I wandered up the palace steps, after parting with Tobias at the front gate. My talk with the devil hadn't completely cleared my mind, but I did feel better. Going back to the pets' quarters, I opened the door to find Lord Eadwyn standing on the other side. His eyes landed on me, and I bowed my head.
"Where were you, Raja?"
I chewed on my lip.
He stood in front of me. "Raja, answer me now."
"With him," I said softly.
The overlord snatched my neck and yanked me forward. "Be more precise."
"Tobias." I cringed, prying at his fingers.
Eadwyn tossed me to the side. I staggered back, until my foot caught on a chair, and I toppled into a pile of pillows.
"Lock him up." He swung his coat around behind him and went into the hallway.
A guard lifted me to my feet and led me to my bedroom. I went inside without much prompting and listened to the door lock flipping into place. With a sigh, I went over to the bed and fell down on top of it.
Helix didn't sound very different from this world. Tobias talked about it in such detail, and it had none of the qualities that I would associate with hell. I chewed on my fingernails. I was starting to think maybe Tobias wasn't lying. Sitting up, I glanced at the door. If he was the devil pulling off a trick like this wouldn't be hard. I needed to stop thinking about this. It was making my head hurt.
Going to the bathroom, I opened up my jewelry cabinet. I took out a few different necklaces and tried them on. I fastened one with strings of diamonds and sat down in front of the mirror. Flattening a portion of hair on the side of my head, I examined it from different angles. The shaved section had taken forever to grow out. I doubt I'd ever do it again.
Letting my hair fall about my shoulders, I went to get another necklace. I picked up another with a thick band. Diamonds were embedded in the gold. Turning to the mirror, I stretched out my neck and slipped it on.
"Tobias Franklin Hollins," I whispered. "What a strange name for a dem-"
The necklace fell from my hand, and I dropped to my knees. A pain erupted in my forehead. I leaned against the cabinets, waiting for it to pass.
"Raja?" called Nyko.
I snatched the necklace and climbed to my feet.
Nyko appeared in the doorway. "Are you okay? I heard a bang just now."
"I just dropped it." I went to put the necklace away. "I'm fine. How'd you get in?"
"The guard didn't stick around long." He sat down on the counter. "Where'd you go?"
I shrugged, climbing into my chair in front of the vanity. "I wanted to talk to Tobias."
"Oh." He gave me a smirk. "Any particular reason why?"
With a shrug, I grabbed a brush. "I just wanted to talk to him."
With a groan, Nyko slid off the counter and walked over. "You went from calling him the devil to sneaking out of the palace to simply talk to him?"
I nodded. "Basically."
He took the brush from me. "I don't have a problem with Tobias like you. If it were me, I would've left with him by now."
"Hmmm...." I took a deep breath, peering down at the floor. "He said there's a block in my head, and that's why I don't remember him."
Nyko was quiet.
"Is he telling the truth?"
He didn't respond.
"Nyko?" I turned to him.
"I need to go." Handing the brush back to me, he hurried out the door.
"Nyko!"
The handle clicked into place and his footsteps faded away. I knew he hid things from me throughout the years, but I was starting to think there was more to it.
***
I sat in the middle of the bed and watched the door. Tapping the key against my leg, I wondered how long Tobias was going to stay out drinking. The next fight was coming up, and Nyko was avoiding me. I really just wanted to talk to Tobias and figure out what was true and what was not.
The door opened, and the devil stumbled in.
"Hi."
He jumped and spun around with a gun in his hand. Shocked by see a barrel being pointed at my head, I toppled to the side and crawled to the headboard.
"Raja?"
"What are you doing? Put it away."
He chuckled and tossed the gun onto the couch in the corner. "I nearly shot you."
"Hmmm..." I folded my arms.
The devil sat by my feet. "How'd you get in here?"
I flashed him the key. "You had a spare in the drawer, so I stole it from you the last time I was here. I didn't want to have to risk trying to find you in another one of your drinking parties."
Flopping back on the bed, he let out a groan. "You should have. Tonight wasn't even very good. The guy sucked at holding his liquor."
"You drink too much."
Rolling over, he climbed on top of me. "Just admit you love me already, so we can go home, and I'll become a respectable man." He kissed my neck.
"From the few memories I have, I doubt you could ever be a respectable man."
He smiled before giving me a proper kiss. "You were always a clever one. From the moment I spotted you in the surplus warehouse, I knew you were too smart for me. Made me want you even more."
I sunk down into the pillows as Tobias undid my coat. His hand ran down my chest.
"I remember that place."
"Yet you still think I'm from hell." He reached the waistband of my skirt.
"I don't know what to think anymore." I lifted my hip, so he could slide it off.
"Tell me what you remember, and I'll try to fill in the blanks." He pulled his shirt overhead.
"You attacking me." I peered up at him. "Tarnishing my honor, and making me unworthy of Zev."
Rubbing his face, he sat back on his heels. "Not him again. Even after all these years, I still hate hearing that name. First off," he unbuckled his belt, "you threw a fit, worse than any child I've ever seen, in front of the emperor and the leaders of the armed forces. You earned that punishment. When I took your ass," he slapped my thigh.
