Chapter 77 The Mask We Wear
Lilith woke to sunlight that felt aggressively bright and a headache that pulsed in time with her heartbeat. She groaned and pulled a pillow over her face, trying to remember exactly how many of those glowing drinks she’d consumed last night with Kira, Dex, and Lysander.
A knock at the door preceded Sera's entering with water and bread. “You’re alive. Good. Asmodeus sent a message saying you’re meeting him at the Azure Lounge in an hour.”
“What time is it?” Lilith’s voice came out rough.
“Nearly noon.” Sera set the water on the nightstand. “You really tied one on last night.”
Lilith forced herself upright and drank the water desperately. The palace servant who arrived an hour later guided her through corridors she vaguely remembered from her last visit, though everything looked different in daylight. The Azure Lounge was quieter than Velvet Sin, all soft blue lighting and comfortable furniture designed for intimate conversations rather than chaos.
Asmodeus was already sprawled across a couch, looking completely unaffected by whatever he’d consumed. He glanced up when she entered and grinned.
“You look like death. Sit. We’re having an actual conversation before I drag you back out tonight.”
Lilith collapsed onto the couch across from him. “How are you not hungover? You drank more than I did.”
“Practice and poor life choices. Also, Lust comes with certain metabolic advantages.” He was rolling something with dried leaves and thin paper. “Besides, you needed to cut loose. You’ve been wound tighter than Lucian’s schedule every time I see you at the Vestibulum.”
That was true. At family meetings, she’d seen Asmodeus play the role of charming advisor, strategically flirtatious but ultimately professional. Nothing like the chaotic hedonist who’d introduced her to card games while people draped themselves over him.
“Speaking of the Vestibulum,” Lilith said, watching him work, “why are you so different there? At meetings, you’re all composed and diplomatic. Here you’re…” She gestured vaguely at him.
“A disaster?” He lit the roll with a snap of his fingers, smoke curling up in deliberate patterns. “That’s the mask I wear for Father and politics. This is the real me.”
“Which one?”
“This one. The excessive, honest version who doesn’t pretend to care about strategies I find boring.” He took a long drag. “At the Vestibulum, I perform the role of a responsible prince who takes succession seriously. Here, I want things and don’t apologize for it.”
Lilith leaned back, processing that. “Do all your brothers do that? Wear masks?”
“Every single one. Azrael performs Pride like it’s a religion, but you’ve probably seen moments where the arrogance cracks and something more uncertain shows through. Cain plays up Wrath because people expect her to be explosive, but she’s more strategic than she lets on. Lucian forces everyone to confront the truth but hides his own vulnerabilities behind those mirrors.” He offered her the smoke. “We all perform versions of ourselves depending on what the situation requires.”
She took it hesitantly, remembering the burn from earlier. This time it went down easier, and that same sharpening-softening effect washed over her. The world gained depth while her anxiety receded.
“That sounds exhausting,” she said, handing it back.
“It is. That’s why I prefer being here where I can just be excessive without justification.” He studied her through the smoke. “You do it too, you know. Perform.”
“I don’t—”
“You absolutely do. You perform competence when you’re terrified. You pretend everything’s fine when you’re breaking. You’ve been doing it since you got back from Mammon’s kingdom, maybe longer.” His eyes were sharper than his lazy posture suggested. “It’s painful to watch because you’re terrible at it.”
The bluntness should have hurt but it didn’t. Something about Asmodeus made honesty feel like a gift rather than an attack.
“I don’t know how to stop,” she admitted quietly.
“Start by figuring out what you actually want versus what everyone expects you to want.” He took another drag. “But that’s heavy conversation for someone who’s hungover. Want to play a game instead?”
“What kind of game?”
“Two truths and a lie. I say three things about myself, you guess which one’s false. Then you go. Simple, revealing, and way more fun than it should be.” He sat up slightly, clearly enjoying this already. “I’ll start. One: I’ve seduced a high angel just to see if I could. Two: I genuinely enjoy strategic planning meetings with Father. Three: I’m afraid of dying alone despite being surrounded by people constantly.”
Lilith studied his face, looking for tells. The first seemed obviously true given who he was. The third felt too vulnerable to be a lie. Which meant…
“The second one. You hate those meetings.”
“Correct. They’re torture wrapped in tedious bureaucracy.” He grinned. “Your turn.”
Lilith thought carefully. “One: I’m starting to have real feelings for both Azrael and Cain. Two: I think Mammon’s kingdom was my favourite so far. Three: I’ve completely let go of my suspicions about the palace spy.”
Asmodeus’s eyes narrowed, reading her with the focus of someone who’d built an entire existence on understanding desire. “The third one. You’re still carrying something heavy about that situation, I can see it in how you hold yourself.”
Her chest tightened. He’d seen through her that easily.
“My turn,” he continued smoothly, not pushing. “One: I’ve been in love exactly once and it destroyed me. Two: I think the prophecy is doomed to fail. Three: I’m genuinely happy with my life.”
This was harder. All three could be true or false. But something about the way he said the last one, the slight edge to his smile…
“The third. You’re not happy, you’re just good at pretending.”
“Perceptive.” He didn’t confirm or deny. “You’re learning. One more round each, then I’m teaching you something actually useful.”
“Like what?”
“How to read desire. How to understand what people want and use that knowledge to get what you need.” His grin sharpened. “Seduction isn’t about sex, Seraph. It’s about power. And right now, you have none because you can’t read the room well enough to play it.”
“I don’t need to seduce anyone.”
“Everyone needs to know how to read desire. It’s the difference between being powerless and being in control of your own narrative.” He stood, offering his hand. “Come on. Last round of truths, then I’m teaching you something that’ll actually help you survive what’s coming.”
Lilith took his hand and let him pull her up, the lotus making everything feel slightly distant but clearer somehow. Maybe he was right. Maybe understanding desire was exactly what she needed.
“Alright,” she said. “Teach me.”
His smile was pure satisfaction. “This is going to be fun.”