Chapter Twenty-Five

Everyone had piled into the planning room at once.

The room, thankfully, was just barely big enough to fit everyone inside around a large round table that was occupied by maps and logs and laptops. A long table was set up nearby with refreshments and snacks, not that anyone was really bothering with it considering the situation. A large project screen was set up across the room currently showing footage of the mountain pass between Helheim and Hell.

Just looking at it made my stomach churn. I'd gotten an incredibly bad feeling the moment I'd come into the room. It was like a strange premonition. Part of me wondered if it had anything to do with my angelic abilities trying to surface, but I passed it off as paranoia. I'd felt edgy ever since Julius had called.

It didn't help that the room was so full of people. All of my siblings were present. Bali and Wednesday were crowding around the refreshment table, whispering nervously amongst themselves while Jaques was milling around near Thorn and my father, who stood near the projection screen. Dania was with Alexis and Alaric, who'd left me in a huff after going off on a tirade about how he couldn't get a hold of me.

The Sins were also now present after Jaques had managed to contact Anza and bring her in, who'd apparently dropped Maggie off at home seeing as she wasn't present. Not that she would be. This was a war meeting and no place for a civilian.

Marshall was here as well as Coyotl, Alex, and a couple other members of the office wing of the palace, who were setting up a small table nearby with computer monitors and laser pointers to indicate the projection screen.

Even worse, Dev was here and he was clear on the opposite side of the room from me, brooding in a corner as he sipped bitterly from a wine glass. I tried to make eye contact with him, but he obviously knew that because he was purposely looking directly at the screen to avoid me. My heart sank and I felt a bitter wave of disappointment wash over me. I had an urge to go over and speak to him, but Alaric had put me in charge of the doors to make sure no one entered this meeting.

So I stood by the doors, hoping Dev would come over to talk to me, so we could at least discuss our issues before breaking it off so abruptly and coldly. But it didn't look like that was going to happen.

"Excuse me, can I have everyone's attention?" Jaques called over the hushed chatter. Instantly the room fell silent and turned to face Jaques, who stood at the head of the room before the projection screen on a small platform.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming. This is an emergency meeting," Jaques informed with a calm that no one else seemed to feel, "As you may know by now, about two hours ago, Hades's troops launched an attack on the mountain pass between Helheim and Portius, Hell. Fifteen of the thirty men that were on post in the area were killed. The remaining managed to fight the forces back into retreat to the small Helheim village of Malamut. We have reason to believe that these forces launched the attack by command of former General Julius Alexandrite, and not Hades himself."

"Who says?" Alaric demanded, bewildered. Murmurs of agreement rose up. Lucifer held up his hand for everyone to go silent, and they obeyed as he cleared his throat and spoke now.

"Hades," He stated, making everyone mutter in confusion, "I contacted Hades on the matter the moment it occured and he said he never authorized an attack on the Helheim border. He claims it's his former General Julius Alexandrite and he has given us permission to use any force necessary to apprehend him, but he'd appreciate it if we could capture Julius alive and send him over for Hades to dispose of properly."

"That's stupid," Dev protested angrily, pushing off the wall he'd been lounging against, "That bastard's caused us far too much grief for us to just let him off the hook! Besides, how do we know Hades isn't just using this as a trap to lure us in?" Lucifer shook his head.

"Hades is more focused on Julius. He's the type that, if offended, will put all his strength into gunning for that person. Julius is Hades's prime target. If we can hand Julius over and gain a bit of Hades's favor, we can put a stop to this fruitless war. I'm tired of waking up in the morning to find that more of my people have died. Civilians whisper amongst themselves in fear that Hades could turn us into what Helheim has become." He explained sternly. Dev gritted his teeth, but said nothing as he sank back against the wall. People shared concerned stares, and I could feel a bit of my anger mounting.

I didn't want them to hand Julius over to Hades. Granted, Hades could probably come up with even more sick torture plans for Julius than I could, but I wanted to be the one to kill Julius for what he did. I wasn't going to let anyone get in my way of it.

