7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Celeste

‘ I 'm going to kill him. The first chance I get, I'm going to kill that bastard,' I thought as I tried to adjust more comfortably on the floor. The gag was back in my mouth after he got annoyed with my voice, and now the taste of bile and desperation was the only thing I could focus on. That and the pain in my ass, legs, and shoulders. The stupid shackles didn't even let me stand to alleviate the discomfort, and he hadn't bothered to offer me the perfectly good bed he didn't use.

Snarling again, I tried to adjust against the wall, but I lost my balance. The gag muffled my scream, but it did nothing to cushion my fall. I landed on the side of my face, twisted in an even more uncomfortable position, and closed my eyes while counting to ten.

A low creak had me tensing and through the locks of messy hair, I noticed the door opening. I held my breath while I listened for the incoming steps, preparing myself mentally for his mockery, but I heard nothing. I couldn't use my power to check what had entered the room, and thanks to my fall, I couldn't see anything other than a very narrow space beside the table.

No movement. No smell. No sound at all.

Had that been… the wind? In Hell ?

Goosebumps covered my skin when something brushed against my feet, and I yelped in panic. The touch was gentle and soft, and when it happened a second time, I realized it was fur that I was sensing.

"Stay still," a familiar voice spoke right before the smell of sulfur and death filled my nostrils. Rough, hot fingers took my hands, bending them even further, but then the cuffs fell off and I was finally free. By the time I yanked the gag out of my mouth, the collar around my neck clanked to the ground as well.

Turning, I almost cried with relief when I found a pair of familiar red eyes staring back at me. A monster three times my size stood hunched by the wall, his giant nails now curling toward his palms.

My monster.

"Nym!" I laughed, throwing my arms around his neck. His body was uncomfortably hot, but I welcomed the familiar feeling, releasing him only after he started shifting to a smaller form. My heart swelled with joy and a hint of relief. He had come for me. Even in Hell, he had followed. Just like I hoped he would.

He looked the same as the last time I saw him, if a bit more grim, and as I stared into his now golden eyes, I realized we hadn't seen each other long before I was dragged down here. We had a lot to catch up on, but first, we had to get out of there. Fast.

"We need to hurry." I pushed myself up, groaning at the stiffness in my muscles. "I'm not sure when he might return, but my magic is useless against him. So we need to—"

The door opened a second time and my head snapped toward it, frustration and panic filling my chest as Beleth unceremoniously strode inside. No, no, no! He had been gone for almost two days! Couldn't he wait a few more minutes? Did Nym trigger some kind of alarm? Fuck!

He was covered in blood again—something that happened quite often—but he didn't look nearly as bad as the last time he dragged his battered body in. I held my breath when his eyes landed on Nym and me, but all his face showed was… boredom.

‘What the hell?' I thought. I get why he wasn't afraid of me, but Nym was freaking terrifying when he wanted to be. Yet Beleth didn't so much as blink at the sight of him.

"I allowed you inside, but I don't remember giving you permission to untie her. "

A cold shiver crawled down my back at the dismissive tone he used and the fact that he was clearly not talking to me. I looked at Nym from the corner of my eye and my jaw dropped when I realized he was still in his tiny cat form. I couldn't remember the last time he didn't turn into a creature made of nightmares when someone threatened me in his presence. Even Roman wasn't spared from his wrath if my familiar thought I needed protection.

Yet he made no move now. Not only that, he actually lowered his eyes at Beleth's words. It felt like the ground had opened underneath me and I was falling, not knowing when I'd hit the bottom.

"She was in pain," Nym said defensively. "You were supposed to take care of her."

I could barely hear their words as I glanced between them, trying to remember how to speak. What… what did this mean? Beleth allowed him in here? Had Nym known where I was and…

I shook my head. No, Nym couldn't have known. He wouldn't let Beleth do this. He… there had to be another explanation!

"How…" I started, pointing at Beleth, then at Nym. "Do you… two know each other?"

