Asmoday and Eurynome sat quietly in the throne room, waiting in trepidation for news of Keshiema. “Do you think we were too hard on her?” Asmoday looked away from Eurynome as he asked the question, they had all been mulling over. “If we had been more patient with training her, more understanding, she might not have run away. She might have asked us to assist her.”

  Asmoday usually made a distinct effort to avoid the “s" sounds when he spoke. Eurynome quietly wondered if it was stress or lack of sleep causing him to slip up. “Azzy, you’re hissing again.” Eurynome finally spoke up when the sound became too much. Asmoday only frowned in response, annoyed by the callout.

  A crack of thunder brought the brothers out of their stupor, bringing with it a thick cloud of green aura in the center of the throne room. Asmoday and Eurynome rose from their thrones. “Has everyone else evacuated?” Dásos looked up at the nine empty thrones.

  Asmoday nodded. He tended to Keshiema as he spoke, while Eurynome helped Snow Lily.

  “And the ravens?” Dásos spoke quickly, hoping Keshiema would not catch on. By the way she tilted her head, as if listening intently, he knew the attempt failed miserably.

  “Stable for now. Their mothers arrived shortly after moonrise yesterday and are still with them. Ipos has regained his form, and both have been treated for Sunstone Toxicity.” Eurynome did nothing to hide the facts, looking straight at Keshiema as he spoke. The way he stared at her, however, made her uneasy. She had noticed a hunger in his eyes on occasion, but today he looked like a wild, starving animal.

  Putting his hand up, Asmoday cut her off as Keshiema opened her mouth to speak. “We have no way of knowing how much Beel revealed to the king, but we are probably marked for death by now. You need to evacuate, too. We are working on a way to retrieve them.”

  Seeing the mounting anger in her eyes, Dásos stepped in. “Get something to eat, please, then I will take you to see them. and take a nap. It will take a while for the king's forces to recover from the attack. I'll teleport the Guardians myself if we have no other options.”

  Keshiema ate her meal, finishing every last bite despite it being as flavorful as a bowl of sand. When she finished it, she sat on the couch. She was supposed to sleep, but since returning to her room, she was too agitated, too anxious, too worried about Ipos and Ayperos.

  Her leg shook rapidly as she looked for anything to keep her mind away from the last few days. She had reunited with Tobias and Mia, which seemed like a positive thing. And she had rescued Cresil. But then, Cresil was only spying on her for Merihim. She shook her head, not ready to think about that.

  And then there was Sonneillon. He has not had any time to process it. At the time, she still needed to find Ipos. And everything that happened after that was a bit of a blur.

  She racked her brain. Ipos attacked her, though it seemed he was out of his mind when it happened. There was a lot of running and commotion. The comforting warmth of that unfamiliar Fire-Daemon – another train of thought best avoided for now.

  Beelzebub. “He betrayed me too,” She sighed. She knew he was the one who had brought her to Adramelech’s castle, but she could not find it in her heart to be upset with him. Something told her there was an understandable reason he had turned her in.

  The rampage at the castle, and the death of that Fire-Daemon. ‘No, don’t think about it!’ her heart raced and her teeth ached. That spark in her soul wanted to consume her again.

  She needed the comfort of friend right now. Her thoughts were too cruel to face alone. In the past she would have called on Cresil and Sonneillon. Or even better, they would have shown up on their own. They both had uncanny timing, finding her just when she needed them most.

  “Oh, Sonneillon,” she fought back the tears, remember how easily the white gold dagger sliced through him. ‘He killed your family! Stop mourning him, you idiot!’ she scolded herself, but she still felt horribly guilty. Someone she cared about was dead by her hand. ‘If I had been a full demon, maybe we could have been real friends.’

  A knock on her door interrupted the spiral. “Kesh?” Cresil called from the other side.

  She swung open her door and greeted him with a fiery palette. “I don't want to talk to you.” It was a lie. She desperately wanted to talk to him. She needed her best friend now more than ever. But that’s not who he was, not really.

  “Kesh, look, I know you’re angry. But if you could just hear me out…”

  “I said I don’t want to talk to you!” She hissed. “You’re a liar! You were never my friend,” her volume steadily increased with every word. “You were just…just…Merihim’s lackey!”

  The words stung, worse that the silver scars across his arms. He wanted to reason with her, to give her an excuse, but there was nothing he could say to ease her pain.

  “You never cared about me!”

  Those were the words he needed to hear to snap him from his self-pity. “The hell I didn’t!” He growled back at her. She shrank back, flinching, almost cowering. “There’s not a god-damned thing in the four realms I wouldn’t do for you, Kesh! You’re one of the few people I do care about.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  She looked away, refusing to believe his empty words. “I was just an assignment. Nothing more. A way for you to prove loyalty and climb the ranks.”

  “Climb the…the fuck?!” Cresil’s jaw clenched as he tried to keep his voice down. He understood her words came from a place of pain and betrayal. He was not angry, he had no right to be, but to be accused of faking their friendship, and for status? It was like a knife in the heart. “There’re no ranks to climb, Kesh. Merihim has one Second in Command, and you’re looking at him! It doesn’t get any higher than that.”

  “Lucky me!” Keshiema raised her voice again. “I got the top dog as my body guard! Just leave already, you don’t have to be responsible for me anymore!” she tried to slam the door, but he caught it, making her huff in frustration.

  Cresil sighed, wishing he was better at apologies and explanations. “I had every chance to walk away.” He whispered. “He tried to reassign me a few times, but I always gave him some excuse. I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving you to fend for yourself.” His stomach was tied into a million knots.

