Chapters (58)
- About the Author
- Title Page
- Imprint Page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Map
- Contents
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Acknowledgments
- Endmatter page 1
“The prince asked you a simple question, Francesco. I’ll repeat it once for your benefit and then I’ll let him ask his way. And I’m sure you already know that won’t be pleasant.” I injected a ruthless charm into my tone like Wrath’s, and the man flinched. “Who paid you to open his letter?”
Wrath kept staring at me. And even though his expression hadn’t shifted in the slightest, I swore I almost sensed . . . approval. My stomach tightened and I fought the urge to be sick. If I’d done the right thing, I didn’t think I’d feel so ill.
Francesco gurgled and scratched at the arm still pressed against his windpipe, his nails snagging on the demon’s cuff. I hoped Wrath wouldn’t strangle him to death before we got our answers.
The demon prince must have suddenly eased up on the pressure because Francesco gulped air like a fish yanked from the water. “Would you feel more comfortable talking with my blade at your throat?”
Francesco’s golden skin blanched, but I noticed his hands fisting at his sides. Wrath was using his powers, and the messenger was getting mad. His chest rapidly rose and fell. “Do what you want, but I won’t tell you a thing, demon pig.”
“Really?” Wrath smiled, a flash of teeth that seemed to put Francesco on the verge of pissing himself despite his newfound rage. “Let’s test that out, mortal. Who do you work for?”
“God.” The man spit in the demon’s face, and the glob slowly dripped to the ground. Wrath’s blade was under the man’s chin in an instant, the tip pressed hard enough for blood to slide along the metal. It looked like it took all of his willpower to not shove the dagger through the human and into the stone he leaned against, severing his spinal cord. Shadows seemed to pulse from Wrath. For a second, I wasn’t sure if the demon of war would end him right there.
“Apologies, Francesco. But my patience is growing thin. Your actions sent four women to their deaths. Do not think I will not send you to yours just as brutally.”
“Go ahead and kill me. I won’t tell you anything.” Francesco’s head cracked against the wall when Wrath slammed him back. Blood dribbled from the human’s mouth as he laughed, delighting in the violence. He smiled, teeth stained red with blood. “I hope you all rot in Hell.”
I felt Wrath’s rage turn from a simmer into a full boil. Soon, whether he meant to or not, he’d kill Francesco. And we’d lose our biggest chance at discovering who murdered my twin. I heard both Nonna’s and Wrath’s warnings singing through my head, but it didn’t matter.