Page 101 of Of Spindles and Nightfall
Her brows furrowed as she vaguely remembered a conversation between Zarathos and someone while she’d been half awake after her encounter with Uncle. “You were there, after we went for the vampire part of the scepter.”
“I was.”
She no longer noticed the pricks of pain as he sewed her up. “You’ve been healing me from the beginning.”
“Everything I do is on my master’s orders.”
“Why is he treating me this way? Why does he even care?”
His lips pressed together in a grim line. “That is something you will have to ask him.”
“You think he’s being reckless?”
“It is not my place to judge, but I do believe that what happened at the trials would not have occurred if he had treated you as a kalator and not his…”
“His wife?” For the first time, the words falling from her mouth didn’t come out in disgust. Perhaps there was more to Zarathosthan he let on. More than she’d thought. Could he see her as his Bloodbound and not someone to kill in the end? She had thought she’d have to seduce him to do that, but it seemed something else had happened along the way.
“It is not my place to judge,” Marbas said again.
“And yet you feel he is making a mistake.” She shouldn’t be surprised. Zarathos probably had deals with all sorts of high-level demons. It was odd, though, to see the dynamic change with a being as powerful as Marbas.
“Be assured, I entered my deal with the arch king of my own accord, and I am the one getting the better bargain out of it. This is not false loyalty. If Zarathos dies, my world comes crashing down.”
“What is your bargain?”
“I am part troll from the land walkers and felyrix from the Misophaes. His Majesty made a bargain with the land walkers to protect them against kingdom Aeria, and in return, the land walkers agreed to protect the borders of the Misophaes. So that the arch king gets something out of it, I secretly bound myself to serve him to the end of my days as a way of ensuring that this agreement remains intact. You see, I’m a high representative of Kingdom Misophae on the trial council.”
“But you paint yourself as Zarathos’s enemy.”
“Yes. It’s easier to find out what people are saying and plotting if no one sees me as his servant.”
Aryana sat back as Marbas finished up and started storing his supplies. Zarathos, with his bargains, held the entire demon empire together. “He keeps everyone from fighting.”
Marbas snapped his medical bag shut. “It didn’t used to be like this. Zarathos’s father believed in survival of the fittest. Death and destruction ruled the realm.”
“How many others does Zarathos have such deals with?”
“I don’t know the exact number, but I'm sure you are aware of the legend.”
She was. Zarathos had built a reputation all his own. Demons were known for making bargains, but only he had never broken a single one. “What is he, Marbas?”
“He is a creature of this world, miss, both shaped and moved by it. He hurts some and helps others as he sees fit.”
“But does he truly care about anything?”
“He pretends not to, but I suspect otherwise. Zarathos may consider himself above it all, but deep down, he is like anyone else, loving and hating. A selfish bastard at times, and at others, he is nothing but selflessness personified. He is both savior and executioner at once. Is that not how we all are in our turn?”
Aryana’s teeth sank into her lip as he fetched a basin and cloth to wash off the blood. “I’ll do it.” She took it from him, setting the water on the bed and swirling the rag through the liquid. “Is it true that he killed the female who raised him?”
Marbas sat back, looking shocked. “Where did you hear that?”
“Some demons were talking,” she lied. She didn’t want him to be aware that Zarathos had confessed, as Marbas might think Zarathos was hiding the rest of the information from her.
He let out a long breath. “Zarathos’s father chained his son to the wall. And then he tortured her in front of him, until she was beggingfor death,” he said quietly. “The former arch king gave Zarathos an ultimatum. Kill the female who’d raised him, granting her release, or watch as she was tormented through a slow, agonizing demise.”
Aryana’s stomach churned from horrified nausea at the choice Zarathos had to make. “He killed her out of mercy.”
Marbas nodded. “I don’t think he was ever the same after that. Never let himself get close to anyone or anything.” He took the rag and water from her when she finished. “His Majesty will need to call someone to change the sheets. Please excuse me, but if I fail to return to politics soon, my absence will be noticed. No doubt the council has much to say over what has happened today.” He frowned and turned away.
