Page 17

Tiny squeaks of protest erupted from beneath the bed and Peri bit back a laugh.

“Absolutely not,” she said, shaking her head. “Nobody can know you’re here!”

Reluctantly, the band laid down their instruments and one by one the smoke sprites floated off to hide, their tiny forms disappearing into the shadows beneath her bedside table. Leaning against her headboard she let out a sigh of relief, only for guilt to immediately creep in.

“Wait!” She reached under her pillow and pulled out a small package wrapped in cloth. “I have something for you.”

The sprites peeked out from the shadows, their wide-eyes taking up nearly half their bodies. Peri unwrapped the package, revealing dried jalapeños chopped into paper-thin slivers. “Hopefully, this will help you forgive me for ruining your fun.”

Like smoke from a fire being caught in a breeze, she was immediately covered with a cacophony of squeaking fur-balls, all snatching up their pieces of jalapeño and zipping back to their hiding spots. A smile crept across her face as she leaned back, feeling a little lighter, despite the overwhelming weight of everything else.

Magical creatures were required to live in the Fauna Circle, the middle Circle of Hell, purportedly for their own safety. Even smoke sprites, who notoriously loved a room with both a fireplace as well furniture to hide under. Demonkind were told to keep their distance from the magical creatures, outside of rigidly controlled bargains that were to always be in the demoness’ or demon’s favour. Over the centuries, the other Circles had grown increasingly lax in enforcing the mandate. Only the Holy Circle remained steadfast.

It seemed strange to her that all of Hell’s creatures be separated so harshly, and while she tried to understand the dangers her family warned her about… even Slang seemed less malicious and more dubiously ambitious.

Which, if she were honest, is a trait she secretly admired.

She burrowed back under the covers of her bed, hiding away in shadows as she fought to understand everything she’d recently experienced.

Last night she’d crept into Sia’s bedroom and crawled into bed with her. They hadn’t talked. Sia hadn’t even been fully awake, yet still she’d pulled Peri to her. They'd slept like this as children whenever nightmares had woken her, and even now, after everything, the old comfort came as naturally as breathing. Only now the nightmares were real, and the solace she'd once found in their childhood rituals could no longer quiet her fear. And so she’d sobbed silently into her pillow until she fell into a fitful sleep.

Yet even in her sister’s arms, her night was plagued by reliving the horrors of Ascension—Sia’s body, crumpled and bloody. Her sister dead.

Each time she woke, she’d carefully hold a finger beneath Sia’s nose, silently begging for the brush of warm breath against her skin.

Each time, tears had streamed down her face in relief.

Sia was alright. She was alive—and Peri clutched her all the tighter for it.

When early morning sunbeams crept across their sleeping forms, Peri had snuck back to her own bedroom. As relieved as she was that her sister was safe, acting as though nothing had happened was impossible. The horror of what she'd witnessed still clung to her like a second skin.

Now, from under her covers, she could hear the bustle of the rest of her family getting ready for Sia’s mating ceremony. It was the second night of their week-long Winter Solstice celebrations and Peri would be expected to be both present and cheerful for every moment of it.

With a long, nervous breath she finally padded off to the bathroom to wash off last night's horrors.

She'd shoved the memory of Ascension so far into the back of her mind that she almost believed it would stay there. Then she'd catch sight of a knife, the bright crimson petals on a flower or find herself alone in the oppressive silence of her room—and the memories would surge forward, insistent and impossible to ignore.

She’d turned the heat of the bath water to scalding as she stepped in, the unbearable heat grounding her until she thought she might actually be able to enjoy the evening ahead. Yet, in the middle of cleaning her hair, her anxiety had risen suddenly, attacking her with memories of her sister slumping to the ground. Throat sliced open.

So much blood.

Any semblance of tranquility was ripped away from her then. Her heart had slammed so loud and fast that she knew she must be dying. It took long minutes of her wrapping her arms around her knees; sucking in breath after breath before she’d felt any pretence of calm.

The sun hung high in the sky before she felt more like herself.

Dressed and ready, Peri was the last of her family to enter the chaotic whirlwind of activity in Sia’s bedroom. The buzz of excitement and nervous energy was electric, but a tightening in her chest reminded her this was one of her last moments with her sister before she moved out to live with Rocco.

Their mother, Apphia, entered the room with forced reserve and measured steps. She’d smoothed her long magenta hair into soft waves, her two horns poking out like overly polished gemstones. She wore a crisp white dress that was cut sharply, tempering the natural curves of her body. The picture of a pious demoness and prized daughter of the Grand Duke of the Holy Circle.

“Best not eat too much tonight, dear,” Apphia advised, cinching Sia’s dress tighter.

Sia pulled away gently, her face betraying restrained agitation even as she nodded in acknowledgment. Their mother turned then to Peri, heaving an aggrieved sigh. “Peri dear, why don't you put on those new slippers I bought you? They’ll look so much better.”

“Oh, um, I’ll go look for them.” She shot her sister a commiserating glance before leaving to search in the orangerie, where she’d last seen the overly stiff shoes her mother had given her.

Most of the other Circles didn’t have mating ceremonies directly after the demoness Ascended—this was a practice that only her Circle upheld. Her family told her it’s because the Holy Circle was the highest Circle of Hell, and demonesses born into it needed to be an exemplification of piety.

This was to encourage the rest of Hell to follow suit. Which had initially made sense to Peri because, of course, there always needed to be a standard set for how to properly do things.