He pinned me with a cold stare as I retrieved his dagger. “My true name doesn’t concern you. Address me by my House title. Unless you’d like to call me His Royal Highness of Undeniable Desire. That’s always an acceptable option. If you want to bow, I wouldn’t mind that, either. A little groveling goes a long way. I may grant you a boon and make your death swift.”

My lip involuntarily curled. “Are you sure you’re of House Wrath? If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were general to a vacuous, shirtless battalion belonging to House Narcissism.”

His expression was anything but friendly. “You flatter me. If you’re so repulsed by my company, why not set me free?”

“Never.”

“Dangerous word. I’d avoid speaking in absolutes if I were you. They have a tendency to never stick.”

I forced myself to breathe. What I had wanted before I recognized him were answers. Now I wanted to carve him into a thousand bloody pieces and serve them to sharks. “Why did you murder my sister?”

He slowly paced around the summoning circle, likely testing its strength. “Is that what you think? That I ripped out your sister’s heart?”

“You were standing over her body, licking her blood from your fingers, you revolting beast.” I drew in a furious breath, watching him closely, though it was an effort in futility. His expression was inhumanly blank. Not one emotion betrayed his thoughts. Without thinking, I reached up and clutched my cornicello again. “Why did you murder my sister?”

“I didn’t.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“Her death was most inconvenient.”

“Inconvenient?” I gripped the hilt of his dagger, debating how fast I might shove it into his heart before he hit me back. Not that he had. In fact, he didn’t so much as lay a hand on me while I’d kicked and punched him. Odd for a demon of war. I shook my head. My protection charm was at work, not his conscience. “Yes, I imagine it must’ve been terribly inconvenient for you to find my sister murdered. Why were you in the monastery, then?”

A faint shimmering gold light flared up and fell back to the earth like a waterfall. It took a second to realize he was only answering me because of the summoning circle. And apparently he was fighting it. Feeling bold, I stepped near the line of bones and asked again, “Why were you there that night?”

Hatred burned in his eyes. “For your sister.”

“What did you want her for?”

He smiled again, but it was more a promise of payback than amusement. “She made a bargain with my brother. I came to collect on it.”