Page 53 of The Fearless Witch

“Do you remember that ghoul burrow you stumbled upon while you were running from the hunters in 781? Who do you think killed those things after they knocked you out?” I blinked, trying to recall the memory, but it was too fuzzy. “Then in 1233, when the hunters caught you and locked you up in their headquarters? How did you think you escaped? By luck?” He winced as if the recollection bothered him, but his voice was steady when he continued. “He killed them and cleared a path for you to flee. Then when the Coven of the Guiding Hand was after you for almost exposing the supernatural world when you went on a rampage in 1601?” When I said nothing, he continued, his voice growing more and more excited. “He got them off your back, even though you ended up getting yourself killed off that cliff while he was taking care of them. And then…”

Cyrus trailed off, craning his neck and squeezing his eyes shut as if he was in pain. I remained silent, still trying to come to terms with the idea that Beleth had saved my life without me even knowing it. Even if it was probably Cyrus who made him do it. This didn’t sound like the demon who fucked me in the middle of Hell and kept me tied up most of the time.

“Fine, I’m shutting up,” he murmured, and the strain on his face lessened. “All I’m saying is that… Beleth is…” He licked his lips, his expression turning somber. “He was born out of hate, violence, and desperation, so that’s what he became. That’s how he… expresses himself.”

“So what was he trying to express earlier? His passionate love for me?” I scoffed and his face twisted, darkness spreading through the white. Cyrus shook his head and gave me a pointed look.

“Don’t mock him, please. And Beleth most definitely hates you, but…” He shrugged, his expression turning almost tortured. “Apart from me, you’re the closest thing he has ever had to a family, and he… he protects his own.”

“That’s one fucked up way of showing it,” I murmured, biting my lip before I said something more that would totally piss the stupid demon off.

Cyrus opened his mouth as if to speak, then promptly closed it. His eyes grew glazed, as if he was staring into the wall without actually seeing it, and I sucked in a sharp breath when his head snapped toward me, his gaze zeroed in on my face.

“Sorry about that.” He smiled, licking his lips nervously. His whole presence changed, excitement crackling in the air around him. “I… I just had an idea.” I cocked an eyebrow, and he took a deep breath, confidence straightening his posture.

“Well? Get on with it then!” I sighed impatiently.

Cyrus crossed the room twice, twisting his hands in front of him before stopping by the bed.

“We need to work together,” he declared. I tilted my head, giving him an incredulous look. “You, me, and Beleth. We can use your power in the trial so we can save ours for the final stage! If we… if he wins, then we’ll no longer be dependent on your magic!” He started pacing again, his uneasiness mixed with excitement to the point he was blabbering. “I’ve been thinking about this. Beleth is adamant about keeping you here, but you might hurt yourself trying to escape, so this works for all of us! If you help us win the trial, there is no reason to keep you here! You can go back home!”

My mouth went dry as I stared at him. The thought had crossed my mind, but with the way Beleth had been acting, I didn’t think he’d agree to it in a million years. He couldn’t bear to hear me speak, let alone ask me for help. Or admit he needed help in the first place.

“He would never agree to that,” I muttered, giving him a grave look.

“He will!” Cyrus chirped as if already expecting me to say that. “I mean, he does! He won’t say it, but we can use the help! We have been doing this for so long that if we don’t try something different…”

Cyrus choked, grabbing his throat like he couldn’t breathe. I hurried toward him when he suddenly stopped moving. His hands fell down beside him and he straightened up—shoulders pulled back, head raised and face made of marble instead of soft flesh. The gray eyes were gone, replaced by the familiar dark ones that pierced me with all the ice in the world.

Chapter 23

Celeste

“Idon’t need your help,” Beleth said before I could make a sound.

I smiled, crossing my arms. “You sure? Or are you just too proud to admit it?”

His eye twitched in annoyance, and it was at that moment I realized two things. One, it was probably not a smart idea to antagonize him when I needed his cooperation; and two, Beleth was more affected by my words than he’d ever admit. Even now, he was bristling when I’d barely said anything.

“I see you haven’t learned your lesson,” he grumbled in a voice reverberating with warning. My body responded with another shudder that I hoped I managed to mask.

“It’s one of my better qualities.” His eye did another of those little ticks, but he said nothing. “I’m not scared of you.” I lied, putting all of my experience in pretending in that one silly sentence. If he thought he had me scared and trembling, this would all be over. I might have been wrong for many things in my life, but there was one lesson I learned well: people who longed for power despised weakness. And fear… fear was weakness.

At least, until now, he had been treating me like an adversary. I’d be damned if I let this wretched bastard look down on me.

“You should be,” he murmured. I forced myself to hold his gaze, refusing to blink until he did. “You should be fucking terrified because you haven’t seen a fracture of what I could do to you, Red.”

“Red. Why do you keep calling me that?” I changed the subject, and he blinked, confusion passing through his face. I barely held back a smile when that one simple question threw him off. My confidence rose a few notches. “You’ve been calling me that from the start. Why?”

His eyes narrowed and for a moment I thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he just shrugged. “Because your hair is fucking red and your name is stupid.”

I felt the urge to snap and laugh at the same time, but I bit my tongue, muttering only, “I didn’t realize I was so special to you to give me a nickname.”

Shadows exploded from his back, and one of them shot toward my face. I swallowed my surprised scream, summoning my magic to block him just enough to shout, “Cyrus!”

The shadows tightened around my face, leaving only my eyes and nose free, and I watched with growing panic as Beleth straightened, his eyes closing while he cracked his neck. He winced, but when he looked at me again, it was still him who was in control. I gritted my teeth, lifting my head higher. I hated the fact that I had to evoke Cyrus’ name so soon, but at least I got confirmation of what I suspected.

He was rattled, more than usual. I wasn’t sure what had caused the change, but he was no longer the calm, collected guy who ignored me while I lay half-naked, bound, and gagged. My words, my attitude, even my very presence, unbalanced him. He didn’t have all the power here.

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