Bizarre.
Broken.
Perhaps I’m losing my mind?
I frowned and drew an invisible pattern on the floor. It was so cold. Damp. Dark.
How had my life come to this again?
Reduced to weakness at the hands of others.
No, not weak. Just… shattered.
And I hated myself a little in that moment. Hated Grigory, too. Because I never wanted to feel this way again.
“I’m stronger than this,” I told myself, ignoring the raspy quality of my voice. “He’ll come. It’s going to be fine.”
“Oh, I don’t think he’sss coming for you at all.” The triumphant hiss came from the darkness, causing all my hairs to stand on end.
Napia.
I searched for her slithering hair. Had I made up the voice? Was I hearing things now? Was this another nightmare?
Napia stepped out into the dull light flickering beside my cell door, her snakes twirling around her head and snapping their jaws at me through the bars. “Shh. She won’t hurt usss.” She petted the writhing serpents, her lips curling into a sinister grin as she lit a candle of her own, casting her face in eerie shadows. “I’ve come to deliver some newsss to you.”
“News?” I repeated, my voice groggy with disuse. How many days have I been down here? Where’s Grigory?
“Yesss, gloriousss newsss,” she hissed, the creases of her cheeks amplifying her wicked expression. “My union to Grigory hasss been brought forward to two daysss from now. He asked me to let you know. He’sss been very busy with mattersss more important than your trial. But don’t worry. He still intendsss to punish you before the court. You’re a murderer, after all.”
“He asked me to let you know” repeated in my head, my mind not comprehending the statement. Why would he
ask her? Why not Queen Lux? Or a guard? Or even Valora? Why would he send Napia?
Unless she’d somehow won him over.
No. That didn’t feel right.
Or had he lied to me about his feelings for her? He claimed he had no interest in fucking her, but we rarely spoke about his betrothal. Grigory always came across as playful and a flirt. His duty, however, meant a lot to him. And his marriage to her was his primary responsibility at present.
So maybe he had moved up the date.
Maybe he also sent her here to inform me.
Because he thought I killed Yakariah.
Did he hate me?
“Can I see him?” I asked out loud, not thinking through the request.
Napia laughed before I could retract the question, her snakes shifting in the shadows over her head, chilling me to my core.
Being on the ground put me at a distinct disadvantage, but my legs felt too weak for me to stand. Demons could go weeks without food. However, I was a halfling with a human father. That weakened my genetics.
I wouldn’t last as long down here as a normal demon would.
I needed food.
Water.