Ever since Seraphina's soul shackles had been released in my body, I'd felt a distinct feeling of longing, almost as if my body was tugging at the soft winds blowing throughout the lilac and scarlet garden.
My feet felt weightless and harmonic; they were perfectly adapted to this world's environment.
Looking up at Lilia's open window, I slowly pushed up off my feet. My body lifted into the air, floating above the tiled stone. It took me a minute to truly get the hang of this new power.
My body twisted and turned; it only stopped once I focused on the divinity in my blood. Calming its path and spreading it throughout my body, aiding my flight. A shimmering light emanated from my body.
It wasn't easy to control my flight. I now understood why wings were so important to stabilizing flight; it was really quite the bother to keep myself upright, even with the aid of my divinity.
Eventually, I landed softly on Lilia's windowsill. Her emerald eyes immediately snapped to my presence. Judging by her blatant annoyance, I wasn't exactly welcome. She said nothing to me, her ebony hair flowing along the gentle breeze.
I stepped into the room, seating myself in a small armchair, looking directly at Lilia's turned head.
"So it's you. Are you to be my executor?" asked Lilia.
My jaw noticeably stiffened at her words. I wouldn't dream of laying a hand on Lilia. I wouldn't allow myself to be blinded by Seraphina's control if there was one thing I was sure of, then it was that my friends were precious.
Maybe the only precious thing in this life, I couldn't forget that.
Just before I spoke, I extended my light to Lilia's sacred band, covering its surface from Ickni's ears.
"No. I'm not allowed to see you, actually. I'm here to help you, please." I said, my voice sinking into pleas.
"Help me…? I'm already lost, I've committed the unthinkable."
Lilia's face was still turned away from me, although I didn't need to see her expression to see into her heart; her hands were tightly clasped around the bed sheets.
"You don't have to be lost. I can help you. I refuse to believe that you are a traitor."
"What makes you think I'm anything but a traitorous dog?"
"When we first met in that valley of lilac and golden, you wouldn't stop ranting about 'my charming, handsome, and beloved Custodian. I refuse to believe such a devoted follower would turn traitor."
"You really are dense, aren't you?"
"How am I dense for wanting to help you?"
"You know everything about the Custodian and this horrid system. Once I was promoted, I got to gaze upon 'my beloved.'"
Lilia's voice was hollow; there was none of her previous admiration and love. She gathered her breath and continued speaking.
"Ickni, the terror is the name that all the servants and first and second strings use. I had once rejected that name, blaming it on a misunderstanding. I ranted about love and the Custodian's true heart. But I was wrong, there is no room for any love in Ickni's heart. Only a cold feeling of amusement for inflicting pain."
"My first meeting with the Custodian wasn't what I had dreamed of. Five of us went in, and I was the only one eager to please; the others' faces were stricken with fear. The Custodian called my attitude an interesting source of entertainment."
"One of the others committed an unthinkable sin in the Custodian's eyes, speaking out of her turn by briefly clearing his throat. In penance for his actions, she spoke four strings of numbers, extinguishing their lives in a moment.
"I was the only one to walk out," said Lilia.
In the face of Lilia's story, I didn't speak, merely averting my eyes to the floor. I knew everything that she said was true; I couldn't reject that. Ickni had destroyed an innocent servant for doing his job when I first arrived.
"So, Evernight, do you see why I contacted a devil?"
"Even though your image on Ickni was shattered, I still don't believe you'd willingly take such a risk while wearing a sacred band. No one in this Dominion is that brave to incur Ickni's wrath."
"You question my bravery?"
"I do. I don't believe someone who has been under the thumb of Ickni for centuries, following a blind image of love, would still have the will to rebel after that image was shattered. It's just not possible if Artoria or Julius don't have the heart to try and rebel. Then I refuse to believe a shattered woman would pull together more courage than those two."
"Harsh words, you'll never find a girlfriend with a mouth like that."
Lilia's face turned towards me, her eyes red and dry. A remnant of a tear dripped from her chin. We sat staring at each other in silence for a couple of minutes.
The air wasn't awkward, oddly comforting.
"No matter how much it pains me, I'll admit you are right. I'm nothing but a sacred little girl following others' orders. I couldn't rebel even if I wanted to. Ever since my meeting with Ickni, my mind has been somewhere else in a realm of oblivion, detached from my putrid existence."
