But there was no missing the sizable mark in the center of her chest.
The circle was centered between her breasts and made of intricate patterns. To the untrained eye, it would appear to be a tribal-inspired mandala tattoo. But it was not that. Not at all.
He stared in disbelief, his eyes snapping between hers and the design again and again.
“I don’t understand.” His voice seemed to come from far away.
“It was an accident, I swear. I would never have intervened if I’d known this could happen. It’s the last thing I ever want. I—”
“Lily, please explain,” he said slowly. “From the beginning.”
She covered herself with the sheet again and nodded. “When Paimon got eaten, there was this moment I felt something burn on my chest and this connection. But it seemed safe to me, or familiar, or… I’m not sure. But there was so much happening, so I just welcomed it and forgot about it. And my chest was hidden by my shirt so I didn’t notice.
“But after you fell asleep, I went to shower, and I saw myself in the mirror and, well, I screamed. And when I came out everyone was worried, and I was wearing a towel so they saw, and Belial knew immediately what it was.
“I guess while we were gone, coincidentally, Eva’s dad called. He said that while he still hadn’t heard back from his friend with information on removing the brands, he’d suddenly remembered reading somewhere that they were transferable.”
“Transferable.” Mist’s heart pounded. “How?”
She bit her lip, taking a moment to compose herself. “They were designed so that if the person who controls them is defeated, their… s-slave will belong to the new master. But they couldn’t actually be dead, because that would cause the death of the slave as well.”
His rushing blood was creating a hum in his ears that made it hard to hear. From far away, he heard himself speak. “Like Paimon being eaten by a gorath. Defeated, but not destroyed.”
Because to truly kill a demon, all remaining pieces of the body had to be incinerated with hellfire. And though she would not be able to regenerate inside the belly of a gorath, Paimon was not truly dead.
Lily nodded mutely. “And in order to defeat the old master and take the slave for themselves, the new master had to be the one to do it, and they had to be powerful enough to harness the brands’ magic on their own. No one else could do it for them. And I guess that even though Paimon was technically killed by a gorath, because I was the one fighting her when we fell into the Pit, well…”
She trailed off. Their gazes met.
“You’remy new mistress,” Mist said softly.
Lily gulped and then finally lost the fight against her tears. A sob spilled out of her, and she clutched the sheet like a lifeline. “I’m so sorry! I never wanted this! I swear to you, it’s the last thing I want. If I could take it back, I would. I would do anything, give anything.”
Mist just stared at her.
“Please say something.” She wiped her eyes. “I understand if you can’t forgive me, but please just tell me what you’re thinking.”
“You’re saying I no longer belong to Paimon.” He spoke slowly. He had to be one hundred percent certain of the truth before he accepted it. There could be mistakes or misunderstandings.
She nodded.
“I no longer belong to Paimon because… I belong to you.”
Again, she nodded.
“So… I’m free.”
A crease formed between her brows. “Well, no, because the brand is still there.”
“But Paimon doesn’t control it anymore. You do.”
“Yes.”
“So I am free. Because of you.”
“But…” She searched his gaze. “It’s not true freedom. The brands are still there. And it forces you to put trust in me when I know you’ve never been able to trust anyone before. And of course I would never do anything to hurt you, but it’s not fair that you should have to be forced to believe me. It’s not fair that you should be branded at all. It’s not fair that—”
“But I do trust you.”
