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“I’d rather die.”
Asmo laughs in a way that is so carefree I envy it. “Now you’re understanding why even his own subordinates hate him. Don’t worry, little mouse. You might be the answer to his prayers, but it doesn’t mean he’ll get his wish.”
He turns toward the woods at our back, and my mouth opens to speak, but snaps back shut.
Somehow, I’ve managed to forget that he wasn’t originally on my side. That he wanted me alive to cash in on my life for his freedom… He was going to subject me to that future, living under the High King’s mercy. The only reason he accepted my offer was because I promised to find a way to take that cuff off, but honestly, I don’t have a clue where to start.
Even though I know he believes I offered him another way out. That he accepted my offer, and was willing to bring me here and help me, in exchange for what I could give him. It doesn’t explain what would come next for him. He can’t stay in Solaria. The high king would hunt him down for turning on him. And it’s not like he could come to Hell Hold. Even if he does help me save Finn, he was already an enemy of our people. Unless Kai was to pardon him–which I doubt would ever happen–he doesn’t have a place to go.
If there’s one thing I know about Asmo, it’s that he’s always five steps ahead. He always has a plan… I’m just not sure what it is. He claims to want a quiet life, but there’s nowhere in Hell he could exist and have one without being a wanted criminal. Eventually, it would catch up to him, and I’m sure he knows it.
***
ASMO
Fuck… I knew this day would come and I thought by now I’d have a firm decision on which way to go, but I don’t.
On the one hand, the High King’s deal is foolproof. Alice isn’t from this world, and that’s why she’ll work for what he needs. He won’t cheat me out of my freedom because she will work. She’s an earth-born witch, which means she can access magic no one from this realm can, and when you add that with her nephilim gifts, she’s perfect. Her power has no limits. I watched her create objects out of thin air. It’s fucking god-like.
On the other, I don’t hate her… I hate that I can’t subject her to a fate where she’ll be treated like shit, and kept alive for what she can bring into this world. The sheer thought of doing so makes my gut spin and twist, and sends bile creeping up my throat. I pause my pursuit into the woods to prop an arm against one of the large tree trunks, desperate to keep myself upright.
Yet, if I don’t give her over, I have nowhere to go. I’d be killed if the High King knew I was even thinking about going against him. He wouldn’t even need to send someone to hunt me down and drag me back in chains to do it, either. It would be a simple push of a button, and the contraption on my arm would end me.
Why did it have to be her?
My father could’ve rigged the game any other way… but he knew if we were to be on opposing sides, I would’ve bowed. He knew I’d let her shove that sword through me, and if it hadn’t been for the fact I tried to see the future, that my eye got stuck in this state, I would’ve been entirely blindsided. I would’ve never gotten the runes to protect me from it. Even knowing what would happen, I let her, and I would’ve a hundred times before I dared to take her life.
Now, I’m faced with the impossible choice and I don’t know what to do… It’s not even a decision, really. I fooled myself into believing I could make any other choice, because in the end, I refuse to be the reason she dies again.
I thought I could keep it together, that I could hide everything behind a wall in the back of my mind and not think about it. That the motivation of my freedom would be enough to make me go through with what the High King asks of me. After all, she’s not the same person I fell in love with years ago. She’ll never be. The history is not there, the memories aren’t hers. She doesn’t even wear the same face. All she’ll ever be is a shadow of the past…
And I could’ve followed through with it had I stuck to following along, and waiting for the moment she arrived in Solaria. I would’ve set a trap and walked away, and put it out of my mind, but she had to go die. I swear my heart stopped. It was as if I was standing back in that castle, losing control all over again.
Then, she offered her deal, and for a moment my heart leaped at the thought of finding another way to spare her of the coming fate, and it’s yet to accept that there isn’t. It’s either me or her, and if history has any inclination, she won’t be in a cage by sundown tomorrow. Unless we can find a way to get this wristband off, I’ll be dead.
17
Alice
Leaves rustle on the ground before me and I glance over my shoulder to find Asmo with a group of sticks and tree limbs in his arms. “I brought back firewood. It won’t get dark this evening, but it might still come in handy,” he says as they tumble out of his arms and he crouches to start arranging them into a pyramid.
“What are they preparing for?” I’ve been standing here, watching the town and the castle since you went… Well, wherever you went. I’ve never seen so many wagons and carts–people in general–come and go in Hell Hold, and I swear our castle has a revolving door sometimes. This puts it to shame, though.”
“The High King knew I’d bring someone back. Whether it be you or my brother. I don’t fail often–orever, really. Not to mention he has the prince’s right hand in his dungeon. He’s preparing to address the realm and declare war on Hell Hold. Moreover, the public loves when he feeds prisoners to his firstborn.”
I drop my arms from where they’ve been crossed over my chest, slowly turning to look at him. “The monster… The beast he feeds people to…”
“Is his child,” he says, finishing my thought. “I told you he has an entire island of creatures that were never meant to bless this world. One of them, he just so happens to keep as a pet.”
“He is one messed up man,” I seethe, feeling my stomach flip.
“I agree, but it will work in our favor. Most of his guards will be in the castle or patrolling the crowds. They won’t leave many in the dungeon. As long as we can figure out a way in or out, we should be able to rescue Finn and tuck tail before they know he’s missing.”
“And after?” I’m still unsure if I should be so trusting of him. We might be at a peaceful point in our budding friendship, but I’ve been wrong about people before. His father being one of them.
“What about after?” he asks, trying to start the fire on his own with sticks. A sweat breaks across his brow and I lift my hand, sparking the wood to life. He huffs, putting down his twigs, and finally meeting my eyes. “What about after, Alice? If you have something to say, then say it.”
“Where do you plan on going once Finn and I return to Hell Hold? Even with your shackles off, the High King isn’t going to look the other way at your betrayal, and I doubt you’d want to return to the castle you grew up in. The people there didn’t even welcome me with open arms, let alone when you’re a known war criminal. The battle we fought is responsible for killing a lot of Hell Hold’s men. They won’t just forget that.”