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, goosebumps prickling my skin. It was the kind of feeling I got whenever I felt someone watching me. I turned to see Dev quickly look away from me, glaring straight ahead. I frowned, trying to ignore the pang of pain in my heart at what was obviously a dirty look. I looked away, feeling my heart sink even deeper into despair as Jaques waved his hand to get our attention again.

"We'll be sending troops in to block the mountain pass between Helheim and Portius, Hell. We should be able to fight the troops back and capture Julius in the fray before we take him to Hades's men, who will be waiting in Malamut to take Julius into custody. But we can't go past the border. It's best not to get involved with the current legal affairs in Helheim by trespassing on their territory without their permission. Let's do this from our land, by our rules." He announced. Coyotl and Marshall didn't look too pleased by that. Neither did the Sins, especially Dev.

"Now," Jaques continued and turned to the projection screen with a laser pointer aimed at the view from the camera, "We have cameras set up around right now to show the damage of what was done during the attack just a few hours ago. Right now, we plan to set up snipers here and here." I frowned at the placements when I felt Dev's eyes on me again. I turned my head and he turned away. Frustration welled up inside me, but I managed to resist saying anything when my cell phone suddenly buzzed in my ear. I scowled, reaching up and tapping it on.

"Enjoying my work, little prince?" I froze, every muscle in my body locking stiffly as I stared straight ahead at the camera. My blood flowed like ice water in my veins, and my heart rate slammed violently to a halt for a split second before picking up rapidly. I couldn't find my voice to respond to Julius as I stood in a room full of people, who were conversing casually about the coming battle. Julius seemed to be patiently waiting for me to respond. I swallowed the lump in my throat and finally spoke very quietly, keeping my hand cupped over the cell in my ear in hopes that no one else would try and eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Why are you calling me?" I whispered, eyeing Jaques, who was too engrossed in explaining our attack moves. Dev was now busy whispering angrily to Anza, who looked pretty pissed herself. No one else seemed to be looking in my direction as I pressed my back to the locked doors, struggling not to go into panic mode again. I just squeezed my eyes shut and focused on all the horrid things Julius had done to me up until this point, trying to summon up the rage from before.

"Why wouldn't I be calling," Julius crooned, making my stomach churn, "I just wanted to make sure you were ready to go. I've already launched my first attack."

"We're retaliating." I warned, still at a whisper. Julius laughed in my ear, sending countless chills through me as I cringed.

"Go ahead... But would they really fight for you?"

"What're you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Julius purred. I clenched my teeth, locking my jaw as I tried to summon the anger back, but it was getting harder and harder with Julius hissing in my ear. Pain assailed me so fiercely, I swore I'd drop to my knees. A second later, the lights in the room went out and everyone shouted. I jerked my head up, looking around frantically.

"Calm down," Julius told me in my ear, making me step back against the doors again, "That was me. And so is this." A moment later, the projection screen flickered to life and glowed. At first, it was an oddly distorted image of a tent. To anyone else, it appeared confusing and useless, an average camera malfunction, but after the camera panned to the right, I felt the blood draining from my face.

"No." I managed.

"If I can't come to you," Julius's voice echoed through the phone and from the speakers mounted on the wall on either side of the screen, "Then you'll come to me." The image on the screen revealed the bookshelves from Julius's tent. Slowly it moved to the left, revealing his large mahogany desk scattered with files and papers, past the cold Chinese designed wooden box, to the old rickey nightstand that seemed to always be just inches from my grasp, to the iron bed that sat in the corner. But the camera only revealed a blurry picture of everything before clearing up slowly, and Julius's voice faded from the speakers as a loud ear-splitting scream tore through the air and almost drove me to my knees, if I wasn't so frozen in absolute horror.

The scream was mine, but it didn't come from my lips. At least, not now.

They did once.

And suddenly, I remembered that first night Julius had sold me to men I didn't even know. I remembered fighting until I was breathless, until my lungs ached and my fingernails bled. I remembered rough hands jerking and pulling at my hair, bending my head back and forcing me to look up into the perverted faces of monstrosity. I still didn't know the name of the men that drove their cocks into me so hard that I bled, or the name of the men who'd rubbed themselves against my face. The men who spat and cooed at me like I was some kind of dog that needed coaxing.

