Bound to the Demon Lord ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Four

Phoebe wondered if it would have been better to just hole up in a room somewhere. Vesper never said she had to leave their private apartment, but she wanted to spend as little time in their space as possible. She ended up storming out of that place before making her way back into the main Temple area.

It had been fine at first. No one was around since everyone was doing their morning prayers. But with it now late morning, more priests and paladins roamed the grounds. There were quite a few civilians as well, mainly nobles speaking with the clergy. And, no matter where she walked, all eyes seemed to be on her.

It was uncomfortable, to say the least. While she couldn't hear all of their conversations, she could hear snippets. Word had certainly spread fast about Vesper's "new prophecy" from the Goddess. And gossip about her followed not too far behind. Some called her the Demon Lord's servant. His pet. Others thought that she might have been possessed or had her mind manipulated.

She wished she could just scream the truth at them. The one they should have been afraid of was Vesper. They were liar, and always had been. They were responsible for the growth of the Seekers in the first place. Everything was because of them, and if everyone just opened their eyes, then they would realize Vesper was the true menace here!

Of course, if she said any of that out loud, they would just accuse her of being a heretic. Nobles would no doubt call for her to be locked up. Even her own friends would probably turn their backs on her. If only she had hard evidence that she was telling the truth. But as it stood, she only had her word, and that meant nothing compared to Vesper's.

With a heavy huff, she sat down in front of the pond near the garden's edge. She had managed to get away from all the stares. With nowhere else to go, she figured she could gather her thoughts here. Or curse out Vesper's name in peace.

She had thought to try and sneak down to Krios. Vesper had said she was free to do as she pleased. But even if she went to see Krios, she couldn't free him. While she didn't mind the thought of Vesper being ripped apart, Krios wouldn't stop with just them. As a devil, he would slaughter everyone and everything in his path. The empire would fall to ruin long before they managed to subdue Krios.

She hated to admit it, but it was safer for everyone that he remained imprisoned. At least she knew where he was and that he was still safe. For now anyways.

Vesper may have said that there was a way to save Krios, but Phoebe wondered if that was actually true. To redirect all that holy power from the Veil to Krios – was she even capable? That much divine magic would overwhelm anyone. Even if she was Seraphine's reincarnation, she didn't have her powers. If she wasn't careful, that amount of power could kill her.

Of course, Vesper assured her that they wouldn't let her die. But that also meant that Krios would die if she couldn't do this. She only had one chance to do it right. And if she failed, if she couldn't do it, Krios would probably die. His death would mean so much more than her own pain. He was the Demon Lord, ruler of the Underworld. And she doubted his people would accept his death so easily.

Phoebe ran her fingers through her hair to calm herself down. She had to keep herself collected. Panicking now wouldn't help her or Krios. All she could do was attempt some meditation and prayers to the Creator to give her the strength to help Krios. Though she wondered if the Creator would lend any support to her if she desired to help Krios.

"Sister Phoebe?"

The new voice startled her. Whipping her head back, she was surprised to find Vivienne standing a few feet from her. The younger woman looked nervous, swaying on her feet. Whether she was nervous to be seen with her or was just uncertain of how to approach her, Phoebe couldn't be sure. Still, she gave a small smile and tried to appear as friendly as possible.