Right before he took that oath, I swore he seemed interested in pursing a romance with me. He’d stop by Sea & Vine, offer to walk me home and linger outside my door. A few times I was convinced he was working up the nerve to steal a kiss. He’d chatter nervously about his favorite books. Vittoria would waggle her brows and slip inside, leaving me alone with him, but he never closed the distance between us.

And none of that mattered now. For multiple reasons.

“Are you able to find anything useful here to help us with Vittoria’s murder?”

“Your pulse is pounding.” Wrath made to reach for the vein in my neck, but stopped shy of making contact with my skin. “Just like your human’s when I claimed you. Odd for such a pious man to get so jealous.”

His attention moved across my face, and he took his time shifting it to my eyes, my lips, tracing each curve and whirl of the tattoo my fluttering sleeves couldn’t hide. Wildflowers continued to bloom across each of our arms along with vibrant frangipani blossoms. It must have happened after the spell he’d used to save me. He studied me carefully, as if he was imagining what Antonio saw, and slid his focus down inch by inch until he’d taken in everything from my face to my sandals then dragged it back up just as slowly. I had little doubt that he’d catalogued minute details and stored them away for future analysis. Perhaps he was memorizing my size for a coffin.

I commanded my heart to steady itself. “Is there a point to any of this, or are you simply trying to evoke my wrath again?”

“There’s a point to everything, witch. We just have to figure out how it all connects. Don’t discount your friend simply because he’s mortal. Emotions are powerful forces. People kill for much less than greed or jealousy.”

I tried to imagine Antonio sneaking around at night, murdering young women. I’d say Wrath was wrong, but I knew enough of man to believe that anyone was capable of anything at any time. While I wasn’t convinced Antonio had any motivation for killing, I’d keep all options open just in case. For all I knew, he really was running around summoning demons and ripping out hearts between prayer sessions.

“If we can’t find proof Vittoria summoned Pride,” I said, “what should we do next?”

He stared at me a moment too long before looking away. “I’ll send a message to the next potential bride. Hopefully she’ll meet us tomorrow and we can be done with this.”