Chapter Eight
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DIMRI WAS GOOD AT HIS job. It was one of the reasons Berith trusted him as much as he did, and Dimri always thrived to show the prince that he was deserving of that trust. Even more than that, he thrived to keep Berith and the other people he cared about safe.
It wasn’t just because he thought that Berith was a good prince. Dimri was proud of what he did.
He kept his expression under control as he listened to his informant talk, even though there was no need for him to since he was alone in his office.
Inside, he was jumping up and down and screaming his head off.
He finally had something. After so many days of working with nothing to show for it, he finally had a clue as to who the spy might be.
It had felt like it would never happen. Dimri and Roque had returned to the palace a few days ago, and they’d both instantly gone back to work.
They’d barely seen each other since then, since they both had things to take care of after being gone for a week, and Dimri missed Roque.
He was surprised to realize that, but he was also eager to get this war over with so they could see where things would go between them.
“I couldn’t believe it when I heard it,” his informant said on the other side of the phone.
“You were right to call me,” Dimri told her. “But you shouldn’t worry.”
She snorted. “How am I not supposed to worry when Ramiel is planning to attack during the prince’s next outing?”
It hadn’t been easy, but Dimri had managed to get another two spies into Ramiel’s palace.
One of them had already been working there and was looking for a better life, while the other worked there as a servant.
They both had to be extremely careful after what had happened to the rest of Dimri’s spies there, but they knew what they were doing and what would happen if they were caught.
Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to do this for much longer, and they’d be able to come home soon.
Because Dimri had a plan, and it was working.
After the fiasco with Abath, he’d decided that they needed to find another way to investigate their suspects.
Even though he and Roque weren’t working alone, it was taking too much time to spy on all of their suspects and wait for one of them to do something stupid.
So he’d come up with a new strategy, and it was paying off.
Feeding different information to each suspect had been labor-intensive, but it had been worth it.
“I know you worry,” he told his informant. “I promise that I have everything under control. I need you to trust me.”
She sighed. “I do trust you. I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t.”
“I’ll keep Berith safe.”
“You do that. I want to have a home to return to once I’m done with this.”
“You will.” Dimri wouldn’t normally make that promise, but he felt like they were closer than ever to winning their fight with Ramiel. They knew what Ramiel’s next step would be. They knew when he would attack. They just needed to do something about it.
Dimri was on his feet as soon as he hung up the phone.
He was out of his office door just a few moments later, and while he wasn’t running down the hallways, it was a close thing.
He had to be careful, though. There could be more spies watching him, and even if there weren’t, he didn’t want Ramiel’s spy to know that something was happening.
He needed to act normal, which wasn’t easy when he knew that the information could potentially end the war in their favor.
He barely slowed down as he barreled into Berith’s office.
There was a risk that Berith was in a meeting or that Dimri would walk on something he’d rather not see since Berith’s consort was in the room, but thankfully, the two of them were cuddling on the couch with all their hands above their clothes, which was probably because Roque was standing by the window.
He winked at Dimri, and Dimri told himself he couldn’t allow himself to get flustered, but it wasn’t easy.
“You know,” Berith said in a tone that betrayed his amusement, “most princes of Hell would have you killed for interrupting my private time with my consort.”
Dimri rolled his eyes. “If you’re trying to threaten me, you should make more of an effort. When have I ever been afraid of you?”
That wasn’t strictly true. Dimri had initially been afraid of Berith, but that had quickly stopped once he’d realized that Berith was as nice as he acted.
He truly wanted peace and to be a good prince.
He wanted to take care of his people and his territory.
He was an oddity in Hell—a demon who wanted the best for his people instead of wanting to exploit them—and Dimri was glad that this was the territory where he’d been born.
He wouldn’t want to work for anyone else.
“Has something happened?” Mel asked as he straightened.
Dimri grinned at him. “Ramiel is coming. He’s planning on attacking the palace.”
For a moment, everyone in the room stared.
Dimri wanted them to ask what he meant, but he also didn’t want to torture them.
“I got news from a new informant I placed in Ramiel’s palace,” he explained.
“He believed our lie that Berith is going to visit the outskirts of the city to reassure the people who live there. He’s going to attack the palace while he’s out with the guards.
” Which he’d need plenty of to keep him safe.
“Does this mean you know who the spy is?” Roque asked. He knew all about Dimri’s plan. Hell, they’d planned it together.
“I do,” Dimri confirmed. “I know who the spy is, and I know when Ramiel will be here. He wants to cut off Berith’s escape route and leave him stranded, and he thinks that the palace will be easily taken because most of the guards will be with Berith.
I’m guessing that once he has the palace and Berith’s family, he’ll have Berith dragged back here and continue with his plan. ”
It wouldn’t be good. Dimri was sure of that, even though he didn’t have any details. Knowing Ramiel, he’d want to hurt Berith. He’d probably kill Berith’s family in front of him just to torture him.
