Page 20 of Hell Bound

Pypentha leaned forward as Deasley jammed himself into the chair next to her. “Is it really her, Commander?”

I picked up a fork, intending to stab a piece of meat, but instead found myself spinning it in my fingers as I scanned the head table.

Lilith wasn’t there yet. I wondered if her newfound stubbornness was making life hard for Hana.

“It’s her,” I said shortly. That was all I was willing to share.

Especially since Odragir was staring intently at one spot, and I knew he was listening intently for anything to use against me.

“Why was the Queen in the mortal realm?” Pypentha asked, and Jovran bumped her shoulder.

“It doesn’t concern you. Or any of us,” he muttered, but Pypentha, true to form, refused to let go. She was a dog with a bone at the best of times.

“What if we have to go back?” she asked. “If she tries to run away again, shouldn’t we know what we’re in for?”

I resisted the urge to crumple the fork in a death grip. “It’s in the past, and it’s not your concern, Pypentha.”

Odragir was staring into his mug now. I could almost see the rusted, mismatched gears in his brain whirling and trying to click.

Pypentha shoved a bite of steak in her mouth and blessed me by shutting the fuck up.

“So what will happen now?” Deasley asked quietly. “The Queen is back. What will that mean for us?”

I gave him a cold look, though he didn’t really deserve it. “We do what the King says. We keep her here.”

The words tasted ashen in my mouth.

Do what the King says.

I’d gone from prince to pack animal. Future king, to beast on a leash.

And I’d given up my only chance to ever get it back for nothing. For a mere twenty years of peace for Lilith.

A servant passed us like a shadow, and I knew these words would reach Asmodeus’s ears.

Give him no reason to suspect,I told him with my hard stare.

Deasley began shredding a piece of bread, but he was smart enough not to speak his mind, especially in front of Odragir.

I thought about offering words of encouragement, saying something to bolster his morale. Something I would’ve said back when I was the Prince of the Fallen Court, full of arrogance, ideals, and grand plans for my people.

I said nothing. Things were better that way.

Jovran drew in a breath, and I looked up, following his gaze.

My stomach did a slow flip. She was here.

From here, I could pretend she was the old Lilith...my Lily. Her dark, red-streaked hair falling down her back, strips of shimmering dark fabric barely concealing her form.

A dark queen of Hell, drawing every eye in the room.

I clenched my fists, crumpling the fork and barely noticing as it drew blood from my palms. It took every last fiber of willpower in my being to stay where I was and not go to her.

Once again, she was Asmodeus’s plaything.

And she looked terrified.

Chapter5

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