18. Silas #2
The scoff was almost real. “You made a foolish bargain with the Sisters to steal their power. It backfired and now you’re looking for a way out.
I played my part. I took the lives you requested.
Even when I owed you nothing. You don’t get to point your finger at me because it didn’t go as you planned.
You were there. You watched them die. Whatever happened after that is none of my concern. ”
He jumped to his feet, yelling. “They stole what belongs to me! They were supposed to be ours. Their power was supposed to be ours. My brother, my real brother, got on his knees and gave his fucking head. One prince died, one sister died. That was the bargain sealed with their blood and it didn’t fucking work. ”
That day was burned into my memory like a damn brand. I stared down at him, letting cool anger coat my voice. “I know what you planned, Evan. Where it all fell apart is not my fucking concern. Do you think I care if the bloody princes have more power?”
“Then why? Why agree to kill her when no other demon would?”
“Because they shouldn’t have been here in the first place.
” I let the words come out hard and bitter, like I’d been holding this truth for centuries.
“Furies didn’t belong in the Underworld.
You and your brothers saw beauty and power and got on your knees like fools.
I knew the poison they’d become if they stayed.
Better than anyone.” I leaned forward slightly.
“I chose my side and took Celeste’s life to rid our world of them.
Nothing more. Nothing less. Whatever power you thought you’d gain was never my concern. ”
Evanoch stared at me, searching for deception in the conviction I’d layered into every word. He believed me because part of what I’d said was true. The Furies didn’t belong here. Just not for the reasons he thought.
He sat back down slowly, the rage bleeding out of him into something colder, more calculating.
“There are two more sisters in Fuerlis. Nyrella and—” He paused, as if the second name didn’t matter.
“If I kill them both, we’re all free and our power returns.
Not the crumbs we have now, the whole of it. ”
“You’re certain?”
“Of course I’m certain.” But there was a flicker there. Something he wasn’t saying.
“And the veil falls.”
He spread his hands. “Freedom for every demon trapped here. A whole realm to claim. Surely even you can see the benefit in that.”
I was about to push further, dig into what he wasn’t saying, when the damn door opened.
Calder walked in first, that blank expression I’d seen at the Convergence fixed perfectly in place.
Behind him came Vitoria, her hand finding Evanoch’s shoulder with casual intimacy. She spoke to him, but her eyes found me instead. “My love, are we ready?”
“Patience,” Evanoch said, patting her hand like she was a pet. Because she likely was, even if she didn’t see the master for what he was. A snake.
But Calder’s presence meant Ramiel had failed. The charidryn was supposed to be gone by now, safely extracted while I kept Evan distracted. Except here he stood, still wearing that empty expression, still under the prince’s control.
Evanoch rose from his chair, extending a hand toward me. “Join us, Silas. There’s a world at your fingertips. Fuerlis is ripe for the taking. I’m gracious enough to offer you a place in claiming it.”
The words were almost friendly. But I heard the trap woven between them.
‘Join us.’ Not ‘come with us.’ Not ‘see for yourself.’ Join.
A binding word. An agreement that would tie me to his purpose, his court, his will. The moment I accepted that hand, the moment I crossed with them as part of their group, I’d be pledging myself to whatever he considered ‘us’ to mean.
And the bastard didn’t even realize this was something I had to consider.
I needed Calder. Needed that charidryn more than I’d needed anything in centuries. The second he left, we’d be trapped here. No way through the veil. No way to complete Syneca’s debt. No way to retrieve Lyric before Celeste’s patience ran out and she decided my witch’s life was forfeit.
But if I went with him, if I swore fealty to him, I could work on breaking Evanoch’s hold over Calder and convince the charidryn to bring me back to get the others. We had one way out of this realm, and if I didn’t take it now, there’d be no escape for any of us.
The math was simple.
Go, or lose everything.
Could I bind myself to Evanoch on nothing more than hope I’d be able to break free later? Hope I could manipulate Calder into defying his master? Hope I could get back before Syneca paid the price for my gamble?
I didn’t deal in hope. Hope was for people who hadn’t lived long enough to know better.
But what choice did I have?
Evanoch stood there, hand still extended, patience wearing thin around the edges of his smile.
Calder waited. Empty. Lost.
And I was running out of time to decide which fucking failure I could live with.
“Tempting,” I said, keeping my voice neutral. “But I have business here that needs finishing.”
“Business that can’t wait? I’m offering you freedom, Silas. A chance to see what we’re fighting for. Surely, whatever keeps you here can be dealt with later.”
“It can’t.”
His smile faded slightly. “Then perhaps another time.”
“Perhaps.”
Dark magic coiled around him like living smoke responding to unspoken commands. He moved toward Calder, who hadn’t blinked, hadn’t reacted, just stood there like a weapon waiting to be wielded.
Vitoria’s hand stayed on Evanoch’s shoulder as the magic wrapped around all three of them. And then they were gone, pulled through to Fuerlis, leaving nothing but a trace of the purple flame that encompassed Dyssara.
I stood in Evanoch’s empty room, fists clenched so tight my knuckles went white, watching the space where they’d vanished.
Our only way through the veil, gone. Calder, gone.
Syneca was going to kill me.
Ramiel walked in seconds later, still wearing the guard’s face. He took one look at the empty room and smiled.
I was across the space before I could think better of it, shoving him into the wall. I didn’t give a shit if he was a prince. “What the fuck happened?”