My heart squeezed in my chest and I felt like I was reliving Damien's death all over again. I felt a hot tear roll down my cheek as I watched Julian standing in front of me. "D-Damien's corpse?"
He growled. "He's taking what I said out of context."
He didn't deny saying it. And that he'd say something so cruel about someone so important in my life ... I could feel my heart rip again - I felt the familiar twist. "Why would you say he was alive this entire time?"
"I never said he was."
I looked at him in disbelief. "Then why would you lead me to believe we could save him?"
He swallowed. "Damien would want us to save the kingdom first before him. We'd save his legacy-"
I stood forcefully looking up at him with incredible fury. "That is bullshit!"
"Emylin," he said carefully. He reached for me but I stepped back away from his reach. "Sweetheart-"
"No," I almost screamed. "Don't call me that, don't you ever call me that!" The room was spinning, I was forgetting how to breathe. "Damien isn't dead. I was just talking to him!"
Julian was careful with his tone. "You were dreaming. He's not a Dreamwalker, he can't get into your dreams. He's not alive."
I shook my head, walking around the large armchair placing it between us. I gripped it as hard as I could lest I lose my balance. I was still disoriented from the dream, my senses were reeling from what I'd learn.
I couldn't even look at him. My head was reeling. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It was the only way I could get you to help me, the only way we could -"
"If you say 'save Damien' I swear on the Styx I will hurt you!"
Julian didn't move.
I felt the air had been literally taken from me. "Why would you lie to me? Have you all been laughing at me behind my back? Did Naida know too?"
"No," he said sharply. "No, she had no idea. She thinks he is alive as well. We are the only ones that know. Including Asmodeus."
I shook my head. I found myself doing this more and more as if it would make all of it go away. "Damien is alive. After everything at Robyn's house, he took me to my parents, he stayed with me for days - that was Damien, not Robyn!"
I'd never seen Julian look as devastated as in that moment. "Robyn killed him in the days after. In order to take over completely, he had to have truly killed him."
I shook my head again. "No. I refuse to believe this."
"Actually," Asmodeus spoke up. "Robyn has adjusted just fine." I looked at his dark figure near the fireplace. He hadn't moved since he had last spoken. He only watched us with interest at our exchange in front of him. He looked at his hand again as if bored. "At least he looked just fine yesterday when I saw him."
I swallowed. He was with him?
"It's the reason he's taking a Royal Tour," he explained with a snake-like smile. "He is exerting his power, reminding the dark fae who their king is. Robyn loves this newfound power of his and the pretend powerful queen sitting next to him." He gave a smile. "The glamoured girl pretending to be you. He is much too vain to not show it and her off."
I looked at the ceiling, trying to keep the tears from spilling. "This isn't happening."
Asmodeus scoffed. "Denial will get us nowhere. The sooner you face the truth, the sooner we can be rid of this leech once and for all."
