Chapter 5 #2
“You can bet that she’s not. She’s been focused on her son, though, so she just sent a bunch more guards out there to threaten people.”
“Maybe they’ll get attacked, too.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Neither would Mynor. He couldn’t be sure, not while he was cut off from his life so completely, but he suspected that Alphan had something to do with this.
It would make sense. Alphan couldn’t contact Mynor right now, but that didn’t mean he was giving up on their mission.
It might be self-imposed, but they both believed in it. They both wanted Anya to fall.
Attacking her guards at the market wouldn’t kick her off the throne, but it was something.
It was more than Mynor could do right now, and he was glad that Alphan wasn’t too focused on him.
In fact, he didn’t want Alphan to think about him.
That way lay disaster, possibly for both of them, and Mynor didn’t want anything to happen to his best friend.
But if he knew Alphan, there was a reason behind these attacks, and that reason could very well be reaching Mynor. Mynor didn’t see how that might work, but if there was one person who could figure it out, it was Alphan.
And the only thing Mynor could do was sit in his cell, wait, and see what would happen next.
God, sometimes, he hated his life.
Justin couldn’t sleep. It had been hours since his mother had brought him to the roof to show him the city—in fact, it had been an entire day—and he still couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Anya expected Justin to stay. She expected him to become the king after her, to learn how to do that by her side, and probably to do it with a smile while keeping his mouth shut.
He should have seen it coming, shouldn’t he?
She’d been a little odd since he’d arrived, but he’d thought it was because she hadn’t expected him to find her in Hell or maybe to want to find her at all.
Right now, he couldn’t remember why he’d wanted it so desperately.
He sighed and stared at the ceiling. A lot of it had to do with Caitlin’s death.
She was the only mother Justin had ever known, and he missed her.
He probably wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t died.
He’d been trying to re-create the relationship he had with her, hoping he could find something similar with his mother, but now, he knew that wouldn’t happen.
It wasn’t the kind of person Anya was. It wasn’t the kind of relationship she was looking for with him.
Right now, it wasn’t the kind of relationship he wanted with her, either.
He pushed himself into a sitting position and listened.
The palace was quiet around him. It was the middle of the night, so it wasn’t surprising.
He knew that staying here, staring at the ceiling, wouldn’t help him sleep, but maybe he could take a walk.
There was an inner courtyard that was quite pretty, where he knew he would be safe, and spending an hour or so smelling flowers and trying to relax might be nice.
At the very least, it would stop his thoughts from going round and round and distract him since he couldn’t doomscroll on his phone.
He’d tried, but there was no Wi-Fi or data connection.
He silently got up and got dressed. He supposed that he could walk around in his pajamas, especially when they were as pretty as the ones he’d been given when he’d arrived, but it made him feel vulnerable. He didn’t think it was a good idea, not here. He wasn’t home.
He didn’t even know if he’d be allowed out of his room.
He’d never tried, not during the night. He always stayed in his room after he left his mother in the dining room after dinner.
It wasn’t like he didn’t have entertainment there.
Phones might not work, but Anya had made sure Justin had all the comforts he could need.
He half expected the door to be blocked, but while it was locked, it was because he’d locked it from the inside.
The door opened easily enough, and he poked his head into the hallway, waiting for something to happen.
The guards were always respectful, but he could tell that a lot of them didn’t like him.
That was fine with him. He didn’t need anyone here to like him, not even Anya.
But no one called out to ask what he was doing. No one told him to stop. No one appeared to ask him where he was going. The hallway was silent, as was the rest of the palace.
He stepped outside the bedroom, holding his breath. When nothing happened, he smiled at himself and closed the door. He didn’t want anyone to realize he wasn’t in his room.
He remembered the way to the courtyard, but once he was there, he hesitated.
He had an opportunity here. This was one of the few times he didn’t have guards following him around, no doubt keeping him away from parts of the palace where they didn’t want him to go.
He was free to roam, and as long as he was careful, no one would find out about it.
He grinned as he turned around and walked back down the hallway. Maybe a little exploring would help him feel more at home here.
That thought made his smile drop quickly. That was the thing, wasn’t it? He didn’t belong here. He might be Anya’s son, but this wasn’t his home. Even Hell wasn’t his home. He belonged in the human realm with his brothers, and sooner rather than later, he planned to go back.
The problem was that he wasn’t sure he’d be allowed to.
When Anya had mentioned him taking her place on the throne, it hadn’t sounded like she was offering him the throne but rather like she was telling him that was what would happen.
He understood why she felt that way, but he didn’t.
He didn’t want anything to do with the throne.
Hell, right now, he wasn’t sure he wanted anything to do with his mother.
This wasn’t her wishing Justin would stick around so they could spend more time together.
It was her forcing him to do something he didn’t want to do.
But maybe he was catastrophizing. She’d mentioned him taking her place on the throne, but that was it.
Of course, she hadn’t had time to do anything about it since it had happened this morning, but that didn’t mean she would.
Maybe she’d just been confused and angry that he wouldn’t want that.
Maybe now that she knew, she’d accept it.
Justin had to believe that she would. He couldn’t consider any other possibility, not right now.
Someone screamed, making him jump. He raised his hands and looked around, even though he doubted there was much he could do against any full-blooded demon. If someone was about to attack him, though, the least he could do was try.
The hallway was empty except for him. He was sure he’d heard that scream, though, and it had sounded like someone was in pain, which didn’t make sense. He was sure there were plenty of healers at the palace, ready to help anyone who needed it.
He was ready for the next scream, but it still made him jump.
It was softer this time, but it gave him enough time to understand where it was coming from.
He rushed ahead, wanting to help whoever this was if they needed him.
They might tell him to fuck off, but if there was anything he could do, he’d do it.
He ended up in front of a massive wooden door. When a third scream echoed, he was sure it came from behind that door. He had no idea what he’d find there, but he still pushed it open, wincing when it creaked. He paused, but still, no one came running.
Justin slipped through the door. Things were different here. There were no signs of delicate furniture or decorations. It was much more utilitarian, with smooth stones that glinted in the light. It didn’t look bad, but it was clear this was an area that Justin probably shouldn’t be in.
He didn’t care.
He continued moving ahead. The stone in the hallway soon turned rougher, and the air felt damp, which was about when he started to understand he was somewhere under the palace.
Where the dungeons usually were.
Maybe if he’d trusted his mother, his mind wouldn’t have gone straight there, but he couldn’t help it.
Considering the way she behaved, he wasn’t surprised to find out she had dungeons, even though it horrified him.
He didn’t actually expect his mother to be evil, but that scream had held pain.
Someone was hurt, and if Justin had to guess, it was because of Anya.
He ended up in a hallway with several doors.
He paused, listening, hating that he was hoping the person would scream again.
They didn’t, which meant Justin had to either go back or choose one of the doors.
He might end up in the arms of one of the guards, but even though part of him desperately wanted to go back to his room and ignore all of this, he couldn’t.
He needed to see. He needed to be sure of the kind of person his mother was because she wouldn’t tell him the truth.
She’d been lying to him since he’d arrived, and he’d had enough of that.
He wanted the truth, and he was in the right place to find it.