"So how did you come to bear the scent of a devil?"
"Oh, Evernight. Looking into your eyes, I tell you don't know the first thing about devils. How can you be so obvious to the ways of this world, how you haven't died is a miracle in itself."
"I'm not that oblivious." I retorted.
Unfortunately, she was correct. Liliana wouldn't tell me anything about devils; she always walked away when I asked, as if I'd never asked in the first place.
"Only Heralds and Horsemen leave a scent on an angel because their power is so potent. Devils are fewer in number but more powerful than angels. Once you are in contact with a higher devil, you'll always be able to smell their scent."
"So it was a Horseman or Herald, you met with?"
"It was a devil around that level of strength."
"You don't know?"
"Not exactly. I was alone walking along the city streets, absent-minded, when a shadowy figure appeared from the darkness. Their bodies were enveloped in mist, and they wore black and white masks. I couldn't tell, nor do I have many memories of the meeting. But they were most definitely quite short, that is the only thing I can remember thinking."
"You don't remember anything about what they said?"
"I do remember a small thing, the most horrifying thing about the encounter. 'If you don't follow my will, little lamb, then your family will be plunged into darkness. Never to awake again.'"
A noticeable shiver ran throughout Lilia's body, uncontrollably breaking out into a sweat just by hearing the words again.
"I'm sorry, Lilia. But are you sure that the devil wasn't just bluffing?"
"No… It led me to the outskirts of Grandheart and down a small basement, they…"
"It's okay, you don't have to."
"No, I need to get this out. They were in a state worse than death… The curse of war, I didn't think such a putrid force was real. It was just a story to scare children into being good, well, that's what I once thought. Impaled by a flurry of blades but still breathing, still conscious…"
"The devil is a war devil, then? Do you remember anything else about it, a name?"
"It called itself the Horsemen of Mysteries."
"Does such a thing exist?"
"Not that I know of. If another devil race had been born, there would have been a public announcement for more warriors on the front lines."
"I want you to say it, you didn't actively make contact with this Horseman, right?"
"No, I did not."
"Then perhaps Ickni will free you."
"I severely doubt it. All I wish for now is for my family's safety. Please, Evernight, if you can, please find a way to cure them from the curse of war. I beg you!"
Lilia's face was flooding with tears. She reached out and grabbed my hands. My sleeves slipping down, Lilia's eyes immediately darted to the fresh bite wound on my wrist. Her tears stopped, her fingers poking and prodding at the wound.
"Evernight…? What have you done? Only a devil's fangs can inflict such a wound, don't tell me— what have you done…"
"It's nothing."
I pulled back my arm from Lilia's grasp, stepping back and averting my gaze away from her harsh glare.
"No, it's nothing. Have you been feeding a devil? Even the Primordial String would be executed for committing such a sin. Who is it? Does it show its face?! Tell me!"
Lilia's voice got more desperate; she wouldn't let me go, no matter what excuse I would string together. Lying was hopeless, but I still couldn't tell Lilia about Liliana.
"I can't tell you if I did that, then I'd risk everything."
"Why would you save a devil in the first place?"
"Evernight. You need to stop this, or else you'll be killed. Kill the devil and bring its head to Ickni."
"No! I won't kill her, I won't!"
"Her?"
Lilia stepped back, falling onto the bed, her face sinking into horrid recognition. She sat there for a couple of seconds that felt like an eternity.
"Don't tell me, Evernight. The girl you found in the Broken Lance, she's not an angel, is she?"
I didn't answer Lilia's question, stepping up on the windowsill, my body tilting towards the ground below.
"Tell me, Evernight! Is Liliana a devil?!" shouted Lilia.
"You already know the answer… I'll find a way to save your family, I promise."
I couldn't withstand the way this conversation was turning; I had to leave, or else I'd slip up, risking my plans in Grandheart. Without saying another word, I dropped from the windowsill, landing gracefully against the grass.
I didn't withdraw my light around Lilia's sacred band. If the light was truly effective, then I couldn't risk Lilia's mouth slipping and Liliana's devil nature being exposed.
Stepping into the darkness, my next meeting would be with the moon.