The reeking stench of blood, urine, feces, and body odor. The soil that bit into my face after they slammed me into the ground. The feel of fingernails tearing into my skin, claws being exposed as they sank into the marred dirty skin of my thighs. Teeth grazing my throat, a throat that was raw from screaming and sobbing helpelessly.

It'd only taken them a couple of hours to finally drain the fight of me. It was as if no matter how much I fought, no matter how much I told them to stop, they didn't. All those years I'd spent training and fighting and working my ass off... All of it had been for nothing. I couldn't even protect my own fucking ass from these putrid beasts.

In the end, I was reduced to a whimpering sobbing mess on the tent floor, unable to move any part of my body without crying out in agony. It was well after two in the morning when the men had finally departed and Julius came up to me, grabbing me by a handful of hair and wrenching my head back so he could capture my mouth in a bruising kiss. He pulled back and looked down at me, a sadistic smirk curling those thin cruel lips, a glint of triumph glowing in those cold eyes.

"Gods, I love you. I could just fuck you. In fact, I think I will."

And I found myself face down on the tent floor again.

Each time I'd tried to escape it all by passing out, they'd dump ice cold water on my head or beat me until I woke up again. By morning, I couldn't move, could barely breath.

And all of that came rushing back as I stared at the camera as it focused in on everything I had just remembered. I couldn't even find it in me to choke or scream or move. All I could do was stare at the screen as it played scene for scene, sound for sound, moment for moment, of that first time Julius had had me attacked.

"See you shortly, little prince." Julius whispered in my ear, and the line went dead.

The only sounds in the room now came from the speakers that were set to full blast. Pathetic squeals, wails of agony, and choking sobs. And it took me a moment to realize that I was crying. The tears burned my eyes, blurred my vision. I heard someone shout to turn the camera off, but I was done.

So, so done.

I whirled around and blasted the locks off the door, threw them open and took off running down the hallway, breathing hard.

I couldn't stay here.

I couldn't be here.

I couldn't be around them.

My entire family had been in that room. My brothers, my sisters. All of the Sins had been forced to witness the pathetic state of their commander. And my collegues, Coyotl and Marshall. And several people from the palace office, like Alex. My father had been there. Dev was in there.

They'd all seen it. Despite all my attempts to hide everything from them, now they knew. Now they knew everything. The Prince they knew who could fight and protect anything he wanted was gone, destroyed, ruined. In his place was an empty shell of a whore.

Julius had done it on purpose. He wanted me to run to him to escape my family. Because what better place to hide than the very man they would never suspect? Who else would open their arms to me after seeing that kind of horrendous display? Who in their right mind would even want to touch me after seeing that mere glimpse of an entire year of that?

No one.

No one would want to get their hands dirty touching the biggest whore on the planet.

No one would want to get involved with the pathetic whimpering mess of a slut.

Not my siblings, not my father, not the Sins, not Dev, not anyone.

I didn't even want to be me anymore.

And Julius was expecting me to come running to him, because he was the only one who would open his arms and take me back. Only Julius would give me a purpose, a reason to live a miserable life. He would be the only one I could wake up to, the only person who would see use in me. Proper use.

But I couldn't bring myself to go back.

No matter how much Julius had ruined me and beat me down, I couldn't bring myself to be desperate enough to go back to the very monster who'd destroyed me. I wasn't pitiful enough to go crawling back to him on my belly.

But I wasn't stupid enough to run into the arms of those who'd push me away in disgust either.

So where could I go?

What should I do?

It didn't matter. My legs seemed to know where to carry me as I sprinted down the hallway as fast as I could, chest tight and painful, eyes blinking rapidly at the tears that swelled. I threw open the palace doors and ran down the stairs so fast, I'm surprised I didn't trip and fall head first. Because that's just what I would need, to fall flat on my face at the foot of the palace I didn't even deserve to live in anymore.

The guards at the front gate were startled by my abrupt leave and called out to me, but I ran right past them and down the street. My legs throbbed and my muscles ached, lungs pleading for me to stop and just rest, but I didn't dare stop. I don't know why, but I had to keep running.

