Chapter 4
Chapter Four
The palace was alive with gossip about Anya’s newfound son, but Mynor couldn’t care less.
He stared out the tiny window of his cell, watching as yet another patrol walked by.
It was the third one in the past hour, which meant it would be impossible for anyone to get into the palace, including Alphan.
The problem was that Alphan might decide to try anyway.
Mynor was more worried for his best friend than he was for himself. He already knew there were no chances that he’d survive his captivity. He was making his peace with it, and that was okay. The problem was that Alphan would never accept that.
They’d grown up together in the same building.
Their mothers had been friends, and they’d raised them together.
Mynor and Alphan had spent their childhood running through the alleys between buildings, playing in their building’s hallways, and driving their mothers nuts.
They’d been best friends almost since they’d learned to walk, and that friendship had only become stronger over the decades.
They’d both known it would be dangerous to go against Anya, but they’d agreed that someone needed to, and since no one else was doing it, they’d taken it upon themselves to defy her.
It wasn’t like they’d fought her personally.
They’d just liberated a bunch of people she’d imprisoned for the stupidest reasons, like being in the way when she passed by them on her way to the palace.
Or speaking too loudly in the market. Or having a face she didn’t like that particular day.
That wasn’t the only thing Mynor and Alphan had done, though.
For the past few years, they’d been running an operation.
Alphan would case the wealthy houses, mapping out which belonged to which of Anya’s supporters and which had the best security.
Mynor handled the distribution of goods and had built a network of demons who would take the stuff they stole and get it to the families who needed it most. They’d been good at it.
Mynor wondered if Anya had already found out that they were the ones who’d been breaking into the wealthy houses in town and stealing everything they could get their hands on to distribute it to people who needed it.
Not that Mynor thought that Anya knowing would change anything. She was going to kill him, no matter what he’d done. The daily interrogations had made her intentions crystal clear.
He just didn’t know when she’d do it.
He understood why she hadn’t yet. She’d been distracted by her newfound son, and it had given Mynor a period of respite, but he wasn’t sure he wanted it.
Every day he stayed alive was another day for Alphan to cook up some stupid rescue scheme.
He’d always been the impulsive one, the one who acted first and thought about consequences later.
It had been helpful when they were robbing houses, but it was going to get him killed in this situation.
Mynor was surprised Alphan hadn’t tried to get to him yet. The extra security was probably the only thing stopping him, but Mynor knew that Alphan would eventually find a way around it. He always did. That was the problem.
There was nothing Mynor could do to stop him. Even if he died tomorrow, Alphan would still show up next week looking for him. No one would tell him that Mynor was gone. He’d get himself killed for no reason, and Mynor couldn’t stand the thought.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. There was nothing he could do about anything. The walls were made of stone, the door was bars of solid steel, and even if he could somehow break free, where would he go? The guards would find him before he could get out of the building.
He could only wait to die. He would once Anya remembered he was here, once she got bored of playing the doting mother to her half-demon son. Mynor just hoped it happened before Alphan did something that would get them both killed instead of just him.
Justin had been in the palace for several days, and he felt like the only thing he’d done was answer questions.
He’d tried asking his own, but Anya was good at ignoring him and forging ahead.
She did it in a way that wasn’t rude and still made Justin feel like he was gaining something, but he was starting to dislike that.
Surely, she wasn’t surprised that he wanted to know more about how she and his father had met and what had happened between them? Anyone would want that. Justin wanted to get to know her. He had no plans to stay in Hell long-term, which meant he needed to get the information he was after.
And Anya was making that impossible.
He glanced at her over the dinner table.
She ate delicately and slowly, something he’d never been able to do.
He’d spent some time in the foster system after his father had died, and he’d had to fight for his food, something that didn’t look like she’d ever done.
He didn’t want to assume, though. Maybe she’d grown up the way he had.
Maybe she hadn’t had loving parents. Justin’s dad had loved him, but he’d died when Justin was young, and they hadn’t had enough time together.
Did he have grandparents here? Did he have siblings?
He didn’t know, and Anya hadn’t answered when he’d asked.
“You said you had brothers,” Anya said as she speared a piece of meat with her golden fork.
They’d already been over this, but Justin knew she wouldn’t let it go until he gave her what she wanted. She was stubborn that way. “I do. Obviously, we’re not biologically related, but we grew up together.”
“After you were adopted.”
“Yes, well, it was either that or stay in the foster system since no one knew about you. Even I didn’t know much, and definitely not enough to find you.”
“They couldn’t have known about me. I haven’t been in the human realm for decades.”
