Page 31 of Demonic Division

M shrugs. “I can only guess.”

“Is that a yes?”

His gaze hardens as he steps closer to the bars, bathing the right half of his face in golden light. “I know he will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. I know killing you is not off the table of possibilities.”

My breath catches in my throat. “If he’s so okay with killing me, why hasn’t he already?”

M shrugs. “My guess is he does not know the effect it would have on Cyprien. Perhaps it would even end his life. The uncertainty is why you’re still alive. I’m sure he’ll do his research. Exhaust every last option. But when it comes down to it, he’d risk Cyprien to be done with it.”

“He’s that desperate to break the bond?”

M nods, his mouth set in a grim line. “The other fractured souls are just a means to an end for him. He’s willing to snuff outallof the pieces—even himself—in his endless quest for power. He will dowhateverit takes to become whole again.”

I’m reminded of what M said right before Kaebl dragged me from the dungeon. About how he would try to poison my mind and make me believe M was a monster. But then another line barrels to the forefront of my mind. The part about M killing someone. Someone named Fenryr.

I swallow hard, my chest tightening at the question I have to ask next. “M… was Fenryr one of your pieces?”

His eyes gloss over with a strange emotion as his body goes eerily still. Nothing moves except for his head, dipping his chin to his chest in affirmation.

“And you killed him?”

Another nod. “Though not by my hand, I still hold the weight of his death.”

“I don’t understand…”

M smiles, but there’s no joy in it. “For eighteen years after the sundering, I lived in peace. I built a small cavern on the outer edges of The Far Place, and I was content to roam between this world and yours, feeding from the land and bathing in the shadows. I was alone—but I was my own being. I could think, I could smell, see,feel…” His voicechokes up on the last word, and M pauses to clear his throat. “I was happy… or as close to happy as I could be as a shell, I suppose. But then, I learned of Fenryr’s discovery—that he found a way to put Abaddon back together again.”

“Abaddon?”

M's eyes gleam bright red. “The name of the demon we all came from. When he was sundered, each of the pieces took up names of their own—but we all retained fractured memories of who we once were.” His jaw clenches. “The pieces I have… they leave me with enough to know that Abaddon was a true monster. For all his power, he was just as cruel and ruled the land with a bloody fist. I could not—would not allow Kaebl and the others to put him back together.” M sighs, reaching up to grip the bars above my hands. “At first, I tried to reason with Fenryr, but he was scared of Kaebl. Either that, or he was brainwashed by envy’s wicked mouth of lies. In the end, I was left with no choice. If I wanted to stop them—if I wanted to live—I would have to commit the atrocity. I would have to?—”

“Kill him,” I finish, my voice full of accusation. “Was it really worth it?”

“To me? Absolutely,” he whispers. He slides his hands down, cupping mine gently and sending a rush of heat through my veins. “Abaddon was pure evil.”

“Worse than other demons?”

He laughs, cold and hard. “You tell me—is it worse if hehappenedto want to wipe out an entire species?”

I gasp. “He really tried to do that?”

“Hedidthat. He would have done even more if Lord Slaine had not risen up and stopped him. If he had not sundered the demon lord.”

I frown, something about the name seeming oddly familiar. “Slaine?”

“Abaddon's vassal, and now Kaebl’s rival kingdom,” M explains. “When I originally learned of Fenryr’s discovery, I went to Slaine, hoping he would know a way to stop them.” His eyes harden, and his fists tighten around the bars. “But he betrayed me. He took it upon himself to attack Fenryr while he was out on a hunt—breaking the eighteen-year-long treaty between the kingdoms. Of course, I was blamed for the death, and when Kaebl learned of Fenryr’s demise, he came looking for me.” He gestures to his cell. “Obviously, he found me. And so, here I am. Trapped in this prison, awaiting the inevitable day Slaine’s forces march on the castle. Awaiting my death.”

He sighs, hanging his head. “As much as I regret the outcome, I don’t regret my decision to stop Kaebl. I would do it over if I had the chance—anything to stop them from resurrecting Abaddon.”

I think about Kaebl, then of Cyprien and Lir. I could potentially believe the accusations about Kaebl, but something in my gut is screaming that Cyprien and Lir couldn’t possibly do something so evil. “Do Cyprien and Lir know this? Do they know how evil Abaddon was? What Kaebl was trying to do?”

M shrugs. “How could I know? I can only guess.” In my silence, a frown tugs at his mouth. “I can tell by your expression it’s not what you wanted to hear,” he murmurs. “You wish things were more black and white—that I am really some horrible creature locked away for my misdeeds. That good prevails over evil. That Cyprien really is just some fluffy bunny who wants to hold and mount you. But reality is rarely so kind.”

“Maybe Kaebl is keeping them in the dark… maybe they don’t really know…” Something in my chest aches at the possibility that Cyprien and Lir could be just as ill-intended as Kaebl. If Abaddon really tried to do all those horrible things M said, then Kaebl must be just as hateful.

M doesn’t respond, but his smile widens. “It’s interesting you think of him in such a way. Are you starting to put the pieces together?”

I exhale shakily. “I think so. All I know is I can’t trust him. I don’t know if I can trust any of them.”

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