Page 109 of Demonic Cage
My brother protected me every day as a child when my parents rebelled against me. Even though he was sick, Bengt didn’t let me believe a word they said about how worthless I was, how much I had already harmed our family. I just cried as those I trusted continued to destroy me, for something – now I know for sure – I couldn’t help.
Grief pierces my heart like a thorn, and I pull my arms closer to myself. Bengt’s absence overwhelms me, like a heavy, black cloak that blocks out the sun.
“Who gave you the medallion?”
I blink in confusion, as if returning from somewhere far away. I stare at Darya. His gaze is fixed on my chest, so I follow his line of sight.
I hadn’t even noticed that I was clutching my necklace tightly.
“My brother gave it to me for my birthday.”
The demon doesn’t speak for a while, but my face burns under his gaze.
“When did he get sick?” he asks, and I look at him, surprised. He regards me curiously.
“I was five, he was seven. Around then, I started seeing your demons, so the attention often shifted to me, not him. His cancer kept returning for the next seven years. I always thought he’d get better. Then he was gone.”
Because of me.
I don’t say that last thought out loud. Sharing such a deep thing with the Demon King feels like… selling a part of myself to him. I can’t look at Darya, so I lose myself in the cloudy sky again.
“Were you really there?” I ask. “When Pandora opened the box?”
Darya stays silent for so long that I finally look at him, but I freeze at his wicked smile.
“You met her.”
I nod.
“In the Mirror of Knowledge?”
“Yes. Does she appear to you, as well?”
He nods.
“So, you know her…”
“I wouldn’t say we’re on speaking terms,” Darya says, looking at me suggestively. “Our last meeting didn’t go exactly as she wanted. Although, who knows…”
“What does that mean?”
He smiles mysteriously.
“Pandora hides many secrets. And she knows a lot about a lot of things.”
My heart skips a beat as I grasp the meaning of his words. Does she know where the dagger is, too?
I have to go there. If she’s still willing to talk to me. Our last encounter didn’t go well for either of us.
“I’m honestly curious,” Darya says, changing the subject, “about what kind of blood flowed in your brother’s veins.”
I laugh mockingly and look at Darya challengingly.
“Let me help you. You wouldn’t find a drop of demon blood in him. Bengt was an angel, even as a human.”
I bite my lip. What does it even mean to be an angel? Bengt was too good; even as a child, he wanted to help everyone. I don’t know exactly what it means to become an angel, but he definitely wouldn’t have been a demon.
I put the bowl of ambrosia on the table and stand up, only for Darya to be beside me in an instant. He’s so tall that his broad shoulders cast a shadow over me, his silver hair falling into his gray eyes.
