Page 29 of Bellamy

“That’s why he didn’t kill you in the Caribbean,” Castor said, as if the pieces of a grand puzzle were finally sliding into place. “That’s when he realized you were his mate. Fuck! He’s kept it from us all this time.”

“How could he tell you?” I asked, voice taut. “I’m your enemy. I’mhisenemy. In what world would this be okay for anyone?”

“He didn’t even tell me.” Daman’s green eyes flashed to Alastair. “Butyouknew. How?”

“Before the battle in the celestial realm, he healed Phoenix after Mason shot him,” Alastair answered. “Bellamy and I spoke in my study afterward, and I demanded to know why. He couldn’t tell me, but it was written all over his face. I put two and two together.”

“Well, aren’t you smart?” Castor scoffed. “Would’ve been nice if you’d shared that with the rest of the class.”

“I’m telling you now.” Alastair’s stern expression matched his hard tone. “I wished to respect Bellamy’s privacy until it was absolutely necessary. Phoenix is the key to getting our brother back safely.”

“What?” I crossed my arms. It kept my hands from shaking.

“You can teleport,” Alastair calmly said. “You’ll free him and bring him home.”

“Have you lost your goddamn mind? You expect me to betray my king and release his most valuable prisoner? I’d be signing my death warrant.”

“And by not doing so, you’ll be signing Bellamy’s.”

More silence.

My entire life, I’d looked after myself because it wasn’t like anyone else gave a damn about me. I had no siblings. I never knew my mother, and my father had died before I’d reached adulthood. The world was unforgiving and cruel. Hard lessons were learned before I realized the only person I could rely on was myself.

Why would I sacrifice everything?

“No,” I finally said. Then, I said it again because I felt it warranted repeating, “No. Definitely not. You want your brother? Give me Light Bringer, and you can have him.”

“If that’s how you feel, why did you risk your life to speak with us tonight?” Alastair asked, though judging by his expression, he clearly already knew why. Damn him. “You could’ve stayed in the underworld and let things unfold on their own. Instead, you sought us out. Because you don’t want Bellamy to die.”

“I don’t want to die either.”

“Coward,” Castor said.

“I came here to negotiate,” I said, straightening my spine. I hated being called a coward. Mainly because deep down, that’s exactly how I felt. Self-preservation was all that mattered to me, and I didn’t care who I needed to fuck or betray to ensure my survival. “King Asa is losing patience. If Belphegor doesn’t break Lust soon and get the answers he wants, you’ll start receiving pieces of your brother to help motivate you to do the right thing.”

Referring to Bellamy by his sin made it easier to disassociate myself from him.

“The right thing,” Alastair said, his cool demeanor slipping. “And what might that be? We can’t sacrifice the fate of the world for one person, no matter how deeply we feel for him. If Asa wields Light Bringer, our chances of defeating him are slim to none.”

“Perfect. You losing this war sounds preferable to me.”

The air shifted in the room, became heavier. Every pair of eyes burned into me.

“Lie to yourself all you want, demon. Lie to me and to my brothers.” Alastair’s expression hardened. “But you can’t lie to fate. You can’t run from it either. It’s why I’ve ordered my brothers not to risk their lives on a rescue mission. It’s also why I have no intention of giving you Lucifer’s sword.” He came closer, his pale blue eyes like ice. “Whether you want to accept it or not, Bellamy is your mate. And that kind of connection? It overpowers everything. I know you’ll make the right choice in the end.”

“And if I don’t?” I met his cold gaze head-on. “If I let him die down there?”

“If he dies, pray you never meet me again, for I will crush you like the spineless creature you are.” When Alastair voiced threats, he didn’t need to raise his tone or resort to physical violence. It was more unsettling that way.

“Then I’ll consider this a final farewell.”

I tipped my nonexistent hat to him and disappeared.

***

Bellamy’s screams filled the corridor, bouncing off the stone walls of the dungeon. Each scream felt like a searing hot iron was wedged between my rib cage. My chin quivered as I forced myself to stay in place.

One day had passed since my visit to Krave. His brothers really weren’t coming for him. They wouldn’t surrender Light Bringer, even if it meant he would die. Because they were banking on me to save the day.