If that was the case, then Nonna must know I was here.
Fire erupted in the air around us, vines crept up the gates, crushing and burning and yanking as if I could incinerate any barrier they tried putting between me and my husband. Blast after blast hit the gates, my fury growing with each failed attempt.
Envy cursed and stepped back, the flames rising higher and higher as if damning the heavens. Whatever spell the witches used, it didn’t so much as crack. I let my magic go, my shoulders slumping in defeat. My grandmother had really locked me in Hell.
“Nonna can’t be the villain.”
“Well, that’s the curious thing about perspective,” Envy said. “In her version of this tale, you’re evil. The prophesied dark one she must protect the mortal world from.”
“But I would never hurt anyone. Regardless of a prophecy.”
Even as I said it, I knew it was a lie. If someone hurt Wrath or anyone else I loved, I wouldn’t hesitate to bring them pain in return. To strike back brutally and viciously.
Envy pressed his lips together, likely already knowing what I’d just realized, and kept his commentary to himself.
There were so many layers to peel back. The curse. The prophecy. I’d barely remembered there was one at all, though the details of it had always been murky. Something I’d been told was a result of the curse, how it twisted with each retelling of the tale.
My friend Claudia had been the one to tell me the hazy memories were a result of the curse, that it was what stopped all of us from remembering. Until then, I hadn’t even known there was a curse or a prophecy, only a blood debt owed to the devil. Or so Nonna claimed. My grandmother finally told me about the prophecy the night we said our good-byes. She hadn’t given many details, only hinted that Vittoria and I somehow signaled the end of the devil’s curse.
“It’s like you said the night I met you,” I said, smiling sadly at Envy. “It is a tangled web.”
“And we have only begun to snip the threads.”
We were both quiet for a moment. “If you were going to kill someone here and didn’t want anyone detecting details, would you use werewolf blood to cover your tracks?”
If Envy was surprised by my subject change, he didn’t let it show.
“If I wished to incite a war, perhaps. The wolves’ senses are superior. They’d eventually track down the truth and strike hard and fast. It’s one of the reasons demons stopped kidnapping wolves years ago. Using wolf blood wasn’t worth the price they’d end up paying.”
“Do you think Vittoria killed Greed’s commander?”
“I think it doesn’t actually matter one way or another. Whether it was her or witches or shifters. Whether Vesta was kidnapped or feigned her death,” Envy said, “Vittoria is the catalyst. She could have apologized, told the truth. Called a truce, anything. Instead, she gathered an army of wolves. She tried to entice Greed into an alliance, knowing it would pit him against us, to use him for whatever game she’d planned. She toyed with me, broke into my House, slept with my second. She went to the vampire court, stirred discord there. She mocked Pride.”
“She did?”
“Vittoria clearly enjoys chaos.” Envy surveyed the gates one last time. “I know of a secret portal—one the witches don’t have access to that will take us to the Shifting Isles.” He glanced at my dagger. “Keep that ready. I imagine we’ll need it.”
Before I could ask where it was or why I’d need a weapon, he grabbed my hand and we transvenioed to the secret portal. As the smoke cleared from our demonic travel, I realized why I needed the weapon. Several Umbra demons stood shoulder to shoulder, not so invisible, as they blocked our path. Behind them was a massive pearl-and-gold castle. Ornate to the point of excess, and yet it wasn’t Greed’s or Gluttony’s House of Sin. It was Pride’s.
I flashed Envy an incredulous look. “Let me guess, you don’t have an invitation.”
Wrath had told me a prince showing up to another demon circle uninvited was an act of aggression. Envy lifted his shoulder, undisturbed. “I didn’t exactly grab a quill and bottle of ink when your sister ambushed me. Pride will be reasonable. An access tunnel to the portal sits at the eastern edge of his circle, right before the Flaming Tombs begin. I doubt he’ll cause trouble.”
I slanted a look at the normally incorporeal demons. They didn’t seem like a welcoming party. The Umbra demons pulled their half-rotted lips back, their pointy teeth and dark gums clacking as if they were already imagining our blood wetting their tongues.
“Prince Pride will not see you,” the Umbra demon closest to us hissed. “Best to turn back. Hide in your castle until your prince rescues you, little princess.”
There was something especially infuriating about a sneering, miserable, mercenary spy spitting the words little princess that made my blood boil.
Envy’s low chuckle drew their attention. “Looks like my brother’s spies have been slacking. You really shouldn’t have flung that match.” He glanced at me, nodding. It was time to unleash my simmering rage. “Now you’ll feel her burn.”
The Umbra demons struck fast, but my magic was quicker. Flaming roses and flowers exploded between us, landing on the usually invisible demons. Before they could activate whatever power turned them incorporeal, my thorn-covered vines erupted from the earth.
With just a thought, the vines crawled up their legs, binding them to the ground, and I shoved them down their throats, preventing anyone from casting any spell or shouting for help. Oversized thorns tore through their throats, choking them with their own blood.
I released my fire magic and let the vines do the hard work of maiming and slaughtering. I used to love wearing flowers in my hair, now I loved watching them turn into pretty weapons and destroy my enemies.
One demon sneaked up behind me, but Envy shouted a warning. I turned just as its blade arced down, slicing my already tattered gown. I danced back with only a small scratch. Then I pounced on the demon, my dagger at its throat. It spat in my face and laughed.
“Your prince must not have been interested in teaching you how to fight.” It raked its oily gaze down my body. “I suppose he has other ideas for you. Too bad he’s about to be replaced. That never was a problem before, though, was it?”
I hauled the demon to its feet, shaking it a little with strength I didn’t know I had. “What do you know about Wrath?”
“Only that your beloved will soon be dead. And you will be nothing but the divine whore you are. Poetic justice if you ask me.”
Before I thought about what I was doing, I dragged my blade from ear to ear across its throat. Hard enough to tear its head from its body. I coolly stared down at the dead demon, unfazed by what I’d just done. It struck me then what I was slowly becoming. The more the curse lost its grip on me, the more I remembered what it was to be a goddess. To feel no remorse. To be fueled by vengeance and openly welcome the vice of my House.