Page 91 of Lust

“You would say that,” Candice sneers. “You’re his partner.”

Remy steps up to me and grips my hand in his. “She was his partner for the sake of the trials. She’s not sleeping with him and she has no reason to lie.”

Guilt crushes the breath from my lungs as Remy looks into my eyes. “She’s with me,” he says, “And I happen to believe that the footage is doctored too. Dade is innocent.”

I bite my lip. So many lies. So much deceit. He doesn’t believe that anymore than he believes that we are suddenly a couple, but he could have kept silent. I offer him a silent thank you.

Noémi takes the Hell Cell from the guy and waves her hand. “Eet ees most definitely fake. Dade ees being interrogated for an entirely different reason wheech I weel not elaborate on. I asked you all down ‘ere to let you know zat ze Erthery ees being fixed and weel be ready for ze third trial. Wheech brings me to ze most important announcement…”

“You said you know who did it,” Anthura interjects, her features contorted with displeasure. “If it wasn’t Dade, please enlighten us to who it was.”

Noémi’s lips pull tight. “I deed not say I knew ‘oo deed eet. I only said I found out what ‘appened. Someone inside placed a magical charge beside one of ze pillars. When eet detonated, ze Earthery came down.”

My mind tries to take it in. “So someoneinsidethe Earthery did this?”

Noémi nods. “Oui. Eet ‘ad to be someone inside, or someone ‘oo placed ze charge and left just before eet was detonated.”

I look around the group I’m sitting with. Every single person here is now a suspect.

Maggie raises her hand. “How do you know it wasn’t put there before we all went in?”

“We deed a sweep of ze Earthery before ze start of ze trial. Eet can only ‘ave been done from ze inside. We believe ze charge was magical and was taken from ze lower floor. Zere ees no ozzer possibility.”

“But none of us have access to the lower floor?” Maggie says. Rowena and Juliette both turn their eyes to me. There is a person who has access to the lower level and currently the demons have him.

“We are doing everyzing we can to find out ‘oo deed zis and ‘ow zey got down to ze lower level. Ze good news ees zat Ze Earthery weel be fixed soon.”

Remy is still holding my hand. It feels alien to me, but I don’t let go. It’s the only thing grounding me.

“And now for ze tres exciting news. I ‘ave made ze decision to move ze ball to tomorrow.” Her black and pink curls bounce as she flings her hands into the air… “We weel ‘old ze most magical, magnificent ball ‘Ell as ever seen.”

Behind me, the hundred or so spectators cheer, but those of us in the competition remain silent. My pulse pounds in my ears. The ball can’t be tomorrow! It’s the last trial and my last chance to get me and Dade out of here. I panic as Anthura races out, quickly followed by other contestants. All I hear is mentions of Dade under their breaths. They’ve already convicted him in their minds.

I pull my hand roughly from Remy’s. “I need to talk to Noémi.” My legs are shaky, but my resolve is strong as I make my way over to her. I’m almost there when Rowena and Juliette block my path. Both of them have determined looks on their faces.

“We know what you’re about to do.” Rowena whispers.

“Don’t do it, Babe,” Juliette adds. “You won’t be helping him. Everyone thinks he destroyed the Earthery. Even Noémi. Why do you think she put an alert out for him? She obviously thinks he did it.”

Frustration rips through me. “He didn’t do it. I know he didn’t. He was with me when the Earthery came down. He shielded me with his wings. There is no way he would do that. He wants out of this place as much as the rest of us.”

A look passes between them. “Are you sure he…”

“No!” I say abruptly. “I saw the shock on his face. He wasn’t expecting it. He didn’t do this.”

Rowena pulls me off to one side. “Fine. If you say he didn’t do it, then he didn’t do it. Felix didn’t do it, Moloch didn’t do it and Orlin didn’t do it either.” She gestures to Juliette and herself. “The three of us were with them when the Earthery came down.”

Juliette swallows. “What we’re saying is, don’t get yourself into this mess. Whatever is going to happen to Dade is going to happen no matter what you do. He wouldn’t want it happening to you, too.”

“I saw you holding hands with Remy at the meeting,” Rowena says. “I think that’s the only reason Noémi didn’t question you.”

Anger flares within me. I guess I’m the only one who doesn’t want me dating Remy. I feel ambushed. “He grabbed my hand,” I point out. “I didn’t get a say in the matter.”

Juliette puts her hand on my shoulder. “And in doing that, he saved you a lot of nasty questions. Lie low. Be seen out and about with Remy. I know you don’t want to date him anymore. No one expects you to fuck the guy. Once this all dies down and they catch whoever destroyed the Earthery, we’ll help you figure out what to do about Dade. I’m pretty sure they’ll have bigger fish to fry with the capture of the culprit.”

“All that sounds great if it wasn’t for the fact that the ball is tomorrow and I still don’t know where Dade is.” My breathing becomes ragged. “I don’t have a partner and I don’t know how I’m supposed to do this.

Rowena’s eyes dart behind me and she stiffens. She gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Look, I gotta go finish our dresses. Come to the ball with me and Juliette.” With that, she disappears through the door to the platform. Seconds later, Felix follows through the same door.

---