Chain of Iron

Chapter Twenty

Cordelia exited the room with Matthew, feeling worried for James and Lucie. She did not know if they could trust Hypatia Vex and summoning Princes of Hell was not like summoning a regular demon. She had wanted to stay with Lucie but Cordelia knew that James had to be the one to speak to Belial. Still, she could not shake the uneasiness that she felt. Cordelia followed Matthew out into the crowd and to the table they had sat at when they had been here last.

Cordelia wondered how she somehow always ended up alone with Matthew when they attended the Hell Ruelle, as they took a seat at the table. She felt her body become warm as his arm brushed hers and tried to push away the scent of his cologne that filled her nose. Matthew pulled out his flask and took a sip and then offered it to Cordelia.

"Oh no," She shook her head. "You are not going to pressure me into drinking this time, Matthew."

He grinned gleefully. "Darn, I had hoped that I would get to see your face twisted up in disgust again. It was quite amusing."

Cordelia laughed and rolled her eyes. "Must you tease me?"

He only laughed and Cordelia noticed a group of faeries girls whispering and giggling while staring at Matthew. He did not seem to notice them and Cordelia thought back to the way he had flirted with Hypatia Vex. It had made her feel strange inside - like she wanted to run out of the room but also punch Hypatia in the face at the same time. Cordelia could not blame the faeries for looking at Matthew like that; he looked very handsome tonight.

"I hope that it goes smoothly for James and Lucie with Belial." Matthew frowned as he looked down at the flask in his hand. "I feel that I have somehow failed James as I could not stay in the room with him."

"I understand what you mean." Cordelia told him. "I wish that I could have stayed for Lucie as well but I believe this is something that they must do themselves."

"It is odd to realize that this is a path that I am unable to follow James on." Cordelia had never seen Matthew look so serious before.

She tried to lighten the mood. "Well, at least your attempt to seduce Hypatia almost was successful."

Matthew broke out into a grin and Cordelia felt pleased with herself. "It was not my finest work, I will admit. Anna could have done much better."

Cordelia watched as he took another long sip out of his flask and she frowned as she watched him. She suspected that Matthew internally struggled with something and it pained her to see him drink his life away, as Alastair had said.

"Why do you drink so much, Matthew?" Cordelia asked him gently. "From the moment I moved here to London, I have rarely seen you without your flask."

Matthew moved the flask away from his mouth and looked at her. "What makes you believe that I drink for a particular reason?"

"I have not seen anyone drink as much as you do." She told him. "I can tell that it is not for enjoyment; you are trying to forget about something."

"You are very observant." He replied but did not tell her what it was that bothered him.

Cordelia hesitated and then went on. "My father is a drunk, you know."

He looked down at her in surprise. "Oh, Cordelia, I did not know. I--"

She waved it away. "No one knows besides my family. I only recently found out about it from my brother; he and my mother hid it from me for all of these years but I can tell now that it caused a strain between my father and brother. I would hate to see the same happen to you and your family, Matthew." She placed her hand gently on his arm