The demon closed the door with a derisive snort, stripping his shirt over his head. He picked up the water bowl from the cupboard like he did every time and carried it to the table.

I… I couldn't breathe and he acted like nothing unusual was happening.

"Well? Will one of you fucking explain?" I snarled, looking down at Nym when Beleth blatantly ignored me. A part of me was relieved that we wouldn't have to fight him—I wasn't sure his reasons for not killing me applied to my familiar—but the fact that Beleth looked so unbothered by Nym's presence bugged me more than being tied up and gagged for days.

Nym was mine. He was loyal to me. He…

"Yes," my familiar finally replied, striding past until he was close enough to jump on the table. Every step he took away from me felt like a stab in the gut and when my hand instinctively went to my stomach, I was surprised to find no blood there.

Beleth rolled his eyes, dropping into one of the chairs with a grunt before shifting his focus to wiping the crusted blood off his arm.

"Will you behave if I tell you?" he sighed tiredly, his voice devoid of the usual bite .

"Just fucking tell me!" I snarled, fisting the fabric of my shirt when my hand started to shake.

He paused, staring at the rag as if considering his options, then sighed again. "I created Nym from pieces of our souls and the body of a hellhound. Did you really think a demonic creature would just come to you and offer its eternal loyalty for no reason?" He shot me a pointed look before returning to what he was doing before. "If you did, you are an even bigger fool than I thought."

I took a deep breath, but the tightness in my chest didn't lessen at all. The vicious pounding in my head grew louder, swallowing all sounds, even those of my breaking heart. I shook my head, ready to reject his explanation, but then I looked at Nym. Fur bristling, ears back and tail swishing left and right, he avoided my gaze like he couldn't even look me in the eye.

My vision blurred while I fought to remember how to breathe.

"You… made him?" I gasped, sucking in a big gulp of air that went nowhere. Why couldn't I breathe? I wasn't injured, and I wasn't hexed, so what was that feeling? "And sent him… to me? How? Why?"

Even though I spoke to Beleth, my eyes never left Nym's crouched form. It hurt to see him so fearful and small, but it hurt even more to find out that all this time, he was sent to do a job. He didn't choose me; he was forced onto me. He lied to me. For centuries.

"Because you were young and stupid, and I didn't want to become your fucking babysitter," the demon grumbled, cracking his neck until a loud, sickening noise that sounded immensely painful echoed through the room. "By then I had figured I was stronger when you're alive, so I needed someone I could control and trust, someone who could walk the earth and enter Hell unimpeded, watching over you." Beleth threw the rag on the table, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment before turning to me with a forced smile. I barely heard the words, the concept strange and unfeasible, like oil mixed with water. "That's how this one-of-a-kind sentient monster came to be. Impressive, isn't it?"

"Don't talk about him like that!" I snapped on instinct. I had never cared what people said about me, but nobody insulted my familiar. Even if he… if he…

Slowly, like it took a great deal of effort, Beleth lifted an eyebrow. There was no amusement in his eyes, not even the wicked kind. "Or what?" he challenged. "What are you gonna do, Red? Attack me? Run? Scream? Curse?" He leaned his elbows on the table, staring me down. "Sit your ass down or I'll tie you up again."

All of this felt surreal, like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. My thoughts floated chaotically, body feeling numb and oversensitive at the same time. And the pain… the pain was everywhere. Dreams weren't supposed to hurt, were they?

My legs wobbled, and I slumped into the bed, gasping desperately for breath. Beleth was staring at me with a strange look, while Nym stood at the edge, eyes wide with shock.

I shoved the hurricane of emotions down, trying to focus on something else. Anything else.

"You said… a piece of my soul went to…" My voice broke when I tried to say his name and I bit on my lip until I tasted blood. "Where is the rest of it?" I asked, trying to ignore the cat as he jumped off the table and slowly made his way toward me. He looked like a spooked animal that was nearing a dangerous predator. I almost laughed at the thought.

Beleth picked up the rag, dropping it into the water and moving it around with one finger.

