Page 66 of All Your Deadly Truths (The Filthy Duet #2)

Xeraphine

I know my shock is justified. There was never a delusional part of me that believed Tyson would ascend to the Vayl—not with his past. But truthfully, I had hoped. I wanted him to be with his family, to have his happiness, because I do believe he deserved it.

Not this. Not the Beyond. Not alone.

“Tyson…” I repeat again, searching his eyes that are staring at me as though he has no care in the world.

We don’t hug, and I can’t even say I want one now, but as he inches to me to put his arms around my head I don’t shrug away. Although I don’t reciprocate it, he lingers, and the smell of his cologne that is familiar swirls into my nose.

He doesn’t hold me for long, which I appreciate—it helps reassure me that it’s really him standing before me. His understanding of my hatred for affection only confirms it. This is Ty. My friend that I got killed.

I allow the sting of that knowledge to hurt my heart—just for a second. Once it reaches me, I take a deep breath, and completely push it away, just as I have with every other piece of my trauma. I move on, and tell myself that I’m okay.

I am… okay .

“Why are you here?” I gesture my head in a circle, indicating this room, not in the Beyond. He has to know I’m aware he’s dead.

The smile on his face widens. “Heard you were coming. Figured I’d come greet you.”

When I look at Alaric, there’s an intensity in his gaze, one directed solely at me. He doesn’t spare Tyson a glance. All of his focus is on me, and that unsettles me.

Shifting uncomfortably, I hum out, “Okay…” I suppose waiting in line wo n’t be so bad.

Maybe Ty can help pass the time for me. I want to know what happened just before his death.

How it happened, and who it was so that I could do one last act of kindness for a man that deserved better in our friendship .

Just as I’m reaching for the ticket to begin our wait, he places a hand on top of mine to stop me. “No need, you are next in line.”

This feeling, it isn’t foreign to me. It’s one I’ve been slapped with on so many occasions, I’ve lost count. Betrayal .

“Come on.”

He doesn’t reach for me, just waits. I hate myself for glancing back at Alaric, seeking confirmation that he’s coming with me. That self-loathing digs deeper when he nods… and I feel a strange sense of relief.

That liberation is cracked quickly, as Tyson raises his hand and presses it against the Fallen’s chest. They are of equal height, nearly, but Ty is far broader. However, even here, he is merely Mundane. I can’t imagine that even between the worlds, our kind would be seen as equals.

“Not you, you’ll wait here for her.” It’s commanding, and I swear my heart skips a beat.

“He will come with me,” I demand.

I need to center myself, think ahead of everything. There is no way that Tyson is Belial—I know that, I’d have sensed it, seen it, felt it. The explanation is beyond that door, the clean one that is completely out of place from the rest of this room.

“When have you ever been the commander between us, Tyson?” My tone isn’t degrading, but it’s not soft and playful.

“Since I died, now come.” He reaches for my elbow and I shrug back. “Xera, it’s alright, really he will be fine out here.”

I don’t give a fuck about the Fallen’s physical, mental, or any other state. There’s a reason I need him in there.

“It’s fine,” Alaric says while nodding, his hand coming to press against the middle of my back. “I’ll be right here.” A warm sensation spills down to the base of my spine, straight to the tip of my tail. It sparks like fireworks, and I’m familiar with the sensation.

It happened the time I came back to him kissing me.

I knew that stupid fuck lied about needing to do that to heal me. But my Amoro doesn’t pull away, which makes me feel secure—whatever he just did, it’s here to help me.

Tyson turns and leads me to the door, the brass handle creaking like the rest of the room does. The creaks and groans of this place feel ancient and rickety. Honestly, it sounds like we are on an aged wooden ship without the swaying .

I steal one last glance behind me, hearing the grumbles of the dead and curses at me all while Alaric crosses his arms and narrows his gaze.

Don’t fucking betray me, you asshole.

Only once I’ve stepped through and the door shuts behind me with no aid from Tyson or myself, I look around the room.

The dark wood, from the large office table to the bookshelves, smell as though they were just cut from the trees they grew from moments before I walked in.

