Chapter Twenty-Six #2
I served myself a modest portion of a carved, ham-like meat and took some flatbread I hoped would soothe my stomach. Then, I looked up, and my eyes met Bronwen’s. The demoness scrutinized me under her crimson gaze.
Maybe I’d been too harsh on her. She’d gotten under my skin; that was no secret. But I hadn’t exactly been pleasant company, either. Bronwen still came to our aid, petitioned for her superior’s support on our behalf. Sat around the table with us in the calm before the storm.
Sitri trusted her. Apollo even seemed to like her. She was one of us, no matter how I felt about her.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I broke our stare. “Thank you for helping us, Bronwen. I know how big a risk you’re taking. It means more to me than I’ve been giving you credit for.”
The Prince raised his eyebrows, and Bronwen cocked her head to the side.
“Oh? Someone’s finally thanking me? And here I was, thinking Hell would freeze over before I got any recognition. Take note, Sitri. I could get used to this.”
“Look what you’ve done,” Sitri said, his tone light. “Now you have encouraged her. I shall never hear the end of this.”
My laughter came easily. I let it rumble through me. “You think that’s encouragement? You haven’t seen anything yet.”
Apollo chuckled and sent a gentle, playful punch to my shoulder. “You aren’t afraid to give him shit. I like that. You’ll make a fine right hand, Lillia. When it’s your turn to lead, I expect you to double down on that attitude.”
As the meaning behind his words sank in, my smile faded. “You don’t think you’re going to survive this.”
“I’d be a fool if I thought I would,” Apollo said with a shrug. “We have a plan. If I don’t play my part, a new Prince takes the crown, and I would face a fate worse than annihilation.”
“You two are okay with that?” I turned to Bronwen and Sitri.
It was the Prince who answered. “War is a tricky thing, darling. We are attempting a dangerous maneuver, and the odds are stacked against us. One misstep and Vapula will have the three of us slaughtered, leaving you to your fate in his hands.”
“I had the first and last say in this plan. Before Sitri even heard the news, I’d already made my peace with it.
” Apollo gave me a pained glance as he took a second helping of mushrooms. “Fifty years in Hell have taught me there are some things worth fighting for. This is one of them. I’m prepared to go down with this ship. ”
I looked to Sitri, whose smirk no longer reached his eyes.
Surely he had the same thoughts running through his mind that I did; Apollo was not the captain, and Sitri would not be facing annihilation on the battlefield.
His place as Prince sidelined him. As his fingers began to tap restlessly against the table, his desires on full display, I understood how badly he wanted to protect Apollo, protect all of us.
Something his title robbed him of his ability to act on.
“Unbearably sappy, the lot of you.” Bronwen drained the last of the wine from her glass, and it clattered as she half-dropped it onto the table. “The storehouse has been prepared, and the streets are being cleared as we speak. You know where to go, Prince Sitri?”
Their eyes met, and for a long moment, no one spoke.
“I do,” he said, never breaking Bronwen’s stare.
“Good. And I expect that you will go? As soon as you’ve finished ruining the mood, that is?”
Sitri’s smile faded. “Are you accusing me of conspiracy, Bronwen?”
“I’m holding you to your word. Your heart is weak, bleeding. It’s my job to ensure it doesn’t make you do anything stupid.”
“And what would you know about weakness?” he retorted. “You are here to pay your debts. My mercy comes with strings. I have not forgotten what you allowed to transpire.”
Bronwen threw a glare at the Prince. Sitri gritted his teeth.
“I didn’t allow it. I participated in it.
She gave me little say in the matter.” Bronwen waved her hand in dismissal.
“You want to think you’re so far above us, some kind of merciful arbiter, but you’re not.
You’re a monster, Sitri—a monster like I am, a monster like she was.
Get off your high horse, or I will drag you to the ground. ”
Apollo stiffened, pulled away from the table. Sitri growled, low and savage, as a new desire crept in; a hunger for violence I couldn’t let him act on.
I stood, pushing my chair back, and all heads turned towards me. “Enough. We’re going. Now.”
Silence. No one dared to move or speak—not until Sitri wordlessly rose and stalked towards the exit.
At that, Bronwen laughed, never once turning to me. “Haagenti will be disappointed in you. Your pet’s not very well trained, is she?”
He paused in the doorway.
“Lillia isn’t a pet to be trained,” Sitri snarled without facing her.
“Let the President think whatever she wants. I am the Prince of Lust and Lies. This is my kingdom, Bronwen—not hers. Insult me all you like, but insult Lillia further, and Haagenti’s disappointment will be the least of your concerns. ”
I blinked, and he was gone, his footfalls echoing down the hallway. Silverware clinked. When I turned my head, Bronwen had resumed her feast without even a glance in Sitri’s direction. Apollo looked at me over his shoulder and gave a gentle smile.
“Go on,” he said. “He’d never admit it, but he needs you right now. I can manage on my own. And if I don’t see you again, Lillia? It’s been an honor.”
I did my best to return his smile. “Likewise. Be careful out there, Apollo.”
Then, I chased after Sitri’s fading footsteps, following him deeper into the manor.
By the time I caught up with him, the Prince had made his way into one of the empty guest rooms. He sat on the edge of the bed, hands clasped, jaw tight, eyes turned towards the floor. He didn’t even react when I entered.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Sitri cut me off before the first word left my lips.
“No more secrets,” he said. “But this is not the place to have this talk. We shall have it, but not here. Not now.”
“Then where? When?”
“Once we are safe behind closed doors. War is coming, and it is better to take cover a day too early than a minute too late.” He looked up. Our eyes met. “Will you come with me, darling?”
Part of me wanted to deny him, to insist he give me answers before we sealed ourselves away on the outskirts of his city.
I didn’t have the words.
I wasn’t willing to walk back all the progress we’d made, the intimacy we’d built. Something told me Sitri knew it, too—but even that wouldn’t make me refuse him, not after everything we’d been through.
“I’ll go,” I said, “but no more secrets. I’m holding you to your word. Let’s get moving before our time runs out.”