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He laughed quietly. We both moved to take our seats at the table, where two glasses of wine waited for us. “Why is that surprising?” he asked. Instead of his usual leaned back demeanor, he leaned forward and placed both of his elbows on the table. As if what I was saying was the most important thing in the world. As if he were drinking up every word.
“Because you’re you. I’m sure you have no problem finding women, and I’m sure it’s simple enough for you to sweep anyone off their feet with a midnight trip to Paris.” He smiled at me but said nothing. “What?” I asked.
“You’re a very peculiar woman, Lyra Sol,” he said. My cheeks heated.
“And what is that supposed to mean, Alekzander Black?”
“I’m the prince of demons. I don’t date much. I may have had the appearance of a bachelor lifestyle, but it was just that. An appearance.”
“Why would you want to appear that way?” I pressed. “If you weren’t actually going crazy all over the city, why did you feel the need to fake date me to fool your father?”
He finally leaned back in his seat. “My father is… well, he’s complicated. He doesn’t like me all that much, if you haven’t caught on to that by now.”
I stayed silent for a minute. I didn’t want to be the first one to bring up his brother, but I knew that was the reason. The way his father treated him in the few interactions I had witnessed had been absolutely garbage. I couldn’t imagine the types of things that went down when I wasn’t around. I mean, he had stabbed his own son!
“Why does he hate you so much?” I murmured.
Alek took a long breath but didn’t look away. His eyes darkened before he answered, “I killed my brother.”
My heart nearly stopped beating. “Youwhat?”
“There was an accident last year. A demon ritual got out of hand, and he died. Crossed the veil. My fault, of course, so now my father wants nothing to do with me.”
A flash of grief crossed his features before he recovered.
“Oh, my god, Alek, I’m sorry,” I said. “I had no idea.” Alek didn’t want my pity, but I did feel sorry. He didn’t deserve to be treated that way. Nobody did.
“It’s my fault,” Alek said matter-of-factly. “My father has every right to hate me. If situations were reversed, I would likely do the same.”
“I don’t believe that,” I said.
“It’s true. We do what we think is right at the time.”
“And your father believed that stabbing you in the torso wasright? You’re grieving, too. You lost someone, too.”
Alek shook his head and let out a breath. “I don’t pretend like I know half of what that man is thinking,” he said. His eyes grew cold as he focused on something in the distance. “But I do know that he loved Wrath more than anything. He’ll give anything to get him back again, to see him one more time.”
I didn’t push it. This was the first time I had heard Alek talk about his brother, mention him by name.Wrath. I caught myself wondering if they had been close. It couldn’t have been easy for Alek to lose his brother and then live with the guilt of the entire situation.
“For what it’s worth,” I started, “if redemption is what you’re looking for, I think you’ve damn well earned it. You’re not a bad guy, Alek. I’ve never thought that about you.”
His eyes focused back on me. “You should. You should think that. As long as my father is in control, I’ll have to do what he says. I’m his left hand until he says otherwise.”
“But why?” I argued. “You could stand against him. You could make a difference if you—”
“That’s all fantasy, Lyra. I mean, look at your mother. Would you stand against her? Make a difference? Would you fight against her even if it meant losing everything?”
His words were harsh, but his voice was soft. I knew he meant well. “No,” I sighed, slumping slightly in my chair. “I guess I wouldn’t.”
Charles returned with two plates of food. He quickly explained each item of the French cuisine before returning inside.
“I didn’t mean to make this all about me,” Alek said. “Let’s talk about you. Talking about Wrath is just depressing.”
“Okay,” I said, picking up my fork. “What would you like to know?”
“Tell me about your mother,” he said.
The alarms rang in my mind. I couldn’t stop them. Even in front of Alek, who was clearly not a threat to me, I was on edge. “What do you want to know about her?” I asked.
