Chapter Nine
I’ve had my fair share of bad ideas in my time.
Some worse than others.
I’ll be the first to admit it.
But ferrying a shadow hag into Netharis’ library to claim a book of her choosing is easily near the top of the list. The nagging fear of being discovered screams in the back of my mind and leaves me tense.
I’ve already damned one soul to be feasted upon. I could have offered the other to sweeten the deal. But it would be an unnecessary cruelty when I can offer time within the library. It doesn’t make what I’ve done any easier to bear, but it doesn’t make it worse.
As long as I don’t get caught.
Five minutes.
She gets five minutes.
Pushing the heavy library doors closed, I turn the lock. With a click, we’re sealed inside the room, away from potential prying eyes. Typically, this layer of the Tower lies empty, but today would be the day any one of my siblings or Netharis himself would change that.
Granted, a locked door isn’t enough to stop Netharis were he to seek me out. But it would buy just enough time for Ylara to ferry Sunshine back down to the lower layer as I attempt to distract.
There’s too much here that could go wrong, and it sends my anxiety soaring.
“Your five minutes start now,” I say, turning to the hag whose head swivels wildly as she takes in the library.
Leaving a giddy giggle and the scent of bergamot in her wake, Sunshine gallops deeper into the disheveled library.
Unleashing herself upon a mount of books, she falls to her hands and knees to tear through them, huffing like a bloodhound.
She tosses a few aside without care, creating new piles on either side of the one she’s dismantling.
“It’s like she’s a boar,” Ylara whispers beside me as we watch in both awe and concern.
“She can’t make a bigger mess than I already did,” I say, trying to stifle my laughter and failing.
Giggling to herself behind a hand, Ylara loops her arm through mine and leans against me. Platonic closeness like this is rarely shared between demons.
“I’m going to miss you,” she says quietly and I glance down at my sister.
Her words pierce through me, and my laughter dies as she meets my gaze. We’re too often dishonest about our thoughts and emotions and I’m left stunned.
Swallowing against the sudden tightness in my throat, I paint a soft smile on my face. “Don’t be stupid. Knowing you, you’ll find a way to bore holes through the veil and join me.”
Ylara gives me a playful smirk. “I already have a few ideas.”
Chuckling, I nod. “Of course you do. Make sure to find me.”
“I will. I promise.”
A small silence blankets us, and for a moment, we stand together watching Sunshine. Part of me wishes for more time—should my escape work, there’s a possibility of never seeing her again. The last few centuries since Ylara’s arrival have been dotted with shared moments like this.
The nature of our darkest selves resonates with the other, finding a strange sense of solace and peace in a realm that demands violence and noise. Leaving her is going to be harder than leaving Vaelyn.
But even if my escape fails, we’ll be separated.
I’ll be bound to obsidian, I’m sure.
Sunshine leaps to another pile of books and begins tearing through them with the same methodical practice as she had with the first.
“It’s here. It’s here. It’s here,” she mutters, each iteration in a higher pitch. “I can smell it,” she sings, bringing a book to her face and inhaling deeply.
Tossing it aside, she snarls.
“How does she remain hidden in the hells?” I ask, tilting my head as I continue to watch the curious shadow hag.
“I gave her my hair.” Ylara answers, smiling rather mischievously.
As the realization washes over me, my jaw falls open. My eyes dart to the black rope around Sunshine’s waist.
Ylara came into existence with long, dark hair. Over the centuries, it’s become gradually shorter. Currently, it sits under her chin.
“Why?”
“Because she’s my friend,” Ylara answers softly, lowering her gaze to her feet.
A shadow hag the friend of the daughter of darkness. The thought causes my lips to curl in the faintest smile. At least Ylara will have her once all of this is over.
“What happens when you run out of hair, Ylara?” I ask gently.
What happens when she can’t hide?
Sunshine leaps to her feet and straightens herself as she raises a book over her head, clenched in her hands.
“I’ve found it!” she shouts triumphantly, giving the book a vigorous shake.
She lowers it, placing it beneath her nose and inhales deeply. Her eyes close as she breathes the book’s scent in, and while I adore the scent of old books—their ink, their pages, their leather, their binding—it strikes me as odd to react in such a way.
I don’t care what book she claims. She’s welcome to it. It could be a book on how to topple the hells for all I care.
“Yes, yes. Mine, mine,” she murmurs so low I have to strain to hear her.
“Please grant your end of the agreement and let our dealings be finished,” I say as Ylara releases my arm.
