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“What’s that?” I asked.
“What’s what?” Adrian asked me.
I held up a finger for him to be silent.
A Judge puts the creaturesss of the spiritual realm on trial,Dagon continued.He decidesss if they are punished or given their original power.
“What original power?” I asked.
The power to destroy humansss, like you and your brother.
“Are you talking to the spirits in your head again?” Adrian asked. “This isn’t really the time for that, is it?”
I gritted my teeth, throwing my hands up in frustration. “I don’t have time for your opinions! There’s things about this world you don’t understand, Adrian.”
“I understand that Uncle Leo is dead!” he threw back. He grabbed my face, making me look at him. “I understand that Uncle Leo lost himself to this bullshit and now he’s dead! You’ll end up the same way!”
We both know that’sss not true,Dagon said.I’m the one that’sss been keeping you alive.
I pulled out of Adrian’s hold, grunting. I was about to tear him verbally limb from limb, until I saw the fear in his eyes. We stared at each other for a few tense moments, my breath getting stuck in my lungs.
He needsss you,Dagon said.You can see it, can’t you?
I ran my tongue through my dry mouth, nodding. My brother needed me. The look on his face told me that he actually wanted me around. He hadn’t looked at me that way since we both applied for the navy.
But I wasn’t strong enough. I couldn’t protect either one of us.
I can help you with that, you know,Dagon continued.I can keep both of you alive.
“I can’t do this on my own, Henrik,” Adrian said, cutting into our conversation. “I need you to keep it together.”
I brought my hand to the back of his neck, bringing him into my embrace. In my arms, he was just my little brother, and I was the older brother responsible for his safety.
There was no one else. If I wanted redemption, this was the only way.
“All right,” I said. “You win.”
And although Adrian heard it come from my lips, Dagon was the one who understood.
THIRTY-SEVEN
I vaguely recalled the ship landing into a crystal-teal port.
There was something about trials.
There was a bright red light.
And then I awoke to a prison cell.
I couldn’t tell how long I had been there. By my thirst and hunger, it couldn’t have been too long. But I had been going in and out of consciousness, so there was no way to know what Dagon had done. What I had done.
“Where’s my brother?” I yelled down the hallway. The guards didn’t answer. They seemed to be deliberately avoiding my questions about Adrian, only wanting to discuss my demon.
If I had asked about Esmeralda, then would they…? No. She wasn’t mine to ask for.
The girl is sssafe,Dagon said.This is her home, after all. Your brother, on the other hand…
I shook my head violently. “Don’t lie to me, demon.”
