He distracted me from the pain of losing my sister, gave me something to focus on. He was someone I could jab and who’d jab right back. And now . . . it was like Lust reemerged and wrenched every last drop of happiness from me again. Only this time, there was only me to blame. I’d let him in. And I should have known better.

“Emilia.”

“I can’t. . . .”

Wrath curled his hand at his side.

“Envy whispers in your ear and every action I’ve taken is wiped off your imaginary tally. Tell me, Emilia, what has he done for you? Aside from trying to carve out your heart. What honorable thing did he do to deserve your trust? Spill the blood of those you love? Maybe you like threats. Maybe I should make some of my own.”

The ground seemed to rumble with the force of his anger.

He’d wanted me to study my enemies closely, and I’d done just that.

“Tell me it’s not true, then,” I said, surprised when my voice came out hard, and not pleading. “That Envy was lying, that you don’t need to collect one more soul to gain your freedom. Tell me part of the reason you accepted this mission wasn’t to use a witch for your benefit. Better yet, tell me you haven’t considered using my soul. Can you do that, or does our summoning bond make it impossible because it’s a lie?”

For once, Wrath didn’t seem to have an answer. He looked ready to lay waste to the rest of the crumbling palace. I was surprised when he didn’t.

“Envy is many things,” I said, my voice low. “Despicable. Selfish. Conniving. But he doesn’t hide those things. He told me what you were really after. He told me what he wanted, and what he would do if I didn’t listen. He’s made terrible threats, acted on them, but he never deceived me or pretended to be anything other than what he is.”

And there it was.

Despair crashed into me, hard. Wrath had lied. Maybe not outright, but he’d lied through omission. Which was still lying. I wanted to strike out at him, to make him hurt the same way I did. Instead, I turned and started walking away.

Nonna tried warning us about the Malvagis’ lies. I should have listened.

He stepped into my path, moving almost faster than my senses could detect. “Have my actions not told you the truth? Forget the last several weeks. Saving your life from the Viperidae. The impenetrable palace. The elemental bath. Do you think I need to sleep in a place protected by magic? I, who cannot be killed?”

“I don’t have time for this.” I marched past him toward the stairs. “I’m going back home to stay with my family. Envy is holding them captive. Something else he said that turned out to be true.”