“The prophecy stated that the blood-borns would become immortal and so powerful, they would cause the downfall of a King of Hell. No one knows which King, of course, but you can see why that might cause some upset.”
Mist forgot about his aching arms and the monsters below as an ice-cold feeling of dread trickled over him.
“The mother of the twins knew of their prophesied power and that supernatural beings would try to steal it or kill them before they could fulfill their destiny. So, she concealed them using powerful blood magic to disguise their potent energies. But nine years ago, at the witching hour on the night of their eighteenth birthdays, the twins came fully into their powers, and the cloaking spell failed. It was only for a brief instant, but it was long enough.
“Duke Valefor—a collector of unique supernatural beings and artifacts, as I’m sure you know—had long been aware of the coming of the twins and had searched high and low for them since their birth. The moment the cloaking failed, Valefor’s tracking spells finally provided him with results.
“He discovered the parents and their coven desperately trying to repair the spell. Despite his interference, they were successful, and he could not locate the twins. When he could not breach the coven’s perimeter wards, he burned the building to the ground in an attempt to damage the spell and make it fail again. It did not, however, and the twins escaped. Valefor continues to hunt them to this day.”
The trickling dread had become an icy wave. Blood-borns with parents that had been killed in a fire. Nine years ago. It was too coincidental that the witch sisters Mist had accidentally encountered were the same ones Valefor hunted… but there was no other explanation.
“It is said,” Paimon continued, “that the one who harnesses the magic of the twins will be blessed by untold power. Power enough to, say, unseat the High King of Hell.” Her brow lifted. “That’s what Belial is after, isn’t it? That’s how he convinced you to betray me.”
“I’ve never heard a more far-fetched story,” Mist replied blandly, a cold sweat worming its way down his over-extended spine.
Paimon smiled. “You’re nervous. I can see it in your eyes.” Her smile dropped, and her eyes darkened with wrath. “Serve me or die, Mishetsu. You know how the brands work.”
“Then I choose death.”
Paimon dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “I already know how to find you, anyway. There are hundreds of prophecies about artifacts, talismans, and destinies. Why do you think I fixated on that one in particular?”
He said nothing because he knew she would tell him anyway.
“I was shocked when you were summoned not only out of my lair, but out of your cuffs, by a human. Did you think I wouldn’t be able to analyze the magic responsible? The traces in the air were powerful and unmistakable. Iknowwho summoned you, Mishetsu. I know you’re working with the twins.”
His blood froze solid in his veins. He had never known fear like he did right then because, for the first time in his existence, he was afraid for another. Not for himself. For Lily.
“I’m going to find you and them. Since I’ve had a taste of their magic, it won’t be difficult to locate them.”
She is lying.She had to be. There was no way to track down Lily based solely on that, especially if she was under a cloaking spell.
But the fact that he didn’t know, that there was even the slightest chance she spoke true… It felt like having his insides carved out.
“When I do, I will deliver the sisters to Lucifer, and he will use their power to destroy you, Belial, and the three fools allied with him.”
Paimon’s eyes glittered with triumph as Mist failed to hide his horror. “In the meantime, I’ll be summoning you with all my power. I would say you have about two days left before you have to return or— Well, you know the consequences.”
Two days? He always had at least a week, if not two.She lies again.
She wiggled her claws in a wave, flashing a smile full of sharp teeth.
“I’ll be seeing you soon, Mishetsu.”
* * *
Mist lurched upright in bed.His shoulders burned from dangling over the Pit, the skin at his wrists raw from chafing.
He hadn’t actually physically been in Paimon’s lair or she would never have let him go, but the Queen of Hell was powerful enough to trap his mind in vivid dreams. His consciousness had lived the experience, so lingering traces of phantom pain transferred to his physical body as he awoke.
He wasn’t immediately aware of his surroundings. Sunlight streamed through the window beside him, so he must have slept through the night. This was… unusual. That he’d been able to rest in another’s company, vulnerable and unprotected, was a first. But then, that was just what Lily did to him. She made him feel relaxed. Normal. Safe.
Panic filled him briefly when he noticed the empty space beside him, only to dissipate when he heard soft humming from the kitchen and smelled the scents of breakfast. He imagined Lily puttering around, golden hair spilling down her back, and something tightened in his chest so intensely that he gripped it.
Was it possible she and Iris were truly the prophesied twins? Or was it all a ruse Paimon had dreamed up as a way to… what?
What would she achieve by lying? He was already branded. He couldn’t think of a single thing she stood to gain from making up such an elaborate story, which made him think it was true.
And Lilywaspowerful. No one had ever succeeded in summoning him before, and he wouldn’t have thought it possible for him to be drawn out of the cuffs at all, which were supposed to bind him to Paimon’s lair.
