"Azyazel: ready our troops," said Tora, watching the backs of Carlos and Abaddeon disappear into the new portal. Cimerus raised a hand and sealed it neatly with a single finger.

There was a pause. Tora turned, frowning. Azyazel met her blue-eyed gaze for a few more seconds with a stoic expression before inclining his head and disappeared through one of the doorways. The light from the flames on his head disappeared with his footsteps.

Ross emitted a groan and ran a hand through her tangled hair. Giving a small sigh, she still kept her eyes on the small demons standing against the walls holding the flames and on Cimerus.

"Your friend is still wary of us, Lilitha," said Cimerus from the other end of the table. There was a smile on his lipless, black-skinned face. His eyes, golden with slit pupils and no whites, were filled with amusement. Tora shot him a vehement look before turning her back on him.

"Ross?"

Ross put a hand to her forehead and shook her head, as if she were having a massive migraine. One of the small demons pushed a Smallgrill chair behind her and she collapsed onto it.

"I don't understand any of this..." she muttered. "What have I gotten myself into?"

Tora could appreciate the conflict. Ross always saw so clearly in black and white, right or wrong, but the human world was gone and she was caught up in this millennia-long conflict between different worlds where human laws and logic did not have a place – where she did not have a place.

"I'm with the enemy, oh god..."

It seemed like seeing Abaddeon take Carlos's blood pushed her over the edge.

"We're not the enemy, Ross."

"You're the enemy of humans. My god, look at you." Ross gestured up and down at Tora, who was clad in her normal clothes and had her dark hair tied back. "Whose blood did you take to get this? What poor girl lost her life so you could look like her?"

Tora hesitated. Truth be told, she couldn't remember. Shifters seldom preyed on humans, but this appearance wasn't her own.

"It's just the way demons are, Ross. We war. We fight."

"And I want no part in this."

"But it's Markl on the other side."

Ross's jaw tightened and her hands turned to fists at the mention of his name.

"If you know nothing about the history between Shifters and Sentinels, at least you saw Markl kill Damien. If you're not with Shifters, you're with Damien, right?"

"Revenge doesn't make a right, Tora."

She buried her head in her hands and sighed again. The Smallgrill bone chair beneath her glowed, highlighting her sunken cheeks.

"Markl, he..." Ross closed her eyes and lifted her head, rubbing her temples. "He told us back then... he told us the history of the Lyres and what happened. He told us why the Shifters wanted the Artefact so badly."

"Of course he would," Cimerus chimed in, leaning back on his chair, long legs folded in front of him. Tora shot him a glare. "What? Sentinels are renowned for being proficient liars and tale-spinners. No remotely-intelligent demon would ever associate with them."

"He called himself a Lyre."

Cimerus burst out in laughter. "L-I-A-R I would agree with. He is a Sentinel. Lyres are long extinct."

Ross swallowed. "I gathered much of what he said was lies, but there must be an element of truth."

"What did he tell you?" said Tora, her throat dry. Where was she during this? How could Markl spread such lies to manipulate their friends – all for his own self gain?

"He said he was a Lyre... he said the Shifters initiated a coup d'état against the Lyres, who act as peacekeepers of the demon world."

Tora swallowed a snarl. Cimerus, on the other hand, was in hysterics, clutching his sides in laughter.

"He said you slaughtered most of the Lyres to obtain this... Artefact, that allows endless power for the wielder. And during a battle, the Artefact was stolen."

Tora slammed a fist onto the Smallgrill table, making it rattle. The sturdy bones withheld the hit. "The backstabbing lie-spreading no-good son of a b—"

"Not entirely lies, sister," said Cimerus, wiping tears from his eyes with a long-nailed finger. He leaned forward, grinning from ear to ear down the long table at Ross. Ross turned her gaze away, shuddering. "He was correct about the Artefact. It is, indeed, a powerful creation that all realms desire. I wouldn't call it 'endless power', but it allows almost unlimited potential. And it was true: Lyres, those self-righteous arrogant creatures, were the peacekeepers."

"You Shifters killed them?"

