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In the instant before my inevitable demise, something strikes me around the middle, forcing me off course. I have the strangest feeling of being on the wrong side of something, then I crash to the ground like a meteor, furrowing through the Earth. The dirt shudders and stills, a wall between me and the battle raging all around. Groaning, the demon who saved my life pushes away from me, rolling his shoulders.
“Meshach, right?” I manage to blurt, eyes scanning him.
“Yeah,” he says, gulping for air. “And don’t mention it. I like being alive.”
Meshach hauls me to my feet and we rejoin the fray. Immortal beings might be slow to learn, but we get there eventually. The bait and switch is no longer working, and Hell’s army has begun to regroup. A dozen angels rush me and Meshach as we climb out of the crater we’ve created. I hack into them as they come, watching for kamikaze angels. Meshach fights like a twin mind, defending my flank and supporting my attacks. Between the two of us, we make short work of the dozen.
Meshach could be a formidable ally, he’s a strong and strategic fighter. He can keep a cool head, and, being so new to the court, his loyalty might still be malleable. Recruiting him might be enough to take Cephalus down, assuming Fenriz would be game as well. My father is strong, but he isn’t stronger than the three of us working together.
I’m not sure when I decided that rising up against Cephalus was the only way to end this, but it’s logical. Negotiating with him has always been a pointless exercise. Leaving only worked for a short time. No—if I’m to guarantee Sophia’s freedom and safety, the only option left is to take Cephalus down.
An angel’s sword nearly takes my head off. I dodge, barely. I won’t be able to do a damn thing for Sophia or against Cephalus if I’m dead. I throw myself into the battle harder than ever before, letting Sophia’s image burn inside me, stoking my will.
The battle is finally beginning to turn in Hell’s favor.
Chapter20
Sophia
I’m restless.I hate that Lucifer is in danger so far away, and I hate that Fenriz went with him. I’m finding that solitude is a lot different from loneliness. There are plenty of people around, but interacting with them is like wading through a pit of vipers, and I left my rubber boots on another plane.
I already told him I wouldn’t be Rapunzel, but maybe there’s another princess I can emulate. A palace this big has to have a library somewhere, right?
After wandering around for what felt like eons, I finally decide that I’m going to have to ask someone. Begrudgingly, I find my way back to my room, and from there to the big balcony. There aren’t nearly as many people out here as I’m used to. With the soldiers and officers gone, there isn’t anything to draw the women who make a career out of seducing them. On top of that, the royal men are all gone too. Any friends, foes, or fuckbuddies who habitually sought them out up here have no reason to come.
It’s actually kind of serene. The arid breeze, the blazing sun, the colorful mountains shimmering through the heatwaves in the distance. If it weren’t for the constant social sparring and looming threat of battle, this place would feel like a middle eastern resort. What I imagine a middle eastern resort would feel like, anyway. If I ever get back to Earth I’ll have to take a trip just to compare.
There are a few people milling around. I spot Aurora on the other side of the fountain, but I don’t want to ask her. She’d probably give me directions to the dungeon or a three-headed dog or something else nefarious. I wish I could remember all the names I’ve heard, because I recognize a bunch of faces, but can’t remember if they were friendly or not.
Ugh, this tension is making me itch.
“You look a little lost.” The soft, masculine voice makes me jump. I turn to find Silas giving me a small smile. His long brown hair hangs over half of his face and he’s got a jaw full of scruff. He’s dressed all in leather, which seems rather impractical and suffocating considering the heat, but maybe demons feel it differently.
“I’m trying to find a library, but I can barely find my own feet in this place,” I tell him. “You wouldn’t happen to know where one is, would you?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” he says. “It’s not far.”
He offers me his elbow and I hesitate. The social dynamics around here being what they are, I suspect that Silas is playing a part in some kind of convoluted scheme, be it Diana’s scheme or Aurora’s. Or even his own—Diana has made no secret about her feelings toward her brother. Maybe Silas thinks he can win her over by doing something to me.
Still, there’s no way I’m going to find the library on my own. It’s a risk, but so is wandering around on my own and poking my head through random doorways. Besides, once I load up on books I’ll simply sequester myself away until Lucifer gets back. One risk to avoid many.
“Thanks,” I murmur, and I place my hand lightly on his arm.
“It can take a while to learn the palace,” he tells me as we walk together. “A person could spend eons here and never know the whole of it. I doubt even the king himself remembers all its secrets.”
“Maybe he should post maps at regular intervals—a‘you are here’ sort of thing.”
Silas chuckles, which raises the hairs on the back of my neck. I’m trying very hard to be completely and utterly boring. The last thing I want is for Silas to trade his obsession with Diana for an infatuation with me. Not that I’m even in the same ballpark as her, but after a few centuries of pining after a goddess, it would make sense to take a break and go after someone else, or try to spark a confrontation with her directly by paying attention to her loathsome brother’s mistress. The line between flirting, fighting, and fucking around here is so thin that it’s practically microscopic.
I pay close attention to the route he takes. Left turn away from the balcony, past three doors, down a half-flight of stairs, another left turn through a circular archway, down another half-flight, past three more doors, and through a set of double doors twenty feet tall. The library stretches out in front of me, the shelves arranged in a maze much like the palace itself. A skylight scatters waves of water-logged sunlight across the leather-bound spines. It must be the bottom of one of the pools on the balcony above. It makes the whole room feel surreal.
“Is there anything in particular you’re looking for?” Silas queries. “I’m well-acquainted with the library, I could point you in the right direction—I’ll even show you some of my favorites.”
He sounds a little desperate for attention and it’s raising all the red flags in my head. “No, thank you. I think I’ll just browse for a while. I can find my way back.”
He hesitates, then gives me a stiff little nod. He turns away, slinking from the room with the same subjugated posture I’m accustomed to seeing from him. I’m not sure what to think about that. Since I very much doubt that Silas and I will be doing too much socializing, I choose not to think about it at all, and turn my attention instead to the massive array of informational wealth looming all around me.
I run my fingers over the spines on the nearest shelf. The titles are all written in a language I don’t recognize. Something demonic, no doubt. It doesn’t deter me. Most people speak English around here, or at least it sounds like they do, so it would follow logically that they would read it also. I wind my way through the maze and soon come across some Earthly languages; not languages I can read, of course, but at least I’m in the right neighborhood now.
