“But why?”
Belial turned around to look at her. And he really looked at her. While she squirmed under the scrutiny, she heard the others come in behind her, crowding through the doorway and in the hall.
“He went back to Paimon because he’s going to try to kill her.”
Lily’s mouth dropped open.
“But the brands,” Eva said. “Can he even do that without…?”
“Killing himself too? No. His life is tied to hers. If she dies, so does he.”
Lily gasped. “We have to tell him!”
“Oh, he knows.”
Horror. Disbelief.“No… he wouldn’t… He promised he would…”
She suddenly remembered his eyes. The pain in them, and the tightening around his mouth. The shallow breaths.The summoning brand.
He’d told her he had a week, but he’d lied, hadn’t he?
“Mishetsu is old. Older than I can remember. He’s been trying to get rid of those brands for thousands of years and has never found a way. Combine that with the threat to your life, he decided he’d rather go out on his terms.”
Lily stared blankly at the empty sigil, unable to believe what she was hearing. That was what had been going on in Mist’s head this whole time? Someone she cared deeply about, might even love, had been thinking about ending his life, and she hadn’t had a clue?
Her horror backflipped into sudden rage. “And you just let him go? You knew this and did nothing?”
Belial glared at her. “It’s not my place to decide what he does with his life. He wants to go out fighting, he gets to make that choice.”
Someone cursed behind her.
“I thought he was your friend! I thought—”
“Don’t make the mistake of confusing me with a human.” The demon’s voice was cold, but his eyes flashed with fire. “Immortal beings don’t always want to live forever, and since there’s no natural death to determine our end, sometimes we have to make a hard choice. You don’t get to pretend you understand the mind of someone who has been enslaved for thousands of years.”
She swallowed her retort as she realized he was right. She couldn’t fathom what Mist had been through or how he felt about his past and future.
But she could try. And she could sure as hell fight for him to live.
“He doesn’t get to come into my life, make me fall for him, and then just waltz out on some grand mission to sacrifice himself. I refuse to accept that. I refuse to stand by and do nothing while he’s in trouble, even if you won’t help me. I summoned him once, and I can do it again. With or without your help.”
Belial’s intense stare never wavered. “He told me to tell you not to try summoning him because he’s going to draw a hellseal on himself the second he gets back there.”
“What’s a hellseal?”
“It’ll bind him to the Hell plane as long as it’s active. Doesn’t last long, but I reckon it’ll be long enough.”
“When did he tell you this?” Eva demanded, stepping up beside Lily.
“Just a few minutes ago.”
“What the fuck, dude?” Meph said from the doorway. Eva shook her head.
“I don’t care for your meaningless judgment,” Belial snapped. “Mishetsu wants to die, it’s not my fucking problem.”
“He’s your friend!” Eva said.
“Friendship is a human concept.” His voice was cold, blue eyes narrowed to slits. “I exist to serve my own purposes and nothing else.”