"Don't." I moved them away from him.
"It's because you lost a bet on an obstacle course."
I frowned. "I fell."
Tobias nodded.
"They laughed at me, and then, you did that."
He grabbed my chin and made me look at him. "You did fall, but you got back up and finished it. I also gave you the option of not having sex, and you gave me a long speech about honor bullshit in return. You were all mopey the next day, but you were very willing."
I swallowed hard. "I don't remember finishing."
Tobias patted my cheek. "Well, you did. You've always been a very determined young man. You still are, or I doubt you'd keep showing up in my room." He fell to the side and played with my hair. "I'm surprised Eadwyn hadn't locked you up."
"He's trying to." I shrugged. "His men don't care, though. They watched the door or guard the balcony for a couple hours, get bored, and go drinking. They all know, even if I get out, someone will return me the next day at the time."
The devil pulled me to him and rest his chin on my shoulder. "But I'm the one bring you back, and he's very determined to make sure you keep hating me."
"Hmmm... I guess."
"What else do you remember?"
"Explosions. I remember people dying, and things blowing up. You had a gun in a room of dead bodies. You've killed a lot of people." I glanced over at him.
"I'm a general, Raja. My country was at war, and traitors were in our ranks. Most of which were persuaded by Eadwyn's father to betray their own people. I don't have any tolerance toward men like them."
"You cut off their heads," I whispered.
"Once." He moved my hair out of eyes. "But if you saw all those people die, then how could that world have been hell? You can't die twice."
I shook my head. "No, you can't, so I guess, it won't be hell."
He kissed my cheek. "That's how you figured it out the first time. I took you to an execution. You were so scared you couldn't even watch." He started to laugh. "You got me out of having to go to a banquet afterwards."
Sucking in my lips, I thought back. I know I had been there, but there weren't any memories to go with it. Just black, and a comforting presence. I sat up and grabbed Tobias hand. He looked at me strangely as I put his arms around me. Closing my eyes, I felt his warm embrace. There was strength in these arms. I had seen what they could do many times, but I didn't fear the power. There was a comfort about them. One my body remembered, but my mind did not.
Tilted my head toward him, he kissed me. "What do you want me to do, Raja?"
With a sigh, I curled in against his chest. "Make me feel good, and help me remember why."
***
My head was killing me. The light and any noise were adding to the pounding in my skull. This block Tobias spoke of was starting to make sense.
"Raja?" Tobias whispered.
I rolled away and put a pillow over my head.
"Do you hips hurt?"
I shook my head. "I have a headache," I muttered.
"Hmmm... well, let me find you something." He crawled out of bed.
I heard him stumble around the room before appearing at my side.
"These are for you." He handed me the container. "Only take two a day max. That should be enough to take care of the headaches. Once we get back to Helix, I'll take you to a doctor, and we'll go from there." He pressed the back of his hand against my forehead. "Hopefully, we can simply remove the block."
Nodding, I carefully sat up and twisted off the lid. I took out one and washed it down with some water that Tobias also brought me. In a matter of minutes, the pain was gone.
"Thank you."
He kissed my cheek. "Not a problem. We better get you back." Rising to his feet, he went to locate his clothes. I slid out from under the covers and gathered my own. I went into the bathroom and wetted my hair to get it to lie down. It wasn't really working. I'd have to take a bath when I got back to the palace. Spotting a comb with blond hairs in it, I picked them out before running it through my own. I braided it tightly and wetted the end to help it stay together until I got home.
Tobias was standing in the doorway with a grin on his face. "I'm starting to like this new hairstyle. I don't think I want you to shaved it again."
My brows pinched together. "I'm not shaving my head even if I do agree to return with you. It took too long to grow out."
Laughing, he walked up behind me and kissed the side of my head. "You're very beautiful."
I bit my lip and stared at my feet.
"I bought you something. I was going to give it to you after the next fight." He went into the bedroom.
I followed after him.
Tobias took out a necklace from a draw. The band was thick and covered with jewels. Strings of diamonds looped down around it. It was very stunning.
"How did you get enough money for that?"
He flashed me a smile. "As the devil, people tend to give you things for free. Can I put it on?"
Nodding, I turned around and moved my hair out of the way.
Tobias placed it around my neck and fastened it. I let my braid drop and pressed my hand to the main blue gem.
"Do you like it?"
I nodded. "It's very nice." I looked over my shoulder at him. "Thank you." I thought came to me. "Tobias Franklin Hollins," I whispered.
The devil folded his arms. "Yes?"
Laughing hesitantly, I shrugged. "Sorry, I just..." I reached around and touched the clasp that held the necklace in place. "This isn't the first one you bought for me, right?"
He shook his head. "You have many. A small fortune is sitting in a vault waiting for you to come back and wear them."
Sucking in my lips to keep from smiling, I bowed my head. "Thank you for the gift." I stood up on my toes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, before quickly heading for the door. I didn't need him to see the embarrassment glowing on my face.
With his hands in his pockets, Tobias simply followed with a content expression and whistling a cheerful tune.