Lips Red As Blood

45 |

The moment Dalton leaves, Cora is finally able to breathe again. She sits upright, scanning the area with more clarity. 

Bodies fill up the majority of the space in the jail cell. Asher, Harper, Leticia, and... Yuna. 

She shouldn't be surprised. After all, some random devil just announced that he played mind chess for two years, controlling every single person's actions to marry the queen of Hell. 

Asher lets out a noise so suffering, Cora's heart almost cracks. But before she can reach towards him, Leticia stands up. Her white dress is caked with dirt, but she manages to keep a steel composure. 

"I heard what he said," Leticia says. "I'm sorry for thinking you killed my dad." 

Asher snorts. "You're still the same, aren't you? Always worrying about others and not yourself. Shouldn't you be worried about that jerk who's running around with overhyped magic abilities, probably breaking all kinds of rules?" 

"I guess so, but—" She looks down. "I wanted to let you know before I regretted not saying anything." 

"Okay. Apology accepted. It's not your fault, so don't blame yourself. Besides, everyone thought I killed your dad, so it's not a surprise you thought the same." 

"You feel betrayed, don't you?" Leticia asks softly. "You thought I would side with you, but I didn't... so you feel betrayed." 

"Well, I mean, we were best friends and supposed soul mates, and I thought you would understand. So yeah, saying I felt betrayed is an understatement." 

Leticia bites her lip. "I really am sorry, Asher." 

Heavy silence. Then someone sits up, tossing her hair. "Hi, guys," Yuna calls. "Now that we have apologies out of the way, can we get out of this stupid cell and kick some people's asses? I've been waiting forever to escape, but this jail is magic-proof so there goes that plan." 

The queen clears her throat, dabbing at her tear-stained lashes. With a strained smile, Leticia straightens. "You're right. We need another plan. Taking down that servant boy doesn't require lingering on the past." 

The group goes through a circle of a few important things. 

Questions: "So Brielle and William were part of his plans all along?" Leticia asks, and when Yuna gives a confirming nod, Leticia looks down. "Traitors." 

"Also," Yuna says, raising her hand. "Is William still alive? I just wanna confirm, since I was going to the restroom and I saw him accidentally go into the women's restroom — but that shouldn't be true, since I'm ninety-nine percent sure I killed him." 

"No, he's definitely alive," answers Leticia. "He was registered under a knife wound, so he was most likely healed after." 

Ideas of plans: "We throw spears," Yuna says. "We drive our anger and passion into their limp bodies until their blood goes leaking out of their body. Then their dark red blood will fall to the floor, as we avenge those who've been murdered because of—" 

"First of all, that sounds a tad a bit grotesque," Harper interrupts. "I mean, pop off, sis. But, like, is that going to help us escape this tiny jail cell...?" 

Reassure Harper she wasn't going crazy: "Okay, so I thought this was a dream at first but it's not? And you're saying that those people are devils and demons, and I was taken to Hell because some crazy psychopath wanted to make Hell a better place?" Harper says, her voice rising into a  disbelieving squeak. 

Asher gives her a thumbs up. 

And finally... the "pep talk." Pep talk in quotations, since it wasn't even a good one. 

"As a team, we need to figure out the opponent's weaknesses," Leticia says. "We also need to figure out what our limits are. One, we're constricted by this cell, which doesn't allow us to use our magical abilities. That means no explosions or breaking bars with magic. These steel bars are solid, too. Unless someone is physically really strong, we're stuck here." 

Then she notices the fear in everyone's eyes. "But, um, as a team. Yes, as a team, we can work together to overcome the obstacles set in our path." She stumbles over her words. "For sure." 

Harper disguises her laughter in a coughing fit. 

Finally, at the end of it all, the group settles on a somewhat solid plan to escape the tiny jail cell as well as defeat Dalton. By midnight, their plan will go into effect. 

Cora lays on the cold hard floor, watching as a sliver of the moonlight falls into the jail cell. Any minute now, their plan will go into effect. "I hope we get out of here unscathed," Yuna declares, from the corner she's sitting. "I still haven't given my brother the smacking he deserves, for leaving me to worry." 

"Your brother?" Leticia asks distractedly, keeping her focus trained on the silver bars. 

"Yeah. Do you know him? His name is Kai." Yuna laughs softly. "He's such a brat and always picks fights with older devils, but I—" She hastily turns away, but Cora catches how Yuna's gaze goes glassy. "I miss him." 

Cora's insides go cold. The affectionate way Yuna speaks is how someone speaks about the person they truly love. How they speak about someone they can't live without. How they speak when this person is what they live for. 

She doesn't know the truth and she won't know, unless someone tells her first. Or she accidentally discovers it. And if — no, when — Yuna does find out the truth, she'll be devastated. Broken. Wrecked and demolished and shattered because even though she's strong, this news would hurt her in ways that can't be imaginable. 

"Yuna—" Cora's voice catches, her mind toying with a single thought: to tell or to not tell? Do I tell her the truth? She swallows, watching as Yuna's bright gaze fills with curiosity. Fear drowns Cora, as her stomach plunges. She can't do this. But before Cora can think things through, she moves forward. "The thing is, your brother is—" 

Asher retches loudly, falling so fast no one has time to react, his body slamming against the floor with a sickening crack. 

Author Note: 

alkjdlfk so cora's in a dilemma: should she tell yuna the truth about kai?