“Fee, fi, fo, fen, I smell the BO of a fuming Hellen!” Beezle barked, ears pricked and nose lifted to sniff the air.

“Oh fu—act normal, Boss!” Bub yelped, turning in frantic circles as the entrance door to my chamber ground open.

I quickly tugged on some breeches, shoving the Token deep into the pocket as her footsteps approached.

“Since when does one of these tasks of yours take all night?” Hellen’s head appeared around the doorway. She glared accusatorily at me before her gaze roved the room as if she were expecting me to have company.

Her eyes narrowed. “What is wrong with your Hell Hounds?”

I glanced down and stifled a groan. Beezle was on the bed, very studiously licking his nethers. Bub, well, he was scooting along the floor on his backside, his eyes twitching frenziedly.

“Parasites,” I muttered, cursing my moronic pets. Was this their idea of acting natural? “They need worming.”

Hellen’s nose wrinkled in distaste, but she turned her vicious gaze to me. “All night, Junior? And you conceded a victory to her that should have been yours?”

I flinched, stepping back from her. “Where did you hear that?”

Hellen rolled her eyes, leaning against the door frame and glaring accusingly at me. “My sources are my own. And you … you should have forced her to sit and finish her meal!”

My stomach twisted. “How—” It took all of my self-control to keep my eyes on Hellen and not dart them suspiciously in the direction of my Hounds. They were the only ones who had known the specifics of my plans for last night …

“Why are you going soft on her?” Hellen’s voice was filled with accusation, with suspicion. “Where are your loyalties, Junior?”

“I needed her to win!” I snapped before I could think about how to explain why to my sister without confessing the truth. A truth that if everyone would just leave me the Home alone to think, I might be able to make sense of it!

“That makes no sense!” Hellen hissed. “Nothing you are doing with this experiment makes sense to me!” She stormed across the room, leaning on the windowsill and peering out into the wilds of Hell outside the palace.

“You seem to think that you should understand everything about an experiment that has nothing to do with you … why is that?” I asked, buying myself time. Everything with Hellen was a battle of wills, a manipulation. I hated it.

“Nothing to … nothing to do with me?” she screeched, rounding on me. “Our kingdom—my home, as well as yours—is dying, SJ, and I don’t believe that you have the best interests of Hell at heart.”

She sighed, suddenly seeming exhausted. “Do you have our best interests at heart?”

My stomach lurched. Because I could not answer that. Not honestly. And I was twice the bastard for the truth that niggled at my brain.