Page 4 of Truth Revealed

“Truth asked me, point blank, if I wished anyone in this house harm. My answer was no, and it’s still no. I wanted to find Wrath, and I did. And now, if you want us to leave, we can do that. I would understand if you don’t want us here. It’s clear that you have a home here, and I wouldn’t want you to worry that we intend to ruin that.” Something in Sofia’s gaze had shifted as she spoke the word home, her shoulders sagging a little, and Wrath’s arms tightened around her.

Daria’s heart leapt into her throat, and she swallowed past the lump. Yes, she hated that Sofia had lied to them… but she was her sister. Her last living relative—well, besides Chaos.

“No. Don’t leave. I think it’s more important now than ever that you stay,” Daria said, glancing at her demons for confirmation.

Death nodded, his lips tightened in a thin line. Proving he was following Daria’s line of thought, he explained, “She’s right. Pandora wants you to trap us all, and if anything, we have to keep you safe from her.”

“Even if you’ve been lying,” Truth gritted out. Daria resumed the slow strokes on the back of his neck.

“Okay.” Sofia nodded eagerly. “I’ll do whatever it takes to prove I’m trustworthy.”

“You could start by telling us what you know about Pandora’s location,” Betrayal gritted out.

Sofia winced, glancing down at her hands as she twisted her fingers together. “Whatever it takes… but that.”

“Why the hell not?” Betrayal growled.

“Because I don’t know, okay?” Sofia’s cheeks flushed red, either anger or embarrassment tightening her features, but Daria couldn’t tell which. Maybe both.

“How do you not know? You’ve been with her all this time,” Truth reasoned gently.

“Because I… She may have raised me, but in no way was I family. I was always a plan, not a person, and I was…” She trailed off, color blooming in her cheeks. “It took me way too long to realize not everyone spent their childhood locked in a room with trays slid through a latch in the door. All I know is that the last house was here, in town. There were ugly checkered floors, and I was kept in the room at the top of the stairs.” Daria didn’t know what Sofia saw on their faces, but the growl Betrayal let out clearly portrayed their anger. Sofia misinterpreted and the words tumbled out of her while Daria looked on in shock. “That’s it! I swear. And I only know that much because that’s when she told me I could leave if I found you guys and reported back. But I dumped the phone as soon as I got into town, in a trashcan, I swear. That last house we were in, I was stuck in a purple room, and that was the last straw. I heard someone… someone being beaten. I didn’t know she was capable of that until then. I can take you to the house, I know right where it’s at.”

When they still didn’t speak, processing the fact that Sofia hadn’t seen much but the inside of a room from five years old on, tears welled in her eyes. “I didn’t even know what a Twizzler was until I was at the drive-in!” she yelled, and then covered her mouth with her hand, eyes wide as if she were surprised by her outburst.

Wrath wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest. Daria’s hand tightened on the back of Truth’s neck, and he turned to her.

His face was white, his jaw gritted, and fists clenched. The simple nod and the fury Daria recognized in his blue gaze was enough to tell her Sofia hadn’t lied.

Daria returned her attention to the sister in question, only for Wrath’s gaze to bore a hole into her. She nodded, tilting her chin to the stairs, and Wrath stood without another word, Sofia cradled close. His footsteps were loud amongst the silence as he walked her upstairs.

“I think we can agree on one thing,” Death began once they’d gone. He waited until all eyes turned to him to continue. “She’ll be lucky if she leaves this house, because there’s no fucking way Pandora is getting her hands on that girl again.”

Daria couldn’t have said it better herself.

DARIA

“This is nice,” Daria commented, as she sipped her coffee a while later. Misery had made a pot earlier, and when he’d handed her a cup, perfectly sweetened in the exact opposite way he took his coffee, she teared up.

They might still have too much to figure out, more questions than answers, but at least they were all together. Amongst everything going on, Daria thought it was the least she could ask for.

“I’m sorry, I’m just trying to adjust to the fact that the innocent little five-year-old I remember is now… that. And with you,” Betrayal joked from the bar where he sat with Wrath and Sofia.

“That is right here, thank you very much.” Sofia’s voice rose with her annoyance, all tears from the earlier conversation dried, and Daria hid her smirk behind her coffee mug.

Yup, definitely related.

Her heart hurt for her… sister. That’s going to take some getting used to.

She’d been with Pandora all this time and had only escaped by promising to do whatever Pandora wanted. And what she wanted? Was Daria and the other demons. Thankfully, Sofia had run into Hope first at the drive-in.

Now, they were in deeper than even Daria and her demons. Because not only had Sofia betrayed Pandora… but in some twisted way, Pandora believed that Sofia was her daughter. That she loved her.

What kind of love makes you want to lock someone up their whole life?

“What are you thinking so hard about?” Misery asked, speaking quietly so as not to interrupt the conversations around them. They were all dispersed randomly throughout the living room and kitchen. Truth was at the stove, making who knew what—but it smelled chocolatey and made Daria’s mouth water. Sofia sat at the bar with Wrath, chatting with Truth, and Betrayal sat beside Wrath. Every now and then, Betrayal would tilt his head back and take a deep breath, as if tasting Truth’s chocolatey concoction on the air. Death and Hope spoke at the entrance to the kitchen, and through there, Persy and Pain sat on the couch.

That’s right. Together. With about two feet of space between them. Persy getting kidnapped by Pandora had apparently eased whatever tension was between the two. They’d only joined their gathering recently, the scent of Truth’s baking pulling them from their rooms… or room. With every hour that passed, Daria could swear she saw the space between them disappear a little more. Pair that with the sidelong glances they shared, and Daria figured it was only a matter of time before they finally gave in to whatever was holding them back.