Eve walked back to her room with a sad look on her face. It was heartbreaking to watch the trio break up like that—all because they wanted to fit into a place they didn't belong. She closed the door behind her and sat on her bed, lost in deep thought.
It was also something she wanted to be a part of. It was the easiest way for her to see her dear love—the one she had chosen to give all her heart, soul, and body to, leaving nothing for herself to hold on to. That was how crazy and how far she was willing to go for the king she had never met, never seen, and knew so little about.
The medicine lay in her hands as she reached under her sleeve to scratch the slight irritation she felt there.
The silence bored her. Just like it always had during the first twenty-three years of her life, spent in this place—up here in this attic, daydreaming about a lover she knew she would have to be extraordinary to ever deserve. Maybe it was boredom that had made her start romanticizing the thought of falling so helplessly in love with a demon—and not just any demon—one of the seven princes that represented each goddamned sin alongside the devil.
It was his turn to leave the dungeons of Hell—where the devil and other rumored princes ruled alongside the serpent, Leviathan, and the Red Dragon—to oversee Hell and the Underworld as a whole for another thousand years before returning to reclaim his unholy seat with the devil and continue to exist as a hellish deity they could summon through tainted prayers and bloody sacrifices.
He was the Prince of Wrath. His rule began after the Prince of Greed left about one hundred years ago to return to the devil's side. Everyone in Hell feared the day the devil would return to rule again for another thousand years. His last seven terms alone had inspired countless successful horror plays and stories. The Prince of Greed had done his worst, but this new ruler was more introverted and secretive—though that didn't stop the rumors of how merciless he was when it came to beheading angels and tearing them in half.
He was known to wield enough demonic energy to wipe out the whole of Heaven and Hell if the wrong buttons in him were pushed. Rumors even said that the great deity of all Hell—the devil himself, inventor of sin and rebellion—was always envious of this prince's beauty, latent power, and irresistible charm.
The more reason Eve wanted him—more than she could ever describe.
If God were to ask her what she wanted most before she died, it would be the opportunity to see him once. Just once, for the first time ever.
And it was as if God Himself had been reading her thoughts—because that opportunity came, with two hands and two feet, knocking on her door sometime before the sun disappeared completely from the sky, waking her from sleep.
☆
Eve rose from her bed when she heard the knock on her door again and wondered who it could be. None of her siblings ever came knocking at her door this far up in the attic—especially not when it was getting this dark. Most of them were scared of the attic and could never get used to it.
She stood from her bed and went to answer it.
"K–Kira?" Eve's eyes widened slightly when she saw Kira standing there, all dressed and ready to sneak out to attend a party. She had on a mask—likely the ones they had made for themselves before Gwen's surprise expensive dresses arrived from the foreign demonlord.
Eve's eyes drifted down to see Kira also holding a dress and a similar mask, a dark gold invitation card in her other hand. She stood nervously in the doorway, desperation clouding her expression.
"Kira…"
"At least let me in first before you ask your questions. I don't want anyone to see me like this… It was already a hassle finding my way up to you without being seen by anyone."
Eve stepped aside, letting Kira in before shutting the door quickly. When she turned around, Kira was already pacing back and forth in her tiny room, looking tense and anxious. Eve's gaze drifted to the folded dress, mask, and gold card on her bed, then back to the elegant blue gown Kira wore. The gold shoes on her feet… If they sold the entire orphanage, Eve doubted they'd earn enough to buy just one pair.
"Demonlord Raha will be arriving soon to pick me up and take me to the Red Palace himself. Weeks before this day, he gave me a total of five invitations—including one for myself. He said I must not be the only one coming with him tonight. I thought I had good immediate sisters… but they all turned out unfit to come with me. I'll make sure that even if they end up going without me in mind, Demonlord Raha will prevent them from ever stepping foot in the Red Palace."
Eve simply gazed at her sister in stunned silence.
"Oh, don't you dare play dumb with me, Evie. I know you were hiding behind the door and listening to our conversation hours ago."
Eve wondered how she'd been caught without even realizing it. She had been pretty discreet and smart about it.
"You are the eldest daughter of the nuns," Kira broke down after a long and tense silence that followed. "Please… I'm begging you, Evie. Save me from being executed by the ruthless Demonlord Raha if I dare mock him, waste all four of his invitations, and come with him alone to the Red Palace."
Eve was also shocked by the tears that began to stain her trembling, pale cheeks. She wondered how Kira and Demonlord Ra—or Rak, or whatever his name was—had gotten entangled in the first place. How had they met without anyone suspecting? Had Kira done something for him to earn all this—the jewelry and accessories worth more than what could end starvation in this poor orphanage?
"Please, Evie," her voice trembled along with her clasped hands, desperation glowing in her dark brown eyes.
When Eve took too long to speak, Kira suddenly fell to her knees before her and begged—rivers of tears flowing freely down her face.
She looked heartbroken.
Helpless.
Desperate.
Her face was torn in anguish, and it really did look like her life depended on this.
Eve stared at her, then her eyes fell on the dress that lay still on the bed.
"…Is that the dress I would be wearing to the Red Palace?"
Kira's face lit up with gratitude as she rose to her feet and nodded.