Her eyes snap open, locking with mine as she lowers the book. The unnerving stare doesn’t waver as the book reveals a truly sinister, toothy grin.
“How it must feel to be standing on the precipice of understanding,” she says, stepping over the pile, her eyes locked on mine. “How I long to witness the change that awaits.”
Approaching, she wraps the book in her arms, tucking it against her chest. “She thought it would be the male. I told her she was wrong. The male is a replica. Cleaved from his very essence. You are the soul he’s bastardized. The primordial order will not be denied.”
I step back, confused. “Do not speak in riddles, hag,” I warn, my tone icy. “Fulfill your contract and speak plainly.”
She bursts into laughter, shaking her head, and I exchange a worried glance with Ylara.
We don’t have time for this.
“Find the nyraphim he keeps, leave this place, and search for the Guardian,” Sunshine breathes, her eyes wide and wild.
A tingle creeps along my wrist. With a glance, the runes that had been inked there not twenty minutes earlier vanish. They lift from my skin and disintegrate like ash, leaving my pale skin pristine.
“What?” I turn my wrist over. With a scowl I meet Sunshine’s wide-eyed stare. “What do you mean find the nyraphim?” I hiss as my confusion quickly becomes anger.
Within my chest, my innate begins to twist and churn, yawning itself awake.
“Sunshine, please,” Ylara pleads. “We need more to understand.”
“My obligations are complete,” Sunshine sings, shaking her head.
Rage sets my blood on fire and a tendril of shadows lashes out, snatching her up by her throat. The hag grasps at the thick vine around her neck, her other hand clinging to the book.
“Do not play games with me,” I snarl as she’s lifted from the floor.
“Ves!” Ylara breathes, stepping back.
Laughter bubbles from Sunshine’s throat, despite her feet dangling over the floor. “She shows her true colors as Netharis’ progeny. The part he’s cleaved away must be returned or he wins. He cannot win.”
“Where is this nyraphim?!” I shout in desperation and the coiling shadow tightens, stopping her laughter.
“The Lord of Wrath comes,” she chokes, her panicked gaze fixed on the door.
In an instant, Sunshine falls to the floor, my shadows vanishing.
“Ylara, go,” I breathe, rushing toward the library door.
Moving so quickly she becomes a blur, Ylara grabs Sunshine’s arm and vanishes in a billow of darkness. As my fingers fumble, throwing open the lock, the door is yanked open and I’m greeted with Kassil’s wicked grin as he peers down at me.
The strong urge to punch the smile off his face causes my fist to clench.
“Where have you been, moonflower?” he asks, stepping forward, and my feet carry me backward. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Netharis must have given him clearance to access this layer of the Tower following the announcement of our pending marriage. Unable to keep the disgust from my face, I maintain the distance between us, backpedaling.
He stops, seeing the destruction of the library.
“You’ve been angry,” he says, his smile fading.
“Whatever it is you want, Kassil, I’m not interested,” I retort, my tone devoid of emotion as I skirt around him toward the door.
He snatches my wrist, nearly pulling my shoulder from its socket, forcing me to whirl. “I thought Netharis cured you of your outbursts,” he says, arching a dark brow.
Towering over me by nearly three feet, I’m forced to crane my neck to glare at him. The amusement on his face grows sinister as he stares down at me.
“Let go of me,” I growl the words.
Lifting my wrist, he turns it over to expose my palm, running his thumb over it in lazy circles. My skin crawls and pebbles with his touch as my jaw clenches hard enough for my teeth to shatter.
“Take your frustrations out on me, like you once did,” he purrs, stepping closer. “I’m sure it would be enjoyable for us both.”
Yanking my wrist away, my innate shrinks, balling itself tightly in my gut. Any sort of violence, defensive or otherwise, will simply pleasure Kassil. A true masochist who delights in his proclivities openly. I tighten my wings against me, shrinking along with my innate.
Turning toward the door, hellfire swirls in front of my face, a curled contract appearing. As it unfurls itself, my eyes fall over the runes.
Our marriage contract.
Kassil’s hands land on my shoulders gently. He pulls me against him and I tense. The all too familiar feeling of being his prey causes every muscle in my body to tighten.
“We were happy once. We can be again,” he says softly, brushing some of my hair away from my neck. He sounds genuine, but I know better.
Once upon a time, we were happy.
Because I was naive.
Several words on the contract catch my eye. Subservient, transfer of ownership, bound eternally…
Two signatures already lie at the bottom. Kassil’s and Netharis’. A third line lies blank, awaiting my addition.