I gritted my teeth. “I undid your ‘work’ myself. Sitri didn’t do anything to me.”
“He let youwant,sweet Lillia, and stoked your desire with his lies. To want is not your place. I raised you better than that.”
With one hand holding my chin, Vapula released my tether. He took hold of my shackles and stood. Pulled me to my feet. Aches ignited inmy arms and leg, making me stumble, and I crashed straight into the Duke’s embrace. My muscles locked, freezing me with a learned response I still hadn’t shed. Vapula ran his fingers up my arm, stalling only to trace the lines of the cherry red seal that marked me.
“Lust and lies. What terrible poisons.” His nose and lips grazed my shoulder and trailed along my neck, stealing my breath. “As soon as the Prince is dealt with, I will give you the remedy for his influence. The time has come to cure you of this infection.”
As soon as the Prince is dealt with…
That sentence resonated deep in my chest, calling to something I’d buried under fear and pain, stirring emotions I couldn’t bear to feel.
“He’s still out there.” I breathed the words as a conviction, not a question.
“He is,” Vapula confirmed, “and since Zephyr has already failed me once, it will be you who helps me catch him.”
Suddenly, everything clicked. These clothes, this place, his armor… it was more than a punishment. He’d carefully constructed all of this to ensure Sitri’s demise. He must have escaped somehow. And if Vapula had set this trap at the council of his seers…
I had to get a grip, had to shake off the fear he nurtured, or else it would consume me. I reached for Sitri’s magic and cast the tendrils of my web. They unearthed the Duke’s desires, and what I found made me shudder.
He wanted Sitri destroyed, and Zephyr on the throne, wanted me beneath him in his bed. But that wasn’t all; he wanted to break me, to instill obedience so thoroughly that I couldn’t resist him, even if I tried. Vapula wanted to train me like a dog, and in a way, he already had—he’d taught me to freeze when he touched me, to silence at his command, to obey to keep his wrath at bay.
The isolation Sitri imposed, torturous as it was, had disrupted Vapula’s discipline. It allowed me to unwind the threads Vapula sewed into my soul.
The Duke’s voice, his caress, his body against mine… all of it waswrong,and I couldn’t stomach it any longer. My anger ignited into rage, twisting my face as I pulled against his hold.
“I’m not helping you do anything,” I spat, “and I willneverbe your consort. I will fight you with every breath I take. Set me free, strike me down, or try taking an enemy to bed. You won’t like what happens if you do.”
“There are ways to help you follow. Your cooperation, or lack thereof, dictates how unpleasant they become.”
As suddenly as Vapula had reeled me in, he released me. His arms fell away. I pulled back. My injured leg gave. I lost my footing, and the cold, hard ground rushed up to meet me. Dull pain shot through my side as I landed, gasping for air. My whole body shook now, not just my hands.
I forced myself upright and met his eyes, a snarl on my lips. “Why even bother?”
“Excuse me?” Vapula raised an eyebrow. His smile slowly faded.
Here—there was something here he wanted to hide. His bitter stench intensified, betraying his secrets. Though my leg felt as if on fire and the ache of a soon-to-be bruise ran down my body, I struggled to my feet, refusing to let him see me weaken.
“Why bother going through all that effort?” I pressed. “You have thousands of demons in your legions. Whyme?”
“Because there is a bounty on my throne. A bid for my power is coming. You are a piece on my enemy’s board, and I must be the one who controls you.”
It wasn’t the truth, or at least not the whole truth. “You seem awfully sure of that. Where did you get that information?”
“I have seen it, Lillia—allof it.”
Vapula turned, his eyes still trained on me, and started towards his palace. He gave me a generous berth. I matched him step-for-step, my chain rattling as I dragged it across the ground, never letting the Dukeslip from my sight.
“The Prince is not the only one with allies, you know,” he continued. “President Marbus has painted the future for me; the opening of tombs best left sealed, the movement of things which fell long before the Earth was forged. You, dear Lillia, have a part to play. You are a foolish idea that demons can be taught to love, and that Prince of yours, your proof. Without my interference, you will become weapons used to carve fate itself. What kind of Duke would allow his consort to be exploited so?”
“You aren’t making sense,” I snapped. “I know you’re holding back. You reek of poison and secrets. Stop talking in riddles and answer me!”
“Oh, but you will fight me with every breath you take, won’t you, Lillia? If that is how this goes, I see no reason to bore you with the details.” Vapula shot me a truly wicked grin, his face as twisted as his soul.
Then, he gave a wave and turned. On his cue, the porcelain-skinned demon, Zephyr, brought his hand to the hilts of his weapons.
“I expect nothing short of success, Zephyr,” Vapula called as he strode toward his palace. “The Prince and his throne are yours. This time, do not fail to claim them, or I will find someone else who can.”
“Wait!” I shouted. “I said,wait!You can’t just leave me here!”
Fear. Rage. Hatred. Emotions burned inside me like a wildfire, too vicious to be tamed, melting through my icy dissociation. Vapula kept walking. With every step he took, his silhouette shrank against the backdrop of his palace. I loathed the idea of him returning to it, sitting on that massive balcony it bore, and watching me from luxury as I suffered at his whims.
If I were to become a weapon, something so powerful I could alter fate, then I’d start by sending the Duke to his end.
I leaped, sprinting towards Vapula one foot after the other, my resentment drowning out the pain shooting through me with every step. The chain rattled. Vapula didn’t bother turning around, didn’t bother toface his demise, and Zephyr didn’t move to stop me. I’d catch him off guard and be done with this. Only a few feet remained between us. As I prepared to raise my shackles and strike him, a deafening clang rang behind me, and my wrists were yanked between my legs. I nearly toppled over from the force. I fought with all my might, finding not an inch of slack. When I glanced over my shoulder, my fears became reality.
I’d pulled the chain taut. This was the end of my tether.
Vapula was perfectly safe. Though I couldn’t see his face, I certainly heard the laughter rolling off of him like smog, poisoning the air.
I tilted my head to the sky and howled my defeat. My tortured wail echoed through the empty stone arena as I collapsed to my knees. Tears welled up in my eyes, fueled by pain and fury. Once they started falling, they didn’t stop. Through my blurred vision, I watched as Vapula escaped unharmed, unbothered by what he’d done, by the husk of his consort chained to the ground, starved and aching, behind him.
