Page 95 of Demons and Darlings


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Theia stared at me, her bright blue eyes searching for something. Dignity, maybe? Rebellion?

The truth was, I knew I wasn’t going to get far. I knew Theia would find me. She always would, and she reminded me that any chance she got.

“You’re going to stay down here now,” she growled. She reached forward and tightened the chains on my wrists, tight enough to cause me to yelp in pain. “And I hope you remember this the next time you forget who you really are.”

* * *

The basement lookeddifferent this time. It was smaller than I remembered. The shadows were darker.

Maybe it was because it had been so long since I was down here. It had been so long since Theia resorted to chains.

But I knew that wouldn’t last long. I had been living my life on borrowed time, and the clock had run out.

“You can’t keep me down here forever,” I said. My voice was scratchy and dry, but I wouldn’t dare ask for water.

“I can do whatever I want, child,” she replied. I could barely see her figure in the darkness, but I knew she was there. I could feel the hatred pouring from her. “I shouldn’t have left you. I was a fool to think you had changed. You’ll never see the bigger picture, will you?”

“The bigger picture includes me staying down here forever,” I reminded her.

“And what do you think those demons were going to do to you, Lyra? What do you think they wanted from you? They’ll kill you if they find out the truth.”

“That’s not true. They actually care about me, unlike anyone else I’ve known.”

She laughed, but there was no humor in it. “They don’t care about you, Lyra. You’re smart enough to know better than that.”

I wanted to scream at her. I wanted to fight and kick and yell about how wrong she was. Alek did care about me. He had protected me and shown me things I never would have gotten to experience.

Unlike her.

“Why do you even care so much?” I whispered. “What’s so terrible about the veil being opened that causes you to chain up your own daughter?”

A sharp sting of pain spread across my cheek, and the chain around my neck dug into my skin. “Watch your mouth,” she demanded. “The veil will be the end to all of us. Do you understand that? We will all die if the veil falls. The demons and the other creatures from hell will run wild. There will be nothing left.”

“They’re not as terrible as you think.”

Some of them had tried to kill me, yes, but not all of them. So many of them were kind. Empathetic. Caring. Even if I had to look past all of the egos and tattoos to see it from any of them.

“Those demons have you fooled, child,” she sneered as she stood up. “I won’t let you fall under their poison. They are wicked and evil creatures. Tell me, Lyra, how long have you been sneaking around with them behind my back? What do they know?”

“Nothing,” I mumbled. “They don’t know anything.”

She huffed. “Well, I have to say I find that hard to believe. They know who you are, Lyra. They need something from you. Demons don’t hang out with outsiders because they have pretty red hair, child.”

A smile crept onto my face. “Well, it’s a good thing I’m not an outsider anymore.”

She stopped in her tracks. “What did you just say?”

“I’m not an outsider. I’m part of the legion.”

She returned to her position kneeling before me. “What does that mean, Lyra? What did you do?”

I didn’t have to answer her. My sweater slid off my shoulder, just enough to show her exactly what I was talking about.

I had been bitten. I had been blood bonded. There was no going back from that.

Her cold, claw hands gripped me tightly as she took a closer look. “I hope for your sake that this is a mistake, Lyra. I know you are not this stupid!”

I clenched my jaw once more. “Who knows? Maybe I am. I’ve been locked up all my life, remember?”

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