Hand of the Goddess ✔️

Chapter 25: A Tale of Two Possible Murder Victims

"What are you still doing here?"

Those were the first words the butler greeted her with when she entered the carriage with the Lord.

"The Queen told me to help Cedric," she said. "We're going to have to delay my return home."

"The Queen won't protect you from the Family," Aaron sneered. "Besides, it's not your choice. You put the lives of everyone at the manor at risk by staying."

She hesitates. The demon butler had a point. She was selfish for choosing to stay here. So what if she owed the Lord a debt? He didn't think so. But she couldn't escape the feeling that she wasn't meant to leave. Something tethered her to the realm.

"One more day won't harm anyone," Cedric said. "Besides, if she can help, it will put me in the Queen's good graces."

"I already gave you one more day with her," the butler said. "You shouldn't risk the wrath of the Family."

The Lord takes her hand. "She's worth the risk."

The butler rolls his eyes. "Your affections for her are clouding your judgment. She and everyone you know will die, my Lord. The Family could easily slaughter the Queen as well."

"Is that so? Because if that's the case, I should be dead already," she said, interrupting him. "The Family was at the ball today. I fought them and won. That means I can keep everyone at the manor safe."

Aaron's face twists into an expression that is equal parts anger and confusion. "The Family was at the palace today? This is worse than I feared."

The Lord quickly recounts the fight at the palace, describing the walking dead and the Nefastus. He makes sure to include in great detail the ways she vanquished the Family's forces, describing the butterflies that came out of her body and her heroic efforts to defend the partygoers.

The butler listens carefully, the confusion fading from his face. Still, the story didn't cool his anger. He still believed the young couple was making a foolish choice.

"My lady," he said. "Do you have control over your abilities?"

She glances down at her hands. "Kind of. I can turn this bracelet that Lillian gave me into any object."

"What about the butterflies?"

She wasn't sure how to answer. "They just come and go whenever I need them."

His brows furrow, showing his dissatisfaction with her answer. "That doesn't mean we can rely on them."

"We don't need to," she shot back. "You're basically a one-man army. You can summon fire and spit out bullets. You even kicked a goddess out of my body."

"There are limits to my powers," he protests.

"Such as?"

"It wouldn't do me any good to tell you. You should know that I'm not invincible," he said. "It also doesn't make the decision of you staying here any wiser."

She scoffs. "You just don't like me, do you? You'll do anything for me to leave."

"You imagine things. Besides, the Lord has been working on this case for a while now. It's not the sort of thing that can be solved in a day."

"Maybe it just needs a fresh pair of eyes," she said, ignoring the butler's insinuation of her stupidity.

"Considering the messiness of your needlework, I'm not sure your eyes will be necessary."

She gasps, fully offended by Aaron's remark. Before she could respond with an equally cutting insult, Cedric speaks.

"I see no harm in letting her help," the Lord said, trying to defuse the tension between the two. He turns to her. "But I must warn you, each of the victims died in a gruesome, unique way."