Hasi—
Melissande stared at me, her face a picture of denial.
"No. I do not believe—it cannot be—he made the choice—"
"He was two years old! Tell me how he had a choice! Because of his father's betrayal, he has been made an outcast," I yelled, swiping at the tears that suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere. The mummies, evidently sensing my upset, started wailing in eerie, high-pitched voices. "He has been hated and scorned and hunted because of acts he was forced to commit, acts he regretted with every beat of his heart, but did any of you take the time to ask why he did what he did? No, you just condemned and vilified and denounced him without ever bothering to find out why he was cursed. Your self-righteous purity makes me sick! Adrian has been alone for five centuries, tormented and tortured, without even one hand extended to him in friendship!"
The mummies, still obeying my command to sit, pawed at my legs in distress. I gently pushed them away sniffing back my tears, unashamed of my outburst but wishing I had conducted it with better control over myself.
Adrian pressed a warm kiss to the back of my neck.
Thank you, Hasi. No one has ever stood up for me before, especially not with such an eloquent tongue.
I accepted the handkerchief he held in front of me and angrily wiped my eyes, absently patting the mummies' heads to calm them down. They deserve it, I thought about the objects of my diatribe. They all deserve it.
Melissande had sunk into a chair by the time my tirade was finished, her hand held to her mouth as if to contain a scream.
Christian stood, looking awkward for a moment before he offered his hand to Adrian. "I am ashamed that I did not question the origins of your role as Betrayer. It is a small payment, but I offer you my help now."
A few more tears snaked down my face as Adrian gravely shook Christians hand, allowing himself to be pulled into a brief hug. Allie sniffled and reached for a napkin. Belinda smiled, saying nothing, but her eyes were filled with sadness. I realized then what my outburst had cost her. I had been so focused on making Melissande understand how evil Saer was, I'd given no mind to the pain the truth would cause Belinda. Whether or not she knew the depths he would go to, she was his Beloved. They had a bond which I knew went far beyond mere emotions.
"I'm so sorry, Belinda, I spoke without thinking." I disengaged the mummies from my legs and leaned down to give her a penitent hug. "That was cruel of me to speak about Saer in front of you, but you have to understand that part of Adrian's and my concern has been for you."
She shook her head, giving us all a sad smile. "You don't have to sugar-coat the truth for me. I knew when Saer returned a few days ago desperate to Join after years of refusing to do so that something was up. I'm not blind to his faults, you know. I've always known he was the ambitious sort, and knew that someday he would resort to using me to get what he wanted."
"We'll protect you from him," I said firmly, reaching for Adrian. His fingers were warm and solid as they held mine. "We won't let him use you again."
She nodded, her eyes full of tears. I turned away to give her a little privacy, returning to the love seat next to the mummies. They cooed with happiness, stroking my leg as they raised their eyeless faces in adoration.
"You really have to return them to their inanimate state," Adrian said, his voice dry. "In the very immediate future."
I twirled the ring I still wore on my thumb. "You're just jealous because they don't fawn all over you."
"It is the power of the ring, Hasi, not your personal magnetism."
I pinched his wrist in retribution. "That's as good an opening as any, so I'll take it. With all due apologies to Belinda and Melissande, let's talk about what we're going to do with Saer. I assume that the ring wields enough power to do a number on him? Do we want to just hobble him, or… uh… fix him permanently?"
Christian, who had reseated himself, rubbed his chin as he glanced toward Melissande. She had remained in her chair, her face an expressionless mask, her gaze lowered to her hands. "I suspect that any action less than a full defeat would only delay the inevitable." He looked a question at Adrian.
To everyone's surprise (but mine), Adrian didn't jump in with an agreement. Instead he sat with his arm around me, his hand stroking my hair as he worked out what he wanted to say. I knew how loath he was to destroy his brother. Even though Saer and Melissande clearly felt no bonds of loyalty to him, he regarded his familial ties in a different light. "Saer will use his army to destroy me. He cannot defeat Asmodeus with the ring in my possession, or that of my Beloved. Thus he will strike at me first. If we can weaken him sufficiently, he will be effectively destroyed without it being necessary to take his life and put Belinda at risk."
Could she survive Saer's death? I asked. I know you claim you can't live without me, but is the same true for Beloveds? Will she go mad or fade away if he was to die?
An echo of sadness brushed my mind. A Dark One cannot survive the loss of his Beloved, but she can survive his.
I don't care what you say about other women, but I know for a fact that this Beloved couldn't.
He didn't answer that, although I knew he wanted to deny it.
"I have always felt it necessary to remain separated from Saer because of Damian," Belinda said quietly, her voice clogged with unshed tears. Her eyes met mine, and an unspoken promise was asked and granted. "But now Damian has another mother, so perhaps it would be best—"
"Right," I interrupted rudely, holding up my hand to stop her from finishing her sentence. "New house rule. No one gets to sacrifice themselves, OK? Not Adrian, not Belinda, no one. We can do this without anyone having to become a martyr."
Allie smiled at me. "At last, someone with common sense. I forgive you for trying to burn Christian in the sunlight."
"Thank you," I said. "I nominate myself as leader of this shindig. Any objections?"
"Yes!" Adrian and Christian yelled together.
"No!" Allie and Belinda answered.
Melissande remained mute. She was apparently finally coming to grips with the idea that the brother she had long believed to be a traitor wasn't, while the one she loved was. She deserved some time to get it all straight in her head. I looked at the mummies. "What do you guys say?"
"Aeeeeiiiii," they crooned in unison.
"That's five for me and two against. I win. So, let's talk about the power of this ring." I stared for a few seconds at the band of gold and horn on my thumb before turning to Adrian. "Why is it the ring doesn't feel cold to me? Everything else to do with Asmodeus feels cold, frigid really, but this ring is warm. And the sensation of joy when I charmed the curse on Damian—surely a demon lord's ring shouldn't bring people happiness?"
"The ring was stolen by Asmodeus many centuries ago," Adrian answered, his thumb stroking gently over a pulse point behind my jaw. "It was not fashioned for him, but was created by a powerful mage. The ring is made from a unicorn's horn, chased in gold transmuted by one of the greatest alchemists in history."
"Oh, that's right, it's a unicorn's horn," I said, giving him a look that let him know I didn't appreciate having my leg pulled.
He nodded, his face serious. I glanced over to Christian. He nodded as well. "Allegra herself removed the ring from Asmodeus's hand. She would not have been able to do that if the ring had originated with the demon lord. We lost the ring temporarily, but it was found and returned to us by Sebastian. Naturally, he recognized the ring for what it was. We decided that Allegra and I would keep it safe until such time as it could be wielded. When we found out about Melissande's quest to save Damian, I recommended the ring be used. That is what we were doing in Cologne—returning home to collect the ring."