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Sia’s breath hitched. She gaped at Peri as if seeing her for the first time.

“Sia—I promise you.” She was pleading once more. “You’re not that hard to love.”

Neither of them spoke. The silence stretched between them—tense, fragile, and full of everything left unsaid. Sia sighed in the resigned way she did at the end of all their disagreements. “I don’t want to fight anymore. Can we just forget this conversation ever happened?”

“You’re right.” A tear slipped down Peri’s face and she gave a shaky nod. “Let’s not let this come between us.”

She had barely turned away from Sia, watching her sister disappear down a hallway when a hand grabbed her arm. Peri jumped, the tray clattering to the floor. It was her Aunt Clovis, pulling her into a tight, almost desperate hug.

“I heard about the binding rune,” Clovis whispered. “You deserve a thousand more hugs, but this is the best I can do.” She pulled back slightly. “It won’t be that bad though, you’ll see. Your parents may be a bit drastic… but they love you and, now that you have more time, you can come visit your favourite aunt!”

It was a sincere offer, but she didn’t want to visit her aunt because that was her only option for company. It was like being mid-bite of the most delicious chocolate cake, having it ripped away, only to be told there is a bowl of ripe strawberries nearby and she could eat as many of those as she desired. Sure she loved strawberries, but they weren’t what she currently wanted.

“And anyway,” Clovis continued on, oblivious to Peri’s distress. “You know that your mother just wants you to be happy, right? She loves you more than anything.”

“I know,” Peri sighed. “Sometimes… Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it, though.” Part of her was ashamed to be voicing such clear criticism of her mother, to her aunt no less. But she was so tired and possibly more overwhelmed than she realised.

“Our father,” Clovis’s eyes grew distant. “Well, I don’t have any memories of us playing together or any moments of joy with him really. We lost our mother when we were so young and then... growing up we were only ever praised for how well we followed his strict rules. We both vowed that when we had children we wouldn’t raise them so coldly. We wanted our homes to be filled with joy… with love.” Her maudlin expression grew earnest as she locked eyes with Peri. “You have to admit you grew up with a much better life than we did.”

A solitary, treacherous tear slipped down Peri’s cheek. “But what’s the point of having a wonderful childhood, only to force us into a life we don’t want as adults?”

“Oh, Peri!” Clovis wrapped her in another hug. “You’ll understand when you’re older.”

Peri tentatively hugged her aunt back before whispering, “Aunt Clovis, are you happy?”

Clovis was quiet for a long time before clearing her throat, “What a strange question!” She pulled away as she said, “Of course, I’m happy.”

It was a lie. She was almost sure of it. Or maybe not? If only somebody would look her in the eye and give her an honest, logical answer—she’d finally feel at ease.

Swallowing her anger until it was a burning nausea deep in her gut, Peri finally carved a shaky smile onto her face.

In a rush of complicated emotion, she pulled Clovis into one more hug, but this time the warmth of it was fleeting. Eventually, she pulled away to bid her aunt farewell only to find a torn sheet of paper in her grasp. Clovis leaned close and whispered, “I don’t know what it means, but I overheard them talking about you.”

The note was a scribbled, disjointed phrases: Starfall will be the Devil’s downfall. If the behemoth is sighted, Slang’s chosen must be stopped.

Peri had no time to think about what it meant or who had been talking about her. She thanked her aunt before rushing around the corner to wait for the other demonesses to exit the dining room.

Eventually, the door clicked shut behind them, leaving only the demons to hold their first meeting of the day. Peri’s stomach twisted at the thought of what might be discussed in that room, which is why she was here to find out.

From her satchel, she pulled out the pouch containing two small coins—one golden and one silver. The coins were connected by a spell she’d found long ago, and she finally had the opportunity to put them to good use. She pulled the silver coin from the pouch and, with quiet steps, approached the doors that had been sealed with a powerful ward. She slid one coin under the door, just enough to breach the magical barrier, enough for the coin to catch the voices inside but not be noticed.

Grabbing her satchel, she hurried back to her bedroom, quickly locking herself inside. She shuffled into her large closet and carefully pulled the other coin from her pouch. As she did, the voices from the meeting below began to echo inside her closet.

The first voice she heard was her Uncle Elgar’s—Clovis’ husband—grumbling about petty matters Peri couldn’t care less about. The monotony of his complaints washed over her and her thoughts drifted to the rune carved into her back and how she might reverse the magic, jotting down ideas feverishly. But her attention was soon yanked back to the present as she heard her name.

“Has Perine got the markings of Slang or not, Takar? We need to know how to proceed. I still think sacrificing one from our own Circle is the way to go. Makes sure the power stays in the family, as well.” Elgar was insistent. “But first, we need to be sure.”

Her father answered low and aggravated. “We don’t think she has Slang’s Bite yet, no. Even if she did, we’re not sacrificing her. She’s my daughter.”

Warmth spread over Peri as her father’s declaration reached her, despite everything he had done. It didn’t matter what he’d done, if she were honest. Some part of her would always would yearn to hear that her father loves her, and she hated herself for it. She clutched the golden coin tightly, her pulse hammering in her ears as the weight of the rest of the conversation settled over her. Sacrifice her? But why? Her world tilted once again.

“Well, you know what we have to do then, don’t you?” Valus scoffed. “If you don’t want her to be sacrificed, then mate her to me already and be done with it.”

“Look,” Takar began pleadingly, “Until she has Slang’s markings, the magical creatures cannot use her to break the Divine Bargain. I’ll find a way to check her wrists—”

“Ask Sia to do it,” Rocco interrupted.

The room agreed with Rocco’s suggestion in a chorus of masculine grunts. Takar’s voice, however, remained tinged with unease as he added, “Does this even matter? Asmodeus’s daughter has been chosen for the sacrifice. He’s eager to throw her into the Lake of Fire and be done with her. I don’t think sacrificing Peri will even bring our Circle more power. We just need to stop Starfall from happening right? Furthermore… the Rune Circle sacrificed Asmodeus’s sister-in-law a decade ago, and I haven’t seen a significant boost in their power.”