Chapter Twenty-Eight: Seeking Truth

Holly woke long before Quix did. She ran a hand through his hair and he smiled and leaned into her touch before he snored at her.

True, he needed his rest and a lot of it. She got dressed with a wince. What she wouldn't do for fresh clothes. How could anyone like her when her clothes smelled so?

Quix stayed asleep and she smiled at him once more before she slipped through the door.

As she walked through the frame, her smile faded away. She needed to talk to the others.

Eros was nowhere to be seen, but sitting on a stool beside the door was Dagon. "I want to talk to you," she said in a whisper.

"What's wrong?" Dagon sat forward. "There's something off with you, and it's not just because you've had sex."

Holly's cheeks blazed. "That has nothing to do with it, and that's none of your business in the first place, Dagon."

He shrugged. "I just wanted you to know that it didn't bother me. It hasn't before and it won't in the future. But, tell me what's wrong?"

"Have you heard from Famine and Ruby yet?" she questioned.

He shook his head. "No, but Famine will show up today, I just have a feeling about it." He flashed her a smile. "And my feelings are rarely wrong."

"What I'm going to talk to you about, I don't want anyone else hearing. Not Eros, not Quix, no one, deal?"

"I'd never share anything you say to me with another unless you wished it. Would you like to go elsewhere to speak?"

Holly nodded. "Having the conversation here is risky. I don't want Quix to worry."

Dagon nodded as he looked around. "We'll go to the manager's office then." He led the way with wide efficient strides that Holly had to rush to match.

Quix should be okay until she returned. He was so tired and beat up, she doubted that he'd even be awake until she returned anyway.

And likely Eros was still off somewhere pouting. Her heart hurt for him. She couldn't deny that she felt like a heel about her time with Quix.

And it wasn't as if she didn't have feelings of some sort for her companion. In fact, she did, far too much.

But she couldn't be like those others. Besides, what if these feelings were fake?

What if those with Quix were? What if they all were?

They got to the office before she even realized it. She took a seat behind the desk and Dagon a spot in front.

"You're thinking hard, is something wrong?" Dagon's voice broke into her thoughts.

"You know more about this curse of mine than anyone else, right?" she asked. "Besides that Tydeus guy I mean. Where is he anyway?"

"Dagon frowned. "You don't need to ask about him. You don't even need to be polite to him. The truth of the matter is no matter how much he says he loved you first, he's just a stalker."

"Aren't you?" Holly demanded with a glare.

"I am," Dagon nodded.

"At the start in any case. Now that I've connected with Acacia I really do want to help you. What happens to you and your soul is important to me. It'll be easiest if you just accept my proposal. Then I can be King of Hell."

"You have a father, wouldn't he still be King?" she questioned with a frown.

"Normally that would be the case. But our family is a bit special. When one of us finds a powerful Queen, we'll have enough power to absorb our father's power. He won't' die, but he'll no longer be a ruler. Just an aimless immortal until the time he decides to take his life."

Holly digested this information. "If that's the case, why doesn't he just kill you when you're born? If you're going to be a threat to him, why wouldn't he just get rid of you?"

She shivered at the thought of a parent being so callous but knew it was entirely possible.

"Even rules of Hell have to follow certain rules. Killing your children is one of those. It's ironclad enough that you can't have someone else kill them, or send them in a situation that they'll be likely to die. You can send them on challenging missions, but when Dad did that with us, we just got stronger."

"Why do you want to take over?" Holly didn't know what to think about this guy.

One moment he was soft and the next he was hard. Did he care about his family or didn't he? "Is your father a cruel ruler?"

Dagon shook his head. "I don't even have a problem with how he rules. It's nothing like that. But if I don't do it, one of my brothers will. Who knows how the world would end up if someone like War took over. You think Death is bad, right? War is worse in a way."

Holly shivered. "I'd rather not meet him."

"You probably will regardless. He'll side with Death, they've always been the more chaotic of us. They don't want to run the world, they want to tear it apart. When they're finished playing, there will be nothing left."

"Why can't Famine rule?" Holly demanded. "You said yourself he isn't like the other two."

"He has no interest in ruling as far as I'm aware. That man has no interest in anything but food, usually."

He paused as his frown increased. "I'm not happy about his interest in you."

"Why?" Holly asked.

"Because I want to be with you," Dagon answered simply. "In any case, you pulled me aside because you wanted to talk. Stop putting it off, and tell me what is on your mind."

"It's about your father actually," Holly answered. "I need to ask you some questions about him."

"Why would you need to know about him?" Dagon's frown turned into a scowl. "Tell me what's going on."

"He came to me in my dreams. But, my question is this, does he really have the power to stop me from being resurrected over and over again? Am I really going to get to live my own life?"

"You can't trust him," Dagon interrupted. He's known for lying, he's the Prince of them."

Holly raised a brow. "He's not exactly a prince anymore, so wouldn't that title fall to one of you instead? This whole situation is so frustrating. Everyone blames everyone else as being the one that's lying. How am I supposed to trust any of you?"

"As for power, I think so. If you marry me, I'll have that power. We can make sure that you never have to be resurrected again, and the sins won't be an issue either."

"Why can't you just make them an issue now?" Holly frowned. "Besides Eros."

"I created them, but I do not have full control. I wanted them to make their own decisions, and they do. But taking their powers away is not something I can do so easily. But with the King's power, I can."

"You sound awfully sure," Holly pointed out. "But, there's something he said that I need a real answer to. I don't want to talk to anyone else about it, just you."

Dagon smirked. "Go on."

"Your father said that even after the seven sins are taken care of, I'm just going to repeat the cycle. My soul will go on being reincarnated and used for eternity. Is that really true?"

Dagon's smirk vanished in an instant and his face paled. "Repeat the cycle?" he repeated.

"I can't say that it's impossible. But I'm the one in charge of them, I don't see how that can happen. Who would have the power to revive them like that?"

"You don't know?" Holly scowled at him. "You're supposed to be this big Prince of Hell but no matter what I ask you, never seem to know the answer to anything."

She rubbed her head. "What I wouldn't give to be able to go for a single walk. I need to clear my head."

"I can take you to the roof," Dagon offered. "But it wouldn't be wise for you to leave this place until we find Krim and deal with him."

"And your brothers," Holly pointed out.

Dagon nodded. "So it's the roof and that's it."

Holly shook her head. "Just forget it. Just leave me alone. I don't want anyone around me for a time."

Dagon glanced over his shoulder at the door. "The best I can do is offer to stay outside, I can't chance to leave you out of earshot.

Holly's fingers curled over the desk's corner. "That's fine," she growled out.

He didn't argue with her, but his eyes lingered on her hands. "Very well, if you need me, call."

Holly watched him go and as soon as he was out of the room, she rushed over and locked it. She walked back to her seat and melted into it with a deep sigh. "Now what am I going to do?"

"You could start by answering some questions," mused a voice close to her.

Holly turned and came face to face with a sloth hanging on the file cabinet blinking at her with crimson eyes.