Tora shook her head. "Sentinels did. Markl isn't a Lyre. He's a Sentinel. They're amongst the weakest in all the realms, but the one thing they excel at is being conniving weasels. They can lie their pants off."

Cimerus raised an eyebrow at Tora.

"My father, Beiamolt, and other leaders of the realms agreed for the Lyres to safeguard the Artefact." Cimerus still had that infuriating grin on his face, his sharp teeth bared. "The Sentinels didn't want to, but were forced to agree. They were too weak to even protest, but it seemed they had further plans in mind. Six red moons later, we received news that something was killing the Lyres patrolling in all the realms. The Shifter realm was untouched. But the Acciputs, Fae of the Greens, Crows... our sources inform us that although the creatures living there were unharmed, the Lyres stationed there had disappeared."

"Assassinated?"

"Perhaps. We were unsure at first, but another red moon later, there was a full-staged war. We had alerted the Lyres earlier, but by the time our message arrived, our messenger informed us there was a bloodbath there. All the Lyres were dead. The next thing we knew, all the realms were at war – with the Sentinels."

"But I thought you said the Sentinels were the weakest in all the realms?" Ross's face was grave; her hands clasped in front of her and shook.

"They were." Tora scowled, her features turning dark. "They stole the Artefact and sacrificed the Lyres. They gained power where they had none, before. Not only that, they also stole the Lyre weapons and learned to use them."

"Some of them." Cimerus twirled a long finger at her. "Enough to begin to be a threat. Enough to make annihilating them, then and there, difficult. The Sentinels made the first move. So my father started a counterattack."

"How?"

"We took over the realms. The Sentinels need realms to sacrifice to the Artefact to increase their powers. If they had no realms to sacrifice, they had no way to gain powers. We had to intervene before the situation spiralled out of control."

"You took over...?!" Ross looked as if she regretted the question; her face turned green. Tora braced herself for the answer, the distant memories churning her stomach.

"My father sent his generals to the other realms and we killed all the creatures there. If there are no realms to sacrifice, the Artefact couldn't be used."

A look of pure horror replaced the nauseated expression on Ross. She turned huge green eyes on Tora, who averted her gaze, guilt twisting her guts.

"Lilitha is one of the generals, yes," Cimerus said helpfully, resting his head on his hand and watching the situation unfold in front of him.

The silence was so heavy Tora could almost shatter it with a punch. She thought she could feel Ross's scared eyes on her, but when she looked at her again Ross was staring into space, her hands squeezing the front of her dirty coat. It was Lilitha, the bloodthirsty, fearsome demon general who did those dark deeds from a time long gone, but the guilt was as fresh as if the murders had taken place just yesterday. Maraduc's face swam into view again. Her eyes prickled and she pushed away the thought.

Tora looked down at her fingers. It was the very same hands who caused the mass extinction of multiple realms, but if she had to do it now she would rather die. She knew she couldn't erase the past, however.

"And you want me to... help... you?" Ross's voice shook. "You are nothing but murderers."

"Yes, we are," said Cimerus mildly.

"And if I say no?" Ross swallowed. "Will you kill me?"

"No he won't," said Tora through gritted teeth. Cimerus grinned.

"Not unless you get in our way."

Ross pushed back her chair. "Then my answer is no."

Without another word, she took off at a sprint.

"Ross!" Tora stood up so quickly her Smallgrill chair toppled backwards. A small demon darted forward to upright it again.

"Leave her, Lilitha!" barked Cimerus. Tora hesitated. Ross disappeared out of the doorway. Tora whirled on him.

"You don't tell me what to do!"

"There are greater matters of concern than some disagreement with your Traveller friend."

"I don't give a sh—"

"Don't forget what happened the last time your sentimentality got in the way."

Tora stopped. Her blood turned cold. She shifted back to her normal form and snarled, a guttural sound reverberated from her throat. Golden eyes stared daggers at her brother.

"Our whole realm is at risk. Your friend cannot escape from here, despite her... talents. She will come to no harm unless she poses a threat." He gestured for her to sit down. "Come, we await a report from Abaddeon." 

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