Run! Just run!

I found myself running down the street and straight for the mountains that ran along side the Black Sea. Most of them were sharp and jagged, a rocky cliff side that climbed the side of the mountains. Save for a small narrow path that ran to a chunk of cliff that jutted out over the sea. My breath leaving me in clouds, I stopped only for a moment to make sure the cliff was vacant before I ran straight for it.

And for a second, I swore I heard someone shout my name, but I didn't stop, even if I wasn't crazy and someone was trying to stop me. I didn't dare stop. I didn't want to look anyone in the face ever again.

I didn't want to see disgust, or worse, their pity.

Poor pathetic Prince Raven plunged headfirst into a stupid battle he should've never been fighting in, and ended up taking more cock than the average backstreet prostitute. Poor Raven was a victim.

I wasn't supposed to be a victim. I wasn't supposed to be weak, or pathetic, or a whore.

I was supposed to be Prince Raven. I was supposed to be the pure angel that fought in wars before, faced the archangel Michael himself and nearly won. The Prince that trained the untameable Seven Deadly Sins. A son of Lucifer, and apparently the son of the archangel Bethany. I was supposed to be... well, maybe not invincible, but at least strong enough to hold back a bunch of pathetic alley beasts.

Instead, I'd fallen to my knees and sobbed and begged and screamed. I'd remembered the countless dreams and fantasizes I made up in the beginning where someone would come and save me from it all, because I was too pathetic to save myself. And worse still was the fact that I eventually gave up on it all. I'd begun to accept the fact that my fate was to be Julius's whore for the rest of eternity.

I didn't want to hear Poor Raven. I didn't want to hear you'll get over it. Or you'll be okay. Or you're the same as you've always been. I'll protect you.

No. I didn't want to hear it! I didn't want pity and I didn't want disgust!

I just wanted to be left alone!

"Raven, stop!" I almost stumbled when I heard Dev's voice behind me and pain shot through me so hard that I actually did trip and almost fell as I neared the cliff side, overly tempted to just plunge in head first whether it killed me or not, but Dev's heavy body slammed into mine and we hit the dead grass that layered the cliff. I cursed and kicked at him, but he shoved me onto my back and panic rammed into my chest as a scream tore free from my throat and I tried to punch him, but he caught my wrist and pinned it down.

"Get off me! Don't touch me! Get your hands off me!" I shouted, writhing and squirming to get out from beneath him.

"Raven, stop!" Dev cried. I hesitated at the tone of raw agony in his voice, but I couldn't bring myself to look up into his eyes. I just squeezed my eyes shut, my breathing ragged as I laid back against the grass, my head turned so I could feel the dead blades prickling my cheek. I could feel Dev's breath on my face and it made my skin crawl, my stomach twisting into a thousand different knots. Shame cloaked me to the core of my soul, heating my skin.

No one said anything, and I wasn't sure if that made things worse or not. What could be worse than not saying anything? Was he angry?

Of course, he'd be angry. I lied to him. I let him touch me, and kiss me, after all those hundreds upon hundreds of men did. I was used more than the whores he loathed. He was probably disgusted too, or he probably pitied me.

But one thing I knew for sure was that if he didn't get the fuck off me, I'd kill him.

"Get. Off. Me." I enuciated each word with venom that tasted bitter on my tongue. Dev slowly released my wrist and sat back on his knees. I scrambled away from him, drawing my wrist to my chest to massage it, then froze when I realized he'd taken my glove off in the process of moving away from me. I cringed, looking down at my deformed fingers before I tucked it into my jacket and held my other hand out towards him, keeping my eyes on the grass between us.

"Give me the glove back, Dev." I ordered. He hesitated, then slowly held the glove out to me. I snatched it back quickly so he didn't get any ideas about taking the other one off. I quickly slipped the glove back on tightly.

"That's why you wanted to kill Julius." Dev managed at last. His voice cracked when he spoke. I still didn't meet his eyes, though, just stared at the grass between us in silence. He didn't say anything more. I waited for him to just get up and leave, but he didn't. I swallowed hard, shutting my eyes tightly and looking down.