There is a subtle hint of whiskey, and a lingering lemon tang in the air.

The walls are lined with books, none with titles on the spines, and any empty spaces are filled with random trinkets. From a ship with sand below it in an old wine bottle, to a glass fairy that looks out of place.

At the furthest point of the room is a dark wooden table, a few pieces of paper scattered, and a matching leather chair that is turned away from us. It’s tall, which makes it difficult to see if anyone is sitting in it.

I’m prepared to pace to it, fuck the nerves, and spin this bastard around to give me answers, when Tyson says, “You know…” I look up over my shoulder, his arms crossed over his broad chest, staring in the same direction I had been. “I had hoped when I died, we wouldn’t see each other again.”

My heart stutters.

His gaze falls to me as he slightly frowns. “Our friendship was real. Please don’t see what I did as a betrayal.”

Angling my body to him, I take a single step away. As my brows furrow, I can see the hurt in his hazel eyes.

No…

“Even if you were a bitch, Xeraphine, I always considered you a friend.”

I don’t even know why I’m shaking my head. I’m not even sure what his disloyalty to me is yet. It doesn’t subdue the pain that is scratching at my heart. This is why— this is fucking why —I am always so guarded.

Lies.

So many lies.

Now, all the truths that are coming to light, are just as deadly if not even more so. All their deadly truths, ready to silence me for becoming vulnerable.

“He chose family.” The deep voice rolls like a thunderstorm, sending a tremble down my spine, but it doesn’t pull my gaze from Tyson.

His frown deepens. “You knew I’d do everything for them.”

“Tell me.” I hate that my voice betrays my strong facade.

“You always said I shouldn’t have survived that drive-by shooting, the one that took my family from me.

” Heat builds behind my eyes, needles of pain prickling my cheeks as I suck in a sharp breath through my nose.

I never believed in miracles—but his survival made me question if they were real.

“You could say, I made a deal with Belial.”

“Why?” I choke on air. “You could have been with your family!”

He drops his chin, finally looking away from me, and all I see is shame . “My son, he wouldn’t have traversed to the Vayl with the rest of them. He was bound to fall to the Beyond with me…”

I take another step back, my back pressing against the wall of books, rattling the trinkets. Tears blur my vision. I’m not ready to lose the memory of Tyson, not like this.

“I’m set in my fate, but my son deserved better. You knew him. He?—”

“What did you promise in return?” I don’t give a fuck about his sob story.

He sighs, flicking his sights over toward the chair and exactly where the voice had come from only moments ago. “To keep an eye on you, and send updates?—”

“You…” My hands shake. “You… We tried to be together once. Oh my Gods—was that… did he tell you to do that?!”

It’s as if he’s hoping for support in this conversation, his eyes narrowing toward what I’m assuming is Belial.

His pause makes me shout, “Did he order you to get close in that way with me?! To fuck me?”

“Yes.”

My jaw clenches. “What the fuck…”

“That is enough.” The leather squeaks as He speaks again.

“Xeraphine, please, just?—”

“Fuck you, Tyson.” I haven’t blinked, afraid that the tears I’m keeping sheltered will betray my strength. Anger, pain, sorrow—it all feels the same. There is no distinguishing between them. “You knew how hard it was for me to trust, how difficult it was to feel…”

My eyes widen as flashes of our time together play like a movie reel, breaking apart and disintegrating into something that is no longer reality.

“Why do you think I moved with you everywhere you went, including Sidence?” He must see the fracture in my expression, his hands coming up in defense as he takes a single step in my direction. “We were just friends… You didn’t think it was strange I stayed with you after I got my revenge?”

“That I helped you get!”

“And I helped lead you in the right direction for your revenge. I wasn’t told why I had to do what I was doing, but I didn’t care. He said it was to keep you safe, and so I did what was asked for my family .”

“But… you took me to Tali that day. You knew?—”

“No—No, Xeraphine, I didn’t know. If I did, I would have told you.”

A laugh filters around the room; it’s the calling of a storm. A menacing one that would have children running to their parents, and the adults hiding under their beds as if they could escape the likes of Belial himself.

