Chapter Eight
“He isn’t here today?” I asked.
“Sitri says he’s busy. I dunno what to tell you. There’s not a man in Hell who can order that demon around.” Apollo gave an exaggerated shrug and shook his head.
This marked day four of Sitri locking himself away in his chancery.
He’d vanished from my world overnight, only surfacing from his work to greet the strange demons who showed up at his door.
It no longer surprised me to see a place setting and an empty chair at the head of the dining room table.
I wasn’t sure if it was a burden or a relief.
His routine had changed since our visit to the mushroom forest.
In my heart, I knew he hadn’t been the only one affected by our outing.
My priorities had shifted just as surely as his. He’d given me a glimpse behind the curtain, allowed me to see the secrets he kept. I longed to cast light on them, to finally know if Sitri was friend or foe, and what he wanted from our arrangement.
His isolationism made that nigh impossible.
“Let him go hungry if he wishes,” Mara said, laying a plate of sautéed mushrooms on the table. “His absence from meals is expected in times of war. When he’s ready to eat, there will be food.”
The two demons sat down to dine without further concern for their Prince. I would never have thought his servants cared so little for his well-being. Even with danger on the horizon, they didn’t seem to mind their leader starving himself behind closed doors.
As I brought my fork to my lips, a realization struck me.
This was an opportunity. If Sitri was alone and hungry, and his servants wouldn’t look after him, perhaps I should.
Apollo had suggested I try to get on the Prince’s good side, and he’d inadvertently given me a chance to do exactly that.
If I were lucky, I could glean some information, earn a little slack in my lead, and put the pieces of this puzzle together.
I scarfed my dinner down, set my dishes aside for washing, and turned my attention to Sitri’s empty place. For his meal, I piled the plate high with meat and mushrooms, and filled his glass from the pitcher of vile, bitter oils that supposedly passed for water in Hell.
“And just what do you think you’re doing?” Mara asked, fork hovering in midair, eyebrows raised, and glare sharp enough to cut.
“Sitri hasn’t eaten in days. He’s going to starve himself if he stays locked up in his chancery. I thought I’d bring him something to eat before it came to that.”
“How much has our good Prince told her, Apollo?”
Mara glanced at Apollo, and he shrugged. Her gaze centered once more on me. I gave her a half-hearted smile, hoping it looked more genuine than it felt. Under her scrutiny, it wavered. I held her stare for many moments, our eyes locked and the air tense.
The demoness sighed. “Fine. Go on if you wish. I will warn you, though; he is in a foul mood these days. Pull any funny business, and it will be your head on his wall, human.”
With that, she turned back to her food and continued eating as if I’d ceased to exist altogether. I gathered Sitri’s meal, took a moment to steady myself, then made for his chancery.
When my plan had first occurred to me, I’d been confident.
As I drew near his domain, a tremor set into my hands.
Anxiety fluttered in my stomach. We hadn’t come face-to-face in several days, and I wasn’t sure what version of the Prince I’d find.
Sitri was a noble monarch, a voracious predator, my warden, and my guardian, all in one.
He had so many faces, so many masks, and I still wasn’t sure what lay beneath them. I hoped today wouldn’t be the day I found out.
I knocked, and Sitri called for me to enter.
When I opened the door, light poured out to greet me.
Lanterns hanging overhead and candles on his desk bathed the room with their glow.
Thanks to them, I got a clear look at the shelves filled with baskets, clothes, and scrolls that lined the walls, as well as the Prince’s tall, dark form sitting on his black leather throne.
When he caught sight of me, his eyes widened. His eyebrows raised, and a smile crept across his lips. “Always full of surprises, aren’t you, Lillia? What is this you’ve brought me?”
“Just some food,” I answered. “I don’t want you to starve.”
Sitri sat up straight as I set the meal on his desk. He eyed it for a moment, then pulled it close. He selected a piece of meat, ran his fork through it, and took it to his mouth. I winced as it deformed under his pointed teeth.
“Of all the visitors I’d expected today, you were certainly not on the list,” he mumbled through a mouthful of food. “If I didn’t know better, I might be inclined to call this fondness.”
“It’s a good thing you do know better, then.”
“Do I really, though?”
Every muscle in my body locked at Sitri’s words. His incessant flirting never failed to get under my skin. He didn’t seem to understand how much I had to lose—or maybe, just maybe, he did.