"Please, just go away." I breathed.

"No," Dev replied at last, making me grimace, "Raven... I don't... Raven, I'm so sorry--"

"Don't," I interrupted, looking away, "Just don't. Don't give me that I'm sorry stuff. You didn't do anything."

"Didn't do anything," Dev stammered, making me frown in confusion, "Didn't do anything? Raven, that's the point! Oh my god, this entire time I thought you just stayed in Hades because you were working, because you cared more about working than coming back, than to even bother checking in to tell me you were all right. I was angry at you. But to think that this entire time you were... you were just..."

"Whored." I filled in.

"No!" Dev barked. I flinched at his anger and finally risked looking at his face to see the stricken expression there, his eyes glistening like he was seconds away from crying, the way he clenched his teeth and hissed past them like he couldn't handle what was happening.

"God, Raven. Oh my god." He seethed at last. I struggled to keep my composure now as I stared at hm, confused by his reaction.

"Well, instead of screaming obscenities, I guess we can finally talk now." I muttered bitterly, looking down at my hand. Although, Dev didn't respond. He looked like he was still trying to cope with what happened, with what he'd seen, what Julius had showed them. My stomach clenched with obscene guilt, shame, misery, and pan. I stroked my fingers through the gloves for a while, then finally took the tip of the fingers and pulled the glove off my hand, laying it down on the grass, so I could stare at the seared flesh where my fingernails had once been, at the scars criss-crossing my knuckles and one in particular starring across the top. Turning it over was the puckered burn mark from when I'd grabbed that damned heater.

To this day, I still wasn't sure why I'd grabbed it. Maybe it was the desperation to feel something. To feel something other than the pain that Julius had given me. The ability to be able to do something on my own for once.

"They removed my fingernails," I said after a moment, making Dev look at me in horror as I ran my thumb across the space where my index fingernail would have been, "Well, Julius did... He took a pair of pliers and just... ripped them out."

"Raven..."

"They used a hot spoon from the fire to cauterize it. So the nails couldn't grow back. And even now, they still won't grow back." I held my hand out for Dev to see. Dev winced, and I withdrew my hand back, studying the knuckles, then turned it over to stare at the burn wound there.

"I'm still not sure why I grabbed his heater. It just looked really inviting, I guess. It feels... kind of gross, actually," I admitted, frowning slowly as I picked up my glove and replaced it, "That's why I never showed it to you. Or anyone else." Dev swallowed, and I could hear it from here. He wet his lips, bit the bottom lip, then shut his eyes tightly before looking down at the grass.

There it was.

That was what I had been waiting for. First, he'd cringed in disgust at my hand, then he turned around and had to get that pitiful look on his face. Like he just felt so sorry for me.

"Hey," I said after a moment, making him look at me, "At least now you know why we couldn't sleep together." Dev appeared a little confused, a little hurt, and honestly just a befuddled mixture of emotions crossed his incredibly handsome face. A face that I would have liked to touch at one time. I wondered what his skin would feel like beneath mine. Would it be soft and warm? Or because of the chilly air, maybe cold and smooth?

"Raven, I would never hurt you like that." Dev managed at last. I stared at him blankly.

"No, you'll just hurt me other ways," I heard myself say, my heart pounding hard in my chest as I watched confusion twist his features, "Like flirting with Alex." Dev paled.

"Raven, I didn't do it because I was interested in him. I did it because--"

"You can't help it," I said, my voice eerily calm, "I know. It's fine. I should've expected it. I figured you'd get bored trying to chase me around."

"No, Raven, I--"

"I really don't want to hear it, because no matter what you tell me, Devereaux, I'm not going to sleep with you. I've slept with close to a thousand men in the course of a year. I'm tired of getting fucked, then waking up in the morning to nothing, but a cold empty bed and the pain in my ass. I'm just... I'm just really tired of it." I assured him. Dev looked like I'd struck him.