I take in a shaky breath, whispering with a painful edge, “You… told him about Kairhyse… didn’t you?”

“It wasn’t like he wouldn’t have found out.”

My stomach ties into knots.

“This conversation is cute.”

Ignoring the bastard, I shake my head at Tyson. “Did you know I was pregnant? That he was my Mark?”

When he turns his head away from me, the world spins. “Belial knew you were the moment it happened, and notified me once I got back to Sidence that I would need to take care of it.”

A whimper rolls from my throat.

“You could have just told me… the day you took me home from work…”

He shakes his head. “I didn’t know how to.”

“With words!” I bark out, my attitude only worsening as I continue. “It’s a good thing Zade took care of that little problem for you.”

Another wash of shame floods him. “Yes… convenient.”

I hate the way he says that. “What do you mean?”

Sydni said he’d got to her quickly… was there for her when Daigo and Molly came for me…

“Did you have something to do with my scent being on Clay!?”

He turns his head away… in indignity. Oh my Gods— “You coward! You couldn’t do it yourself so you went to the people that buried me—that were?—”

“I didn’t know the Clektic were working for your mother, Xeraphine! I knew you’d survive, and I helped to get you back, didn’t I?”

“You didn't do SHIT but fuck me over!”

“This conversation is done!” It isn’t a request by the forcefulness of his tone. The boom actually rattles the books I’m still pressed against.

“I’m sorry, Xeraphine, but knowing my family is together…” He steps away and takes a deep breath. “Is everything to me. I’d do it all over again to make sure the outcome ended the same.”

Morals… it remains indifferent just like revenge. It couldn’t care less about the people it hurts, just as long as the outcome remains the same.

“Okay…” My lips slowly turn upward into a smile, but nothing about it is friendly. “Enjoy your eternal life here in the Beyond, Ty. If I ever make it down here, you better hope we don’t ever cross paths.”

I jerk my head off toward the leather chair that has yet to move, even an inch. The tears that had blanketed my eyes now sucked right back into my numbed body.

Fuck them . I don’t need him, or anyone. It’s just another reminder why I can only trust myself for eternity. I can’t lie, cheat, steal, or betray me .

“Kairhyse.”

Never him either.

“Sydni.”

Okay, I fucking get it. Now that my Amoro has a godsdamn voice, it wants to remind me of shit I already know!

Stomping toward the leather office chair, I round it, ready to face this bastard finally.

Only to find that it is empty. Gritting my teeth, I lift my leg and slam my foot into the cushion, sending it bouncing against the desk behind it.

“Fucking coward! Get out here and let’s have this bullshit conversation!” There’s nothing behind me but a wall… or at least, that’s what I saw when I approached.

The hot breath that fans against my neck causes my baby hairs to stand on end. “You remind me of Proserpina so much…”

I’m not even sure what possess me. Anger, rage, whatever the catalyst to making me turn and punch solid mass, I need to get it in check. It isn’t that I feared repercussions of possibly punching the ruler of the Beyond, I regret it due to nearly every bone in my hand breaking on impact.

Blinding pain shoots straight through my skeletal system and I nearly crack my teeth at how hard I’m clenching them to keep from screaming. I stumble back, my wrist clutched in my grasp, feeling my shattered bones begin to reconfigure themselves under my skin and muscle.

A rough, scolding hot hand grips around my throat.

“Don’t hurt her, please,” I hear Tyson say behind me.

I move my gaze from my mangled hand, up the arm that has me held tight. His dark red skin strained, veins popping from every which angle.

The hold on my neck gets tighter. With my useful hand I try and slip my fingers between his grip and my throat.

Eyes like an eclipse get closer, a set of sharp horns disappear out of my vision as he invades my breathing space.

I have no doubt this is Belial himself, the smell of ash and firewood permeate my senses.

I can physically taste him, as though I’ve opened my mouth while walking through a burning forest.

“Such a feisty little thing,” he croons, and begins to stand straight, taking me with him. The moment my toes can’t touch the ground, I kick at him. “I’m excited to remind you of your place, Daughter .”