Dimri wouldn’t allow him or anyone else to do that. He had a plan, and it was working.
“Do you have any details?” Roque asked.
“I do,” Dimri confirmed. He always did.
* * * *
ROQUE WASN’T SURPRISED to find out that Dimri’s plan had worked. He’d realized a while ago that between the two of them, Dimri was the smart one. That was okay. Roque didn’t mind being the muscle, especially when it meant following Dimri’s orders.
Once again, Dimri had been right. They’d discussed how much time they’d wasted spying on Abath for nothing, and Dimri had wanted to find another way to draw the spy out and identify them. Well, they had, and since they now knew what Ramiel’s plans were, they could act accordingly.
“I’ll have the spy taken down to the cells,” he said as he moved toward the door to tell Berith’s secretary to get two guards.
Dimri nodded. He looked distracted, which wasn’t a surprise. They knew that Ramiel was coming, but they still had to plan for his arrival.
Luckily, they didn’t need much from the spy.
Dimri was relieved to find out that it wasn’t someone he trusted, although once all of this was over, he’d have to talk with the people who hired the servants, the cooks, and everyone else who worked in the palace.
They needed to do better and to stop hiring spies.
The maid had been smart, though. She’d moved around the palace all day, every day, but most people hadn’t noticed her.
That meant that she could sneak into rooms and listen to private conversations.
Not anymore.
When Roque walked back into the office, it was to find Berith and Dimri talking about what their next step should be.
Mel hadn’t left, but while he was still on the couch, Berith was now at his desk, his head close to Dimri’s as they’d plotted.
Mel didn’t seem to mind. He was watching Berith with a soft expression, but Roque could see the worry in his eyes.
Roque couldn’t promise Mel that everything would be all right, but there was a promise he could make.
“I’ll keep him safe even if it means I have to sacrifice myself,” he murmured as he stepped closer to the prince’s consort.
Mel shook his head. “I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself for him, and he doesn’t, either.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s my job, and even more than that, I care about him. He’s a friend.”
“I know.” Mel sighed. “I just wish we didn’t have to go through all of this.”
“Hell isn’t a peaceful place. You knew that when you decided to move here.
” Roque remembered that he’d been worried that Mel wasn’t the right choice for Berith, but the human had shown him otherwise.
He’d stood by Berith through thick and thin, and Roque didn’t have to ask to know that he’d do so this time, too.
He might be human, but that didn’t mean he was weak.
In fact, he was one of the strongest people Roque knew.
It took a special kind of strength to be a teacher, especially in the palace of a prince of Hell.
“I’m aware,” Mel said. “Hopefully, we can make it a little more peaceful once this is over. I don’t like the thought of anyone fighting, but I realize it’s necessary.”
“Once Ramiel’s gone, you won’t have to worry about anything.
” If Berith could pull this off, he’d show the other princes of Hell how strong and powerful he was.
That would make them think twice about attacking him to try to take his territory.
It would give Berith and everyone else here years of peace.
They just had to deal with Ramiel first.
The office eventually filled with other people. Berith warned everyone that Ramiel was coming, and together, they worked on a plan to keep the palace and the people inside of it safe. They’d do their best for everyone else out there, but their priority had to be Berith and his family.
By the time an hour had passed, people were running in and out of the office.
Everyone had something to say or to ask, except for Roque.
His job was to protect the prince. He knew where he would be when Ramiel attacked.
He knew what his job would be, too. He didn’t have to be part of this plan, although he was grateful to be involved.
The palace was his home. He didn’t want it destroyed, even though that wasn’t the most important thing.
“Are you going to admit that I was right?” Dimri asked, suddenly appearing next to Roque.
Roque glanced at Berith, but he was talking to Mikal and wasn’t paying attention to what Roque was up to. That meant that Roque could take a few seconds to talk to Dimri. “Right about what?” he teased as he brushed a hand against the small of Dimri’s back.
Dimri rolled his eyes and leaned into Roque. “My plan worked.”
“It did. I’m impressed.”
“I live to impress you.”
They both knew that wasn’t true, but also that Dimri did want to impress Roque. He didn’t need to. Roque was already a sure thing. Dimri could have him whenever he wanted.
It was a pity that now wasn’t the right time for that.
But soon, it would be. Now that they had a date and a plan in motion, things would be both easier and harder.
They wouldn’t get to spend a lot of time together, but once Ramiel was gone, they wouldn’t have to be apart ever again.
They just needed to push through these next few days, and when they did, they could start planning their future.
Roque was sure that Dimri would be eager to do just that. He was a planner, after all.
A planner who’d saved Roque’s life and would probably save the life of everyone who lived at the palace.
Roque hadn’t been thinking about falling for anyone, but he was glad it had been Dimri.
They worked well together, even though Roque would never have believed that a few weeks ago.
Hopefully, that would translate to a life together.
Hopefully, they’d have the opportunity to see if it did.