"Raven, I would never leave you. I would never hurt you. I only wanted to find out why you were so intent on trying to go after Julius, even if it meant getting kidnapped again. Alex wasn't letting me anywhere near the files and I was desperate to know why you didn't trust me enough to tell me anything anymore." He said, his voice unsteady. I bit my lip in pain at hearing him sound so vulnerable. He always seemed so sure of himself.

"I think you're missing the part where I'm a whore," I said after a moment, watching Dev's eyes widen in disbelief, "And you don't sleep with whores." Dev shook his head quickly and scooted closer, making me scoot back a bit, eyeing him warily, and with pain twinging his features, he stopped moving closer.

"Raven, you are not--"

"I don't need you to tell me that, Dev. I just... I need me to believe it." I murmured. Dev appeared confused and I let out a long sigh, reaching up to rake a hand through my hair before dropping into my lap in defeat.

Averting my eyes, I told Dev everything. I didn't want to. I didn't want to talk about it with anyone. I didn't want to reveal that depth of vulnerability, that intense state of weakness, and the agonizing recovery that was still in process today. But I suddenly felt like it didn't matter anymore. So what if Dev knew? He could do nothing. He couldn't go back in time and change things from happening. That kind of power was far out of our reach. He couldn't just kiss me and make it all better. And even if he learned to become repulsed and impatient with me, it would make no difference.

I told Dev about my time with Julius. I told him about Gloria. I told him about the time I'd gotten ill with the flu. The reason for my retainer, the reason my eyes were so sensitive to light, why bread crusts were repungent to me, why I preferred to sleep in the closet over the bed. I told him about Alexion, about being able to finally go outside. I told him about Hannibal and Akin, Cain and Abel. I told him about the mansion in Inferi, how beautiful and open it was. I told him about our visit into the plaza, but I left out Hannibal's past so as not to alarm him and to respect Hannibal's privacy. I told him about how I finally gave back, and while it was a great relief to have all of that weight lifted off my shoulders, I felt even more foul and sullied than before.

Because now Dev knew everything. He knew that I'd slept with so many men that their faces were beyond me now. He knew that I'd even had the horrible consideration of running back to Julius in fear. He knew that I could probably use the skills Julius had forced upon me to make him go wild, but he knew that I'd sooner drown myself in acid than let him touch me beneath my clothing.

And then we sat in silence. I let Dev soak everything in. He just sat there, staring at the grass. I watched him quietly until my cell phone rang, making us both jump. I straightened and touched it to open the channel, ignoring Dev as he scooted over quickly to my side so he could eavesdrop.

"Well, that was extremely disappointing, little prince." Julius's voice sneered. Ice stole up my spine as I swallowed at the hard lump forming in my throat. Dev's eyes widened and he went to snatch my cell from my ear, but I caught his wrist and glared at him when Julius chuckled, making us both freeze.

"Aren't you and your Sin just adorable?" He crooned. I froze, quickly looking around in alarm. Dev did the same thing, scooting closer to me and I stiffened when he put his arm around me to pull me closer to him.

"Where are you?" I demanded, gesturing for Dev to get to his feet. He nodded and pulled me up with him, much to my irritation, but I didn't stop him as I listened to Julius breathing on the receiver.

"Don't take the tone with me," Julius scolded, "You know better than to talk to me like that. You made a very bad decision by not coming to me like you were supposed to, little prince."

"Julius--"

"A very bad decision indeed. Our reunion may be put off now, but I will get you back, and I will have you by my side, even if I have to fight the entire Hellion army, and Hades."

"Why are you doing this?"

"You asked me that just before I fucked you the first time. Do you remember what I said?"

"You didn't answer me."

"Exactly." Click. I barked a curse, and in anger, threw my cell phone over the cliff for the black waves to swallow and suck into oblivion. I cursed again, raking a hand through my hair as I paced the cliff, once again feeling like a caged beast. My muscles were pulled so taut, so knotted, that I was positive no amount of spa treatment could fix them. My nerves were shot and I was seconds away from having another one of those damned mental breakdowns. I could feel it mounting along with my fear.

Julius wasn't giving up. He'd already ruined my life and he knew I wasn't going to come back to him. What was he going to do? Why was he doing this? No, more importantly was how I was going to keep him from grabbing me and taking me away again, how I was going to keep him from tormenting me like this.

