Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked, #1)(60)

I gave him a flat stare. Arming a demon didn’t seem very beneficial to me. Then again, he needed me to be his precious anchor. He’d mentioned it before, but had shared a few more details on the walk here. I handed the blade over.

“Say I were to die . . . how long would it take for your powers to start diminishing?”

“Depends on how much magic I expend. If I don’t use much, I could retain them for a small amount of time.”

A small amount of time for an immortal was probably a decade for me. “Can someone else act as an anchor?”

He blew out a breath. “Technically, yes. Any human or denizen of this world can strike a bargain, and agree to anchor a demon. It is rare and not worth the time it would take to find someone, and agree to terms both parties accepted.”

Several moments of silence passed. I tapped my fingers against cool stone. We were hiding in a little alcove off the cathedral square, and it felt like we’d been waiting years for the mysterious messenger to show up. Five minutes in, I quickly discovered standing still wasn’t something I enjoyed very much. When I wasn’t moving, all I could do was think about my sister.

“Why do demons steal souls? Do you need them for something specific?”

I felt the weight of Wrath’s attention as it settled on me. I shifted to see him, surprised to note the level of incredulity he wasn’t bothering to hide. Right. Like he’d have a nice long chat about soul collecting with the enemy. I lifted my hands in placation, and looked away. Inexplicably, I turned back to him a breath later.

“Why do you think hearts are being taken?”

“Are you asking so many questions in hopes of frightening off the messenger before I can scare information from him?”

“I want to know what you think.”

There was such a long pause, I didn’t think he’d answer. “We don’t have enough information to speculate. And it’s unwise to make assumptions without fact.”

“Do you believe anything would want to . . .”

“Eat them? Yes. Plenty of creatures find freshly beating hearts to be the most supreme delicacies, witch. Then there’s the ritualistic significance. Sacrifice. Sport. Summoning. And plain old depravity. That level of sadism isn’t limited to one species, so we’re back where we started.”

I felt sick. “A simple yes would have sufficed,” I said quietly.

“What you want is for me to say something comforting.” His voice was like steel when he faced me. “Lying and saying your sister felt no pain serves no purpose to you. I imagine, no matter the reason, whoever or whatever took her heart, did so while she was very much alive and very conscious. I promise you, there is no strategic value in getting lost in emotional entanglements. Hone your anger and sorrow into weapons of use, or go back home and cry until the monsters come for you. Because come for you they will.”

“I’m not afraid of monsters.”

“You may think so now, but my brothers delight in bending creatures like you to their will. They’ll feed you their emotions and siphon yours until you don’t know where you end and they begin. There are many forms of Hell. Pray to your goddesses you never have to experience them firsthand. You need to be sharp and focused, or you’ll end up just as dead as the others.”

Tears pricked my eyes. Not from sadness, but pent-up rage. “I am focused, you steaming sack of horse manure. All I dream about is avenging my sister. Don’t you dare accuse me of being too emotional. I will destroy anything that gets in the way of achieving my ends. Even you. And I’m not scared, or else I never would’ve summoned you to begin with!”

“You should be terrified.” His gaze practically pinned me in place. “Vengeance is a potent emotion. It makes you easy prey to both humans and demons alike. Never let someone know what your true motivations are. If they know what you want more than anything, they’ll craft all sorts of sweet lies and half-truths to manipulate you. They’ll know exactly how far they can push, what to offer, and what you would never refuse, giving them the upper hand. Your first goal should be to remain alive. Figure out everything else as you go.”

“You know my true goals.”

“Yes. I do. And it was an extremely foolish mistake on your part to tell me. Make no bones about it. All it takes is a bit of prodding, a tiny push to annoy you and you immediately fall into the trap of lashing out in fury. And in that burning rage you told me everything I need to know about what you want.” He shook his head. “What will you promise me, Emilia, in exchange for your deepest desire? What wouldn’t you do to achieve justice for the sister you love? Now I know there’s no price too high to demand. I can ask anything, and you’d give it.”

We were standing very close now, each of us breathing very hard. I hated that he was right. He didn’t even manipulate my emotions like Envy had; he didn’t have to. He’d simply goaded me into telling him my deepest desires out of anger. And he only had to push a little bit to get me to snap. Furious with myself for being outmaneuvered by a demon, I did the best thing I knew how—I lied like the devil.

I stuck my finger in Wrath’s chest and poked him hard. “If you think that’s everything that motivates me, you’re sadly mistaken, demon. And why do you care anyway?”

He slowly wrapped his fingers around mine, halting my assault on him. He didn’t let go and I wondered if he realized I’d stopped poking him the second his blazing skin touched mine. Now he was just holding my hand against his chest, his heart hammering beneath my touch.