He wanted to ask if she’d have looked for him if she had, but he didn’t dare. He wasn’t sure he’d like her answer.
She’d seemed happy to find him, but she wasn’t affectionate.
It could just be that she wasn’t that kind of person, but sometimes, she had a way of looking at Justin that made his skin crawl.
He’d told himself he was imagining things, but he had to keep in mind that he wasn’t home or even in the human realm.
He was in Hell, and he didn’t know the rules here.
He didn’t know how to play whatever game Anya was playing.
“And you said that those brothers aren’t half demons like you.”
“They’re not.” Justin hadn’t gone into details about his brothers.
He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he had to keep this kind of information to himself.
It was probably just Anya being curious, but Justin would rather not give her any details.
“Caitlin never cared about what we were. She just cared that we needed a home, and she gave us one.”
Anya frowned as she put down her fork. “You’ve mentioned this Caitlin several times.”
“Yes, well, she’s the only mother I’ve ever known.”
Anya’s expression cooled. “Until now.”
“I guess.” Justin pushed a piece of meat around his plate.
He wasn’t hungry. Actually, it was more that he wasn’t hungry for whatever the cooks had prepared.
He wished he could get a juicy burger with Shelby so they could gossip and giggle as they ate, but Shelby wasn’t here. He was in the human realm.
“That doesn’t matter anymore. You found your real family.”
“I found you.”
“Isn’t that what I am? Your family? I did give birth to you.”
“Families aren’t only blood.”
“Perhaps not, but they also are blood, and you share mine.”
“And my father’s. Maybe you could tell me about him sometime. He’s been dead for years, and I barely remember him.”
Anya waved her hand, clearly dismissing Justin’s words. “As much as I cared for your father back then, it’s been decades. No, I think we should focus on us and our relationship.” She smiled, exposing her fangs. “I’m glad you found me, Justin.”
“I’m glad I found you, too,” Justin said, but it tasted like a lie on his tongue.
“He doesn’t look like much,” one of the guards said.
Mynor was pretty sure his name was Rassiel.
He hated that he was starting to recognize the guards and remember things about them, but there was little he could do about that.
It did make him wonder how long he’d been here, though.
Weeks? Maybe he should start scratching the wall for every day that passed, but it felt like it would be demoralizing, and it was too late to start, anyway. He’d already been here a while.
“Well, he’s half human,” the guard who enjoyed beating Mynor the most said. Mynor hated Pythom more than any of the others.
“I’ve met some half-humans a few times. They’re usually more impressive.”
“Don’t let Anya hear you say that there’s someone around who’s more impressive than her son.”
Rassiel grimaced. “Yeah, she wouldn’t take it well. I don’t know what she sees in him, but she’s been spending a lot of time with him.”
“Well, he’s her son.”
“You really think that’s all there is to it?”
“I don’t know. She’s a female, though. You know how they are when it comes to kids.”
Mynor almost snorted. He kind of wished these people could meet his mother, but she’d died years ago. She would’ve kicked their asses, female or not.
It was kind of funny. They were terrified of Anya, but they didn’t respect her. No matter how cruel she was, she was still a female. She still wasn’t enough for them to respect her.
Rassiel shrugged. “I guess. He seems soft, though. I noticed him talking to one of the servants yesterday, and he was asking about their day.”
That didn’t sound like what Anya’s child would do. It made Mynor wonder if maybe this guy wasn’t as bad as her. He hadn’t grown up here with her. Maybe his father had raised him better than Anya could ever have.
But he was here now. He was spending time with Anya, living at the palace, and getting everything he could ever want. Mynor understood how tempting that could be. No matter where this guy came from, here, he had luxury and power. That could corrupt anyone.
But maybe, if he wasn’t as bad as Mynor had thought, he could be Mynor’s only opportunity to get out of the cell.
No guards or servants would help because they were either terrified or loyal to Anya.
Mynor needed a way to get to the guy. He needed to talk to him and convince him to let him go, and he had no idea how to do that.
There was no reason for Anya’s son to visit the dungeons, and Mynor suspected that if the guy was as soft as the guard seemed to think he was, Anya would do what she could to keep him away from the cells.
Even if he did find his way there, he might not be able to help.
Mynor’s only chance seemed so far away that he might as well not have it at all. The only thing he’d gained from the appearance of Anya’s son was more time, but eventually, that time would come to an end. Anya would remember he was here, and she’d want him to pay for what he’d done.
Or maybe this was her revenge. Maybe she was torturing him by making him listen to his guards gossip. Maybe she thought that eventually, he’d give in and tell her what she wanted to know, even though he had no idea what that was.
She’d have to wait for a long time if that was what she was waiting for.