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Back Seven Devils
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1.
  4. 2.
  5. 3.
  6. 4.
  7. 5.
  8. 6.
  9. 7.
  10. 8.
  11. 9.
  12. 10.
  13. 11.
  14. 12.
  15. 13.
  16. 14.
  17. 15.
  18. 16.
  19. 17.
  20. 18.
  21. 19.
  22. 20.
  23. 21.
  24. 22.
  25. 23.
  26. 24.
  27. 25.
  28. 26.
  29. 27.
  30. 28.
  31. 29.
  32. 30.
  33. 31.
  34. 32.
  35. 33.
  36. 34.
  37. 35.
  38. 36.
  39. 37.
  40. 38.
  41. 39.
  42. 40.
  43. 41.
  44. 42.
  45. 43.
  46. 44.
  47. 45.
  48. 46.
  49. 47.
  50. 48.
  51. 49.
  52. 50.
  53. 51.
  54. 52.
  55. 53.
  56. 54.
  57. 55.
  58. 56.
  59. 57.
  60. EPILOGUE
  61. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  62. ABOUT THE AUTHORS

One day, the prefect had. Yes, Discordia had her fingers broken, too. She remembered that pain of bones knitting together too fast, how tender they were the next day in training. But unlike Xander, she had never disobeyed again. She had conformed.

“Why?” she asked in a low voice. “Why keep making them if you were punished?”

He must have seen her vulnerability. Her control fraying at the edges. He handed the firewolf back to her, closed her fingers around it. “Because when I made these, I could forget,” Xander said softly.

“Forget what?”

“Everything,” he told her. “Everything they did to us.” When Discordia didn’t respond, Xander nodded to the firewolf in her hands. “Keep it, if you like.”

“I don’t need it,” she said flatly.

Xander gave her a slight smile. “Then bring it back the next time you try to kill me.”

“I have to.” Discordia needed him to understand. This was some fluke. Some moment of softness. She could not let it happen again. “I have to kill you, Xander.”

His smile disappeared. “If you say so, Discordia.”

She took the firewolf back to her tent. After putting out the lanterns, Discordia lay in the darkness with the firewolf pressed to her palm.

And for the first time in her life, she let herself forget.

24.

ERIS

Present day

Zoe Eirene-X-2 strolled with the confidence of a woman at ease with her life and the way she manipulated people.

Eris walked between Ariadne and Nyx. The skirt of the sheer dress trailed behind her, thin fabric clinging to her legs. It felt powerful, as if she were wearing armor.

No one looking at her would ever guess she wore the face of a dead woman, and beneath that was another alias. No one would suspect that the whole galaxy could have been hers.

Clo brought up the rear as another assistant, the kind of person Zoe would bring along for effect. No one needed three personal assistants, but the arms dealer had a flair for the dramatic.

<Nobody speak unless you’re spoken to,> Eris said through the Pathos. <Let me handle everything. And do whatever I ask.>

<Don’t make me regret this,> Clo grumbled.

<Don’t be an asshole,> Eris sang back.

<Assholes are warm and sensitive,> Clo returned. Eris fought down a startled laugh.

At the entrance of the palace, the guards scanned her fingerprints and pricked her thumb to run her genetic code through the Oracle’s system. Eris forced herself to breathe evenly, to keep her heart rate steady.

Eris relaxed at the beep of the all clear. The guards bowed politely and ushered them inside.