They needed me.
They needed me.
Because of who I was.
Because of what they thought I could do.
A task, I imagined, the other Sacrifices before me had failed.
A task that Lycus appeared to think I could accomplish. That was why he'd wanted me to keep my new power to myself. Because maybe I was the one. Who could give them what they wanted.
I had some sort of power and control in this new world I found myself in.
I just needed to understand what that power was, what they wanted from me, how I could give them that, possibly in exchange for my freedom.
I had no idea what freedom would mean, how I could survive in this new world, but that was all something I would have to figure out.
Once I got free from whatever ties were binding me here.
Free, I wouldn't be so dependent upon these demons. I would have my own agency. I could build my own life.
Did a part of me that I didn't fully understand yet want Lycus to be in that new life?
Yes.
But on my own terms.
Without me feeling like he controlled me.
I had no idea if he would still want me then.
But time would tell.
I just had to wait.
And snoop.
Figure out what Ace was researching.
Then bargain for my freedom.
Come what may.
Chapter Fourteen
Lycus
Of all the people who could have found out about me and Lenore, Minos was likely the best person.
He kept to himself.
If he judged, he did it mostly silently, as he did all things.
He had nothing to say as I walked in the kitchen behind him, grabbing a coffee before joining the others in the study.
Ace had mostly pulled himself back together. His eyes still blazed redder than they typically did on the human realm, but he was more man than beast.
He went on for over an hour about Lenore, about her unexpected power, about how she might be the one, how he might be able to push up the timeline, what everyone's thoughts were on that, if the witch was ready, how we could coerce her into being ready.
He was desperate.
More so than he had been when we'd gotten the newest Sacrifice, likely thinking she would be a disappointment like all of the rest.
But believing there was a chance she was different, that she could handle it, that gave him something truly dangerous.
Hope.
After so many generations of the same old shit, hope was something that could destroy a man like Ace if it was ripped away from him.
"Maybe give her some freedom," Red suggested when we all stayed silent, most of all me, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that I knew more about our current Sacrifice than I should have.
"Why?" Ace asked, needing more data, always the type to compile facts, make sure he had the whole picture.
"Look, I know the method has always been to toss them in the basement, give them the bare essentials, and wait until their spirit is broken enough to use them. But maybe we have been misguided in that. Maybe they are more powerful when they have some control over their own lives. Look what she did back at the shifter clubhouse. Wanting to make a decision, wanting to come back to the devils she knows rather than stay with those glorified dogs, her power surged, right? Maybe that is the key. Maybe if we give them the freedom to move around, to make up their own minds about things, their powers are more stable and strong."
"It's worth a shot," Ace decided, shrugging. "If we can be sure she won't run off."
"Even though she left," Aram said, shrugging, "she willingly came back. I don't think she was trying to leave. She was just craving, like Red said, some freedom. She was raised in the woods, so maybe she wanted to be reconnected to it again."
"Maybe the illusion of freedom," Ace compromised. "She can move around, go into the woods, maybe even go into town, see the world, but not alone. I don't want her sneaking off. Or getting snatched up by anyone else who might sense her power. We will have to guard her."
And that was how I became the personal bodyguard to the witch.
The first few days, everyone took turns. I didn't want to seem too eager to be with her as she was given free rein over her own life, choosing a room on the second floor, going into the woods to collect wild mushrooms and the last fruits on the berry bushes, sometimes just sitting around, staring at nature for hours.
But, as I expected, that guard duty grew old fast for the others who wanted to go back to having the freedom with their own days.
Minos, I suspected, stepped back more so because he knew I wanted to step up. Whether he thought it was a good idea or not.