“Too late for regrets now,” the human, Anir, said. His voice was familiar, I just couldn’t place it. “With everything going on . . . it might be a good thing. I mean, you chose to do the ritual. Right? Is it really that bad?”

“She’s a demon-blooded damned witch. What do you think?”

Were they talking about me? I curled my hands into fists, my nails creating little crescent moons in my palms. He was a high-handed, arrogant, no-good demon from Hell. But I wasn’t harping on his less-than-appealing qualities, was I? No. I was mature enough to set them aside to work together to stop a murderer from slaughtering any more witches.

“Sounds like a lovely girl. Will you be properly introducing us? You’ve only got—”

Wrath yanked Anir up by his collar, his feet swinging a good inch or two off the ground. I sucked in a quiet breath. It didn’t look like lifting a grown man caused any strain for the demon prince at all. “Finish that sentence, and I’ll give the other side of your face a scar, too.”

“Apologies. Did I strike a nerve?” Anir held up his hands in mock surrender, not bothering to hide his grin. It held no fear and little humor. I decided if I wasn’t so aggravated, I might like him. He was either very brave or very foolish to taunt the demon of war. “Don’t get pissy. Right now it’s only temporary. And she’s—”

“Behind us.” Wrath dropped the human and he gracefully caught himself from stumbling. “Emilia, this is Anir, my most trusted associate. He knows who agreed to marry Pride next.”

I slipped out from the shadows and inspected the young man. “You were there the night I was attacked by the Viperidae.”

“Yes.” Anir seemed unsure of what else he could or couldn’t share.

I turned to Wrath. “He’s human.”

“You’re very astute.”

I took a deep breath and counted until the urge to send him back to the bone circle passed. “What I meant is, if you have a human as your associate, why can’t he be your anchor? If something were to happen to me, you’d be all right.”

Wrath opened his mouth, then shut it. I raised a brow, waiting.

“Anir no longer claims the human world as his, therefore, he cannot provide the same . . . benefits you can.”

Anir snorted, and quickly tried to choke the rest of his laughter down when Wrath turned his blazing glare on him. “That’s certainly one way of looking at it.”

“What’s he talking about?” I asked, staring hard at the demon. “What aren’t you telling me?”