this over with.”
Wordlessly, Sitri brushed away the last of my tears and helped me rise on unsteady feet. He moved the wreckage of the door, took a lantern from the hall, and led the way instead of escorting me from behind. He gave me the choice of whether to follow. I fell in at his side, letting the light and his presence steady me, even as my heart fluttered and my stomach sank.
We walked through the silence of the mansion, through its winding corridors, past the dining hall, the entryway, the great room, and approached that tall, dark door at the end of the last hallway—the one carved with the mural of two demons in a lovers’ embrace. Sitri cast a cautious glance at me. He pulled a keyring from his pocket and slotted a weathered key into the lock.
“This room has been in disuse for centuries. If you like it, you may stay here as long as you wish.”
“What’s in there?” I asked, straining my neck as Sitri opened the door.
“The royal chambers,” he answered.
Light flooded in through the doorway, and from it, the room tookform. Hide rugs covered the floor. Dark gray walls mingled with shadows until I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. His wardrobe, desk, and headboard were as intricately carved as his other wooden furniture, though the images they bore were more sensual than carnal.
And then there was his bed. It was massive, with crushed red velvet furnishings and topped with a white lace canopy. It overflowed with its plush, luxurious spread, and more pillows than any bed should have.
Despite its opulence, dust collected on every surface. The room smelled of something sweet, almost feminine—not of Sitri. Rather than a cozy bedroom, it felt like an unsealed tomb, and I suddenly understood why the Prince resisted sleeping here.
I hesitated in the doorway. He meant to lure me into this place, draped in crimson and black, swarming with shadows…
“It’s okay, darling,” Sitri murmured as he waved for me to enter. “The darkness is playing tricks on you. It will be more welcoming in the light.”
I glanced up at Sitri to find his shoulders lax, his lips curled in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“So, I’ll be walking in a human, and walking out a demon?” I forced a smile of my own.
The Prince’s faded in turn. “Only if that is what you wish. Have you changed your mind, darling?”
Trust—that’s what I’d agreed to, and it’s what I’d offer. Beyond that doorway, my fate would be Sitri’s to command. I took a deep breath, savoring the air flooding my lungs. When I released it, I bid farewell to the last of my resistance.
“No… I haven’t changed my mind.”
I stepped over the threshold, into his domain, and Sitri followed me inside.