He was going to keep gunning for me until either one of us was dead, or I surrendered, and I was not going to surrender to him. Not again.

"He's going to launch an attack again," Dev said suddenly, making me turn to see him staring at me intensely, "He'll launch another attack and use it as a diversion to get past the border undetected. He's going to head straight for you."

"But that would be stupid," I scowled, "He'd land himself in enemy territory and be surrounded. He'd never get anywhere."

"No," Dev agreed slowly, frowning as he put a hand on his hip and rubbed at his stubbled jaw thoughtfully before he snapped his fingers and pointed at me, "Not unless he has an escape route. He knows where you are. He'll come straight for you if you stay here. He has to have some way out, and I'm willing to bet it's a spy."

"A spy?" I asked, bewildered. Dev nodded.

"No one outside this realm can hack into our system. The magic blocks it. Someone from the inside must have hacked it and showed the video by order of Julius. And someone tipped Julius off that you were digging into his current route. Someone we know is working for Julius. And I have no doubt that he'll have a way to get in and out of Hell." He explained quickly. I hadn't considered that before. It made sense, but there were so many people the spy could be.

"It had to have been someone in the room," Dev offered at my confused scowl, "Someone who could get near the computer."

"There were over twenty people in that room."

"Well, obviously it wasn't your siblings or myself, or the other Sins. It couldn't have been. Our obsession with you is borderline psychotic."

"Gee, that doesn't creep me out at all."

"Good, it shouldn't, because it'll save your life," Dev pointed out, making me roll my eyes before he frowned thoughtfully, thumping the heel of his palm against the side of his head, "Who, who who."

"It had to be someone who knew I was digging into Julius's business," I said at last, making Dev look at me, "Someone I told about Julius before."

"Who did you tell?"

"Alex and Coyotl." I informed. Dev nodded slowly, scowling as he brushed past me to pace the cliff. I watched him for a moment, frowning as I tried to guess which of the two it could possibly be.

I'd known Alex for the longest time. Since he was a kid. He was a typical eccentric weirdo that wasn't sure what he wanted out of life, so he was always jumping from one thing to the next. He was technically an albino fire demon. He'd moved to the palace when he was about eight with his barely sane father after his mother had been killed in the Salem witch trials. He had a horrible obsession with video games and played under the username SatanzHenchman96. He was, oddly enough, lactose intolerant and had horrible luck. He was clumsy and tended to be a little on the ditzy side, which is why he probably slipped up and spilled the beans to Dev, and then told me about Dev flirting with him.

He seemed harmless enough.

Coyotl was one of Mictlan's most trusted generals. He was powerful and scary, overly proper and polite. From what I remember him telling me, his brother had been beheaded by Greek troops and he wanted vengence on them for it. He was unmarried, no children, but he slept with whores. Honestly, it was very little to go on.

"It could be either one of them," I admitted in confusion, "I mean, Alex seems a little more harmless than Coyotl, but I can't be certain." Dev nodded grimly, rubbing at the back of his head.

"Exactly. We need to get them both in a room and figure it out fast before Julius shows up."

"No," I said quickly, making him frown at me, "Let Julius come."

"Raven, I know things are hard, but--"

"No, you ass," I snapped impatiently, "Let Julius show up. We'll pin down both Coyotl and Alex so neither of them can run and help Julius. In the mean time, I'll take care of Julius." Dev didn't seem to like that at all.

"No way, Raven. No. Julius--"

"Isn't taking me anywhere," I told him sternly, "I just told you everything that son of a bitch has done to me. No one is taking Julius down, but me. No one is going to kill him, but me."

"I don't know about this, Raven..."

"Trust me. I can do this," I said, then took a deep breath, "I'm going to rip Julius's throat open with my bare hands." I made my way toward the palace with Dev right on my heels.

You're not a whore. You're a soldier.

And when you can say that without wanting to weep, then you'll be ready to kill Julius.

"Because I'm not a whore anymore. I'm a soldier. And I'm pissed the fuck off."