"Gone."

Panic filled my head. "Gone where? My deal isn't complete! That soul is still mine!"

His dark eyes rose to mine, and he gave me a mirthless smile.

"You lost that soul the moment you made your deal. But if you fancy a meeting with the Devil, that can be arranged."

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. This… this couldn't be happening. This was too much.

"My soul is… with the Devil himself?"

Beleth lowered his gaze to the bowl, seemingly too focused on wringing the bloody water out of the rag. Something brushed my leg, but I ignored it, intent on staring at the demon even if he had gone back to disregarding me. For a single moment, I wished… I wished Nym had never come.

If he hadn't come, I wouldn't have found out about… any of this. All these years, I had respected his decision not to tell me what he was. I accepted him and cherished him like he was a friend, a family, a person closer to me than anyone else. It was almost ironic, considering he was basically my child. Humans often called their offspring their ‘heart and soul' and this cat, this demon, he was literally that. A piece of my soul living outside of my body, caring for me and protecting me, even if it was at someone else's behest.

And still, he betrayed me. My own soul… betrayed me.

It was so ridiculous that I chuckled before I stopped myself.

"I know what is going through your mind, Celeste," Nym said in a chilly, dead voice, and I finally looked at him. I hadn't noticed him changing into his infernal form, but now his head skimmed the ceiling while his long legs bent awkwardly beneath him. He curled further so our eyes were at the same level. "But I swear to you… Even if I found you on his orders, I approached you of my own volition. My task was to watch over you and keep you alive, but after looking after you for years, I…" He trailed off, a sliver of desperation slipping into his voice as those large, golden eyes filled with pain. He stared at me pleadingly, but despite all those emotions eating me from the inside out, I felt nothing. "I wanted to be part of your life, not a spectator from the shadows. It was my choice to become your familiar, not his order."

I gave him a blank stare. It was hard to believe that now when I knew he had been lying to me all this time. But the desperation in his eyes and the obvious shivering of his massive body, like he was about to cry, were real. They had to be.

"Please, forgive me," Nym whispered in a shaky voice, bowing his head until the top of it rested on my knees. He was careful not to cut me with his twisted horns—always careful, even now—and the way his form shrunk before me made my eyes sting again. He looked so unbearably crushed. I would have felt bad for him, but I felt nothing anymore. I couldn't even feel my own body.

When he spoke again, his voice was weak, hoarse, and ready to crack like he was fighting with each word. "I wanted to tell you so many times, but Beleth forbade me." His fingers tightened painfully on my thighs, but then he immediately loosened his hold. "Don't throw me away, I beg of you. I do not wish to be parted from you."

I turned away. Even after everything I'd just learned, I couldn't look at Nym's pained face. Beleth was watching us under his brows, his nails mindlessly picking on the scab that had started to form over one of the deeper cuts on his arms.

"Why?" I whispered, and the demon focused his gaze on me, fingers pausing over the wound that was now dripping blood. When he didn't say anything, I pushed. "If you ordered him not to tell me before, why are you telling me now?"

Beleth let out a long, exasperated sigh .

"Because I don't fucking care anymore," he said as he got up. "You're not going anywhere and he is already here, so there is no point in pretending." Turning his back on us, he headed toward the door. I expected he'd storm out, but he stopped with a hand on the handle. "I thought you wanted answers, so that's what I gave you. Now stop being so fucking difficult." He tipped his head, giving me a sidelong look. "This will be a whole lot easier for everyone if you do as you're told. It's not that hard to just sit on your ass."

He yanked the door open, and screams of agony and pleas for mercy flooded the room. I thought I heard my own voice out there, but then Beleth spoke again and I got distracted.

"Don't do anything stupid," he said like every time he left, but the warning in his voice sounded heavier this time. "Demons don't have a lot of benevolence to spare, and you've already pushed me past my limit."

The door slammed and the cries from outside were cut off, leaving me with a shattered heart and a sniveling hellhound lying at my feet.