Maybe the problem was that he knew far too much about what I had at stake.
“There must be something you want from me, darling. Have a seat. Why don’t you tell me what it is?”
His eyes landed on me. Searched my soul.
I eased myself down into the crimson chair, the same one I’d taken the day Sitri and I first met.
Alarm bells rang out in my mind. My instincts told me this wasn’t the same demon who’d nearly earned my trust in the forest. He’d become a monster on the hunt, and I was the only prey in sight.
Obedience had kept his dangers at bay before.
Even that knowledge didn’t curb my urge to spite him.
It took great effort to clench my jaw and bite back bitter words as I settled in to face him.
“Better,” Sitri said once I’d heeded the command. “Now, what is it that weighs on your mind?”
“You’ve been absorbed in your work lately,” I started.
“I must be if I’m to win this war.”
“That means you’re losing, then. Or am I wrong?”
The smile on Sitri’s face faded. “It means that war is not a simple thing, and I cannot afford any distractions. You rely on my protection, don’t you? You should be invested in my success… unless there’s something that you’re keeping from me.”
Sitri lifted another forkful of meat to his mouth and eyed me as he tore it free with his teeth. His voice carried an edge of danger. He watched me the same way he had in the mushroom forest; still-faced and with suspicion.
“That’s exactly why I’m worried. You promised to protect me, and if you can’t follow through, I deserve to know.”
He laid down his fork and took a tall drink from his glass, returning it to the desk once it was empty. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, my heart pounding in my chest.
“I don’t think that concerns you,” he answered.
“If you are a stray, there’s nowhere for you to hide.
If you had an owner to return to, something tells me you would have gone back to him by now, or else you’ll be waiting for him to collect you.
I’m the only out you’ve got, darling; whether I win or lose. ”
“I can go back to Zaleos.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I wished I could take them back. The Prince’s quiet intensity broke, revealing the cruelty beneath. Sitri gave a deep, hollow laugh that made his ridicule clear.
“Oh, yes. The human who has barely spent ten days in Hell will stumble through the darkness alone, in a world full of demons who would celebrate her capture, to beg the infamous Zaleos for help.”
“Infamous?” I reeled from his words. Slowly, that smirk I loathed crept onto Sitri’s face.
“Yes, Lillia, infamous. Even the Kings of Hell know better than to involve him. He eats pretty little things like you for breakfast. If I were you, I’d keep my distance.”
“He helped me,” I said, failing to suppress my rising anger. “He clothed me, advised me, lit the way. He guided me to safety.”
“You believe Dukes carry clothes and light wherever they go? He expected you, darling, and he brought you here to me. This is where he wants you. I’m warning you not to cross him.”
“He’s the Duke of Peace and Love. Even if he did expect me, what harm could he possibly do?”
“Ask the late Princess who used to call this place her home,” Sitri mused, bringing his knife to his plate. “She thought Zaleos was a charmer until she found my dagger in her back. I never would have gotten to sheath it there if not for his help.”
“You’re lying.”
Our eyes locked, and Sitri’s smile deepened. “Are you certain of that? I don’t tell proper lies, darling; they always fall apart in time. Omissions and spun truths, when well applied, serve for centuries.”
Smoke and mirrors, meant to keep me here, meant to make me reliant on him. My brief stay with Sitri was proof he’d earned his title as the Prince of Lust and Lies. That was a confession, if ever there was one, but even that shred of honesty wouldn’t allow me to uncover the truth he concealed.
“Suppose it’s true, then. Why would you do something like that? Take the help of a Duke and assassinate your own Princess?”
“I found her tastes offensive.” Sitri speared a mushroom with his fork and held it up to the light. “Bisque dolls shouldn’t play God. When they fall, they shatter.”
A hushed silence fell over the room. I felt like I might vomit. The idea of the demons wielding lust and love as weapons, plotting a woman’s downfall, luring her in for the kill… My stomach twisted. She must have seen the same hope in Zaleos that I did, and it had cost her everything.
At least, that was the story he’d have me believe.
“What do you want from me?” I asked.
Sitri set his elbow on the desk and rested his head on his hand. He never broke my gaze, even as he moved. “I want respect, darling. That’s something you seem to lack.”