Page 43 of Wings of Darkness (Daughter of the Seven Circles #2)
Chapter
Twenty-Six
LUCILL E
I searched high and low for Oliver. I checked my rooms, his, the arena, the library, random hallways, rooms I didn’t even know existed, the kitchens—then I did it all over again. Hours passed as I combed through the entire castle, and it wasn’t until my second round of searching that I found him.
There he was, sitting on the counter of the pastry kitchen, legs dangling and casually munching on a lemon bar, powdered sugar all over his navy sweater.
No one else stood in the pastry kitchen, but chopping and sizzling echoed from the other side of the wall, the main kitchen preparing whatever dinner we were about to have tonight.
I narrowed my eyes at his knowing grin. He didn’t even look up in surprise, like he’d been expecting me. “You knew I was looking for you. ”
“Yep,” he replied, unbothered.
“You’ve been toying with me.”
His grin widened. “Seems I can shadow against you if I concentrate.”
I grabbed a spatula and chucked it at his head. “I’ve been searching for hours !”
Oliver dodged. The spatula crashed into a line of hanging pans with a loud clatter. He shrugged. “Wanted to see how badly you wanted to find me.”
Dorus, the head cook, whipped her head around the corner of the pastry hall. “You mess up my kitchens, and I’ll make you scrub every dish by hand until your fingers bleed.”
“Sorry, Dorus,” we both chimed in unison, sheepish expressions on our faces.
I shook my head at Oliver once she left. “You’re impossible.”
Oliver took the last bite of his lemon bar, popping his fingers into his mouth to lick off the sugar. “Pot,” he said, gesturing to himself. “Meet kettle.” He waved his hands dramatically toward me.
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. He was right. Lately, I’d been just as impossible to deal with. That was actually what I came here to talk to him about—not just that, but to apologize again.
“I’m truly sorry for what I said about your sister, Oliver.”
His legs stopped swinging, and he gazed down at the stone. “Don’t. You’re right. I have been struggling to find Melanie. You’d think in ninety-five years I’d have more than just a king’s deal to help with that, whenever he can ,” he said, rubbing the rune still inked into his wrist.
How did he admit that so easily? The thought of saying he was right put a bad taste in my mouth.
Oliver dropped off the counter, facing me with a sudden seriousness that made me swallow hard.
The playful, easygoing version of him flipped, catching me off guard.
“But I don’t want your apology for what you said.
I want it for why you said it. You wanted to hurt me because you didn’t like the truth I made you face. ” He raised an eyebrow. “Right?”
I scowled.
“And now,” he continued, “after almost dying from Divine Wasting and getting yelled at by the general, your father, and Sam—yeah, I was there the entire time, yeah, I shadowed and eavesdropped on those conversations,” he said, noticing my confusion but barreling on, “you’re thinking maybe your best friend knew what he was talking about.
And now you’re coming to me with your tail tucked between your legs, fighting the words, ‘ You’re right, Oliver ,’” he finished in an exaggerated, high-pitched voice.
I gritted my teeth. “Okay, fine. But if I say it, I want an apology for leaving me high and dry on the hill.”
Guilt tugged at his lips. “I’m sorry I didn’t help you up the hill or take you to the healers, but I wanted you to see the error of your ways.” Oliver shook his head, walking toward me and pulling me into a tight hug. “I just want the best for you,” he said softly. “As a best friend should.”
I gave a small, relieved laugh, nodding against his sweater.
But the more I thought about that run and my training, the more somber my thoughts became.
“I don’t know how to stop, Oli. It’s like this obsessive need.
Like if I don’t do everything in my power to be stronger than everyone else, Aspen will die.
With Ni, it was more about not knowing how to use my Glory effectively, and my mother draining me.
But the rest… it’s this constant urgency I can’t shake.
I thought it would ease knowing the general would train me, but it hasn’t. ”
He pulled back. “I’ve felt that way before too, Luce. You need to find a way to manage it. I’ll help, and I’m sure the general will too. Just don’t bite our heads off when we do.”