  “At first, you were this fun, hyper little kid who just needed someone to talk to. And as I watched you grow I felt like the cool big brother I never got to be. I wanted to punish Tommy for harassing you. And when Marthim betrayed your trust, broke your heart, I nearly killed the guy. Asmoday and Merihim are the only reason he’s still breathing.”

  Her heart ached. She wanted desperately to believe his words. But nothing felt right anymore. She was unsure if she could trust again after this.

  “I wouldn’t trade the years we’ve spent together for anything. I meant it when I offered to take you away at the train station. I knew Merihim would be pissed; I’d lose my rank, be tortured. But I also knew it would all be worth it to know you were safe. You are a friend, Keshiema. The dearest, truest friend I’ve had in a very long time. I never once thought of you as just an assignment.”

  “You hid everything from me.” Unable to hold onto the the anger, her colors faded to black. Tears streamed down her puffy red cheeks. “Friends don’t do that.”

  “My primary order was to keep you safe, but I was explicitly ordered to make sure you stayed in the dark regarding your parentage, and if I failed I would not only be reassigned, but Uvall assured me it would end in misery for you.”

  Unable to stay mad at him, she let him in, closing the door softly as he entered the suite. He set down a small box on the entry table. “If there is anything you need to ask, don’t hold back,” he told her.

  Her lips trembled as she tried to form the question. “Please tell me the truth, do you actually care?”

  He opened his arms and she stepped into his embrace. “I promise, kid, no more lies, no more deceit. I’ll be a better friend from here on out.” He smoothed her hair, trying to soothe her. “And hey, when we get the evacuation all sorted out, I’ll find a way to contact Sonnie.”

  Her heart stopped. Every muscle in her body tensed. Terror and anxiety took her words, took her breath. The air escaped her lungs and refused to return. Her vision darkened around the edges. She clutched Cresil’s shirt, panic from the thought she might lose him too. Streaks of silver riddled her raven hair.

  “Kesh?” he had so many reasons to hate silver, but her fear topped that list. “what’s wrong?”

  “Sonneillon,” she choked out his name. She shook her head furiously, unable to say any more.

  “Hey, hey, take your time.”

  Trying desperately to calm herself enough to speak, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus on breathing. “He’s dead.” She gasped as soon as the words left her lips, wishing she could take them back. She tried to say more, but her throat closed, refusing to obey.

  “Shh, I’m here,” Cresil cooed softly. “I’m here for you.”

  “It…it was me!” she wailed into his chest. “I killed him!” She trembled, shaking uncontrollably. ‘What’s Cress gonna think? Sonnie was his friend too!’ the thought made her sick, and frightened her further. She gripped him, terrified he might leave, especially after all the hurtful things she had just said to him.

  “What happened?” his voice was dark and the question made her heart sink. “What did that bastard do?”

  She breathed easier knowing he was taking her side. “Nergal, he was working for Nergal.” Cresil’s arms tightened around her. “He was the one. The mist that killed them.”

  “Stars, Kesh.” He had no idea how to comfort her. “I’m sorry,” the words felt too small. “I know your grief is heavy. It’ll get easier to carry eventually. Just remember, you don’t have to go through this alone.”

  The knots in her stomach subsided, and the tightness in her heart eased, letting her breathe. Despite her grief and loneliness, her stomach rumbled loudly. Cresil helped her to her feet. “Did they not feed you yet?” he looked ready to go on a rampage.

  “They did.” She paused, trying to find the words to explain the ravenous hunger she still felt. “But I can’t seem to eat enough. And nothing tastes good.”

  “Here.” He turned and grabbed the box from the entry table. "I swiped this from the kitchen.”

  Opening the box revealed a large piece of blackberry cobbler, still warm. Her mouth watered. She rushed to find a fork in her kitchenette, but when she took a bite, it tasted just as bland as everything else. She forced down the bite and dropped the fork back in the box.

  “So it’s true.” He sighed. “Phoradendron sent this,” Cresil pulled a glass spice shaker from his pocket. “He said to put it on all of your food.”

  She gave the spice a whiff and frowned. “it smells like sawdust.” Cresil put his arms up and made a noise of confusion. “Well I guess it can’t hurt,” she generously sprinkled the light brown powder over the dessert and took another bite. Her eyes lit up with golden sparkles. “The hell is that? It’s amazing!”

  Someone else knocked and Keshiema opened her door to find Asmoday. “Um, hi,” she said, surprised to see him.

  Asmoday bowed his head respectfully, fully understanding her uncertainty. “We need to prepare for the leave. Phoradendron will be here to retrieve you momentarily.”

  Cresil bit his tongue, wanting to curse out Asmoday, but knowing full well the consequences of such a decision.

  “I’m good, Cress.” She saw his hesitation. “Thank you.”

  “Go,” Asmoday ordered the Impure-Daemon. “I will follow in a minute.” Cresil sneered, but obeyed the order. Asmoday waited until he was out of site before speaking again. “Did you pack yet?”

  “Right, here.” She handed him a backpack, only half filled. When he looked at it oddly she explained, “I don’t own much.”

  He took the bag, but remained in her doorway. She had never seen him look so uncomfortable. His normally calm, almost arrogant fa?ade dropped to reveal a nervousness that did not suit him. “About Beel,” he hesitated, gauging her reaction. She remained stoic. “I will not let anything like that happen again.”

  “I’m sure Beelzebub had his reasons.” Her stomach grumbled. “Now, of you’ll excuse me. Id like to relax a bit more before it’s time to leave.”

  “Then we will meet again at the evac point.”

  When he left, she sat down and enjoyed the cobbler, which, with the added mystery spice, finally put a small dent in her hunger.