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Chapter Two Hundred and Fourteen
Chapter Two Hundred and Fourteen
ALIYAH’S POV
With each passing day, I began to doubt everything I had once believed. I knew what the Empresses wanted–at least that was clear–but Daemon? I wasn’t sure about anything anymore. Had everything he’d done for me been part of some manipulation scheme? Had he been trying to deceive me all over again?
If he’d really loved me, he should have taken me away from this place by now. But he was nowhere to be found. And as the days dragged on, I felt myself breaking apart–losing faith in him. Had he ever truly loved me?
And then there was the urge. I think about it every second that passes–the feeling of being bitten. I had been warned; I knew the consequences. I’d seen what happened to Tasha, how she’d gone mad, willing to do anything for a single bite. And yet, I let it happen. Now, I might have to face the consequences.
The door to my room creaks open, snapping me out of my thoughts. Julia walks in–and of course, still no food.
“You stink,” she said, nose scrunched up in what I assumed was disgust.
Okay, maybe I’ve missed a few days of bathing.
She walked to me. “That’s it, young girl. You will be taking your bath now.”
She practically dragged me into the washroom, and flashes of how she’d assaulted me in the past flickered through my mind. I remembered how Daemon once said Julia would never lay a hand on me—he’d make sure of that. I guess my mistake was believing the words of the Demon Overlord.
I didn’t want to take off my clothes in front of her, but I knew it was either I do it, or she would do it for me. So, I removed them, and that’s when I remembered something I had forgotten–the bite marks.
I almost heard her hold her breath, then she shook her head and let out a hysterical laugh.
“I must say, I may have underestimated you. It seems no amount of coverage can keep a sinner from sinning.”
I didn’t have a response for that. I simply walked into the bathtub.
“How long?” she asked. “And how many times?”
“I don’t know. I can’t remember.”
“How could you let him do this to you?” she asked.
I thought about what Ash had said about my blood and how it made him stronger. For the first time, I wondered if he’d been partly right. Daemon knew he didn’t need to ask me; he knew I would offer my life if it came to that– and he could have used that against me.
I didn’t think Julia cared about me, but her question had struck a nerve. I didn’t give her an answer, and her lips
curled into a scowl.
“If I were you, I’d be trying to stay on my good side if you don’t plan on starving to death.”
“Except I know you won’t kill me, so I’ll live.”
“Wash up. It’s time to meet the council.” She said before walking away and, thankfully, leaving me alone to my thoughts.
By the ‘council‘, she meant the other empresses and, of course, high regents.
I stepped out of the bathtub, quickly putting on a robe before heading back to my room.
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Chapter Two Hundred and Fourteen.
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A scream escaped my lips when I saw the old woman sitting on my couch. My heart raced, and my mind seemed to be working in slow mode.
“Silence.” she hissed, “No one can know I’m here.”
I pressed my palm over my mouth, trying to suppress the scream. I recognized her. She was the fortune teller Daemon and I had visited to get a reading.
My heart did a flip when I realized why she was here.
“He sent you here, didn’t he?” I asked, a small smile spreading on my lips.
“I was indeed sent here, but I fear it is not by the one you think.”
“Then who sent you?” I pushed.
“First, I need to get you out of here.” She said, walking to me.
“How would you do that?”
“Take my hands.” She instructed, and I hesitated for a few seconds before I placed my hands in hers.
And then she began chanting. Nothing changed–at least that’s what I thought, but when she pulled her hands away, we were back in her hut.
I knew demons could ‘shift,‘ and some of the Empresses could do the same, but fortune tellers shouldn’t have that ability.
I looked up at the old woman. “What are you?”
She smiled, exposing those yellow teeth. “I am more than your average fortune teller.”
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