“So you forgive me?”
Oliver snorted. “Yeah, and you didn’t even have to say ‘ I’m right’ . You should feel so special.”
I smacked his arm, rolling my eyes.
He glanced down at my attire, his grin returning. “You do know you’re still wearing pajamas, right?”
“I wanted to find you more than I wanted to change. You should feel so special,” I teased back.
Oliver smirked, throwing his arm around my shoulders as he guided me deeper into the pastry kitchen. “Well, now that we’re best friends again, I think it’s only fair I show you all of Dorus’s chocolate truffles that she makes just for you .”
I gave him a suspicious side-eye. “ Me ?”
“Yep. Dorus can sense a person’s favorite foods, least favorites, and even allergies. As long as you’re within range—meaning anyone in this castle—she’s got you figured out.”
I eyed the remnants of powdered sugar on his sweater. “Lemon bars?”
Oliver’s eyes twinkled. “Now you know my weakness.”
“I’ll make sure to use it for evil. Don’t worry. ”
He gave me a playful hip bump, making me laugh. I popped a truffle into my mouth, feeling the familiar warmth settle in as everything finally felt back to normal between us.
On our way out, we swiped a tray full of chocolates and lemon bars, snickering like master thieves, fully aware they were meant for us—well, at least some of them.
Once back in my rooms, I changed into sweats and curled up with Oliver in my sitting area. We recapped the past few days, catching each other up. It wasn’t until I finished my side of the story of what happened with Ni that I remembered my father’s accusation.
Dread pooled in my gut, and I worried my lip. “Oli,” I said, taking his hand. “I promise I won’t be mad, but… did you let something slip to Ni about who I am?”
Horror swept across his face, draining the color from it. “Not exactly.”
“What did you say?” I exclaimed.
“I hardly told Ni anything! I just mentioned having a friend who’s high up in the world, and I might have glanced your way, but it’s not like I blurted out, ‘Hey, Lucille is Lucifer’s daughter.’”
I heaved a sigh and flopped back. “You might as well have,” I said.
“Think about it. We got into the Tormentors because of the king. They know that. They also know that never happens, and the general sure doesn’t show us any favoritism.
And here we are, living in the castle. It doesn’t take a genius to put your words and the signs together and come to the right conclusion. ”
Versus the wrong one , where they thought I was having sex with my father. I shuddered.
“I’m so sorry, Lucy,” he said, sounding as if I’d gutted him. “I didn’t think—I?—”
“It’s okay. It’s not like she was trying to kill me. She just wanted to send me to the Immolation Circle and have me burned alive for eternity,” I said with a laugh.
“That’s not funny.”
I shrugged. “Maybe not. But she failed. And Lucifer wanted to know if we needed to worry about anyone else.”
“Ni and I weren’t near anyone when we had the conversation, and she can’t exactly talk, so I think it’s safe to say no.”
Relief washed over me as I settled deeper into the cushions, turning my palm this way and that. “It wasn’t a bad guess on her part, though. Honestly, I wished it would’ve worked… well, until I ended up portaling to a circle of Hell.”
Oliver, still looking a little shaken, nodded. “Yeah, that would’ve made things a lot easier.”
We sat in a comfortable silence, the warmth from the fire a soothing presence.
“Why’d you use your Glory on Ni and not your Infernus?”
“Because I woke up to a knife slicing me open. Fear was my first instinct.”
Oliver nodded, his expression softening with understanding. “Michael.”
“Yeah. And I’ve never actually trained with my Glory.”
He patted my leg. “Well, that’s about to change tomorrow. Better get some rest for our long day ahead.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you were invited.”
“You bet your ass I am. The general just doesn’t know it yet.”
I snorted. “I’ll bring the popcorn.”
Oliver scoffed and shoved a pillow in my face before dashing off to our room. I laughed and scrambled after him, hurling decorative pillows in his direction.