“Yosepha,” Mia said, and she put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.” The words sounded so pointless and futile, but they were out before Mia could stop them. Useless, meaningless words that’d piss anyone off. She might as well have told Yosepha ‘I understand your pain’.
But Yosepha didn’t yell at her, didn’t lash out, nothing. She met Mia’s gaze, summoned a small smile from somewhere crushed and buried, and lowered her eyes again.
“I didn’t tell them anything else about you, Mia,” the angel said. “I… resisted… And they thought…” She shook her head, another tiny smile sneaking across her lips before vanishing. “They had enough information. And then they… took me… to make sure…” A sob worked its way up her throat, but she bit it down. “Three days, hanging on that cross… And… And I couldn’t–”
Romakus stood up and gestured to the Damall.
“We’re leaving. Now. Get anything you think you need and meet us at the exit. Ten minutes.”
Mia hadn’t even noticed, but every demon was looking at Yosepha now. Not Mia, but the wingless angel. Romakus’s words cut through their almost hypnotized gaze, though, and they walked past Adron and Kas out of the cavern to their alcoves. Some of them had more pieces of armor, maybe some weapons, maybe a trophy or two they felt comfortable carting around Hell. Whatever, anything to get them to stop looking at Yosepha.
Once they were all gone, Yosepha let the sounds out, and Mia stroked her shoulder. The stalactites and stalagmites broke up the sound so it wouldn’t echo too much, but Romakus, Mia, Vin, Adron, and Kas, all got to hear a broken angel cry. If she’d been alone, free to scream, her cries would have ripped Heaven open, and it wasn’t long before Mia teared up, too. She sat beside her, slipped an arm around behind Yosepha along her lower back, and half hugged her as more tears trickled down the angel’s cheeks. It wasn’t long before Mia’s arm was soaked in blood.
Adron kept his eye on the ground until a few minutes had gone by, and Yosepha’s sobs had quietened, before he walked up and joined them.
“Are… we coming?” he asked. “Kas and I just showed up. Can’t really presume to, but I figured… we don’t have anywhere else to go. We don’t trust Diogo, and we’d like to help Mia if we can.”
Romakus and Mia traded a quick glance before the tetrad stood up and faced the two.
“Yeah, alright. But you listen to me, understand? This is my cut of the Damall. If you travel with us, you do what I tell you to.”
Adron nodded. Kas grunted. What could have been a huge negotiation that’d have taken hours, took Romakus seconds. He had the ‘survives by his instincts’ sort of personality, and considering how long he’d been alive, it’d served him well.
“I know him”–Romakus gestured to Kas–“but I don’t know you. Can I trust this vratorin, Mia?”
“Yes.” It was out of her mouth before she could think about it, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Saying it too fast kind of made it sound like a lie, and Romakus eyed her for a second before he gave Adron the same stink eye. Better he didn’t know Adron used to be one of Zel’s agents.
His glare didn’t last. He scooped Yosepha up into his arms again, eyed everyone, and left.
“He’s… normally more… combative, and chaotic,” Mia said, getting back up and joining her friends. “Be careful with Romakus.”
“I guess I will,” Adron said. When Kas looked to Vin with his eyeless gaze, Adron set his one eye on the titan as well before looking back to Mia. “You really have his leash.”
“Y-Yeah, but Vin is helping because he trusts the lady in armor. If she says an unmarked needs to get to the Forgotten Place or everyone dies, he believes her. And Romakus is okay with me holding onto the leash, ’cause he believes it, too. Vin’s my bodyguard.”
Adron frowned, traded glances with his eyeless companion, and stepper closer as he looked up at Vin.
“Then why the leash?” he asked, eye still on Vin.
“Why?” Mia asked.
“If Vin is helping of his own choice, why the leash?”
“Well, I mean… I uh…”
Vinicius released a long, deadly growl, heavy enough Mia felt it in her toes, but he didn’t answer. Walking past the two demons and into the tunnel to join the others was answer enough.
“He’s dangerous,” Kas said, moving to stand closer to Mia. “Without the leash, he’d probably kill us all.”
“I don’t know,” Mia said. “He’s not all that bad. I mean, yes, he’s ultra violent, but he’s not… not… He’s not like Zel, you know?”
Kas grumbled, and Adron snorted. They didn’t like Vin, and Adron had a good reason not to.
“Come here,” Mia said, and she held out her arms.
Adron laughed, squatted in front of her, and she again hugged him and buried her face in his shoulder.
“I was so worried you’d died, after that canyon opened up and ruined everything.”
“Nearly did.”
“And you!” She grabbed one of Kas’s horns and pulled him in. Of course, the demon was way too heavy for her to pull, but he came closer anyway, and she hugged him, too. “You fought the rider.”
“I did.”
“That scar is huge. He nearly killed you?”
“He did. Diogo lost his arm.”
“I saw.” Sighing, she rubbed her forehead in his neck. And he let her. Why was he letting her?
Don’t jinx it thinking about it. Just accept it. Adron and Kas were happy to see her, and she was more than happy to see them.