Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked, #1)(63)

He leaned against a building, digging imaginary dirt from shorn nails with a deadly looking blade. He projected a sense of boredom, but his gaze tracked the movements of everything around him with a predator’s focus. Even the demon prince.

Wrath marched over without hesitation, and I was unfortunately a little too far away to make out their conversation. Judging from the amount of eye-rolling the human was doing, I imagined Wrath was lecturing about something. I quietly drifted closer.

“. . . suspects the truth, Anir. I’m sure the others will in time, too.”

“Too late for regrets now,” the human, Anir, said. His voice was familiar, I just couldn’t place it. “With everything going on . . . it might be a good thing. I mean, you chose to do the ritual. Right? Is it really that bad?”

“She’s a demon-blooded damned witch. What do you think?”

Were they talking about me? I curled my hands into fists, my nails creating little crescent moons in my palms. He was a high-handed, arrogant, no-good demon from Hell. But I wasn’t harping on his less-than-appealing qualities, was I? No. I was mature enough to set them aside to work together to stop a murderer from slaughtering any more witches.

“Sounds like a lovely girl. Will you be properly introducing us? You’ve only got—”

Wrath yanked Anir up by his collar, his feet swinging a good inch or two off the ground. I sucked in a quiet breath. It didn’t look like lifting a grown man caused any strain for the demon prince at all. “Finish that sentence, and I’ll give the other side of your face a scar, too.”

“Apologies. Did I strike a nerve?” Anir held up his hands in mock surrender, not bothering to hide his grin. It held no fear and little humor. I decided if I wasn’t so aggravated, I might like him. He was either very brave or very foolish to taunt the demon of war. “Don’t get pissy. Right now it’s only temporary. And she’s—”

“Behind us.” Wrath dropped the human and he gracefully caught himself from stumbling. “Emilia, this is Anir, my most trusted associate. He knows who agreed to marry Pride next.”

I slipped out from the shadows and inspected the young man. “You were there the night I was attacked by the Viperidae.”

“Yes.” Anir seemed unsure of what else he could or couldn’t share.

I turned to Wrath. “He’s human.”

“You’re very astute.”

I took a deep breath and counted until the urge to send him back to the bone circle passed. “What I meant is, if you have a human as your associate, why can’t he be your anchor? If something were to happen to me, you’d be all right.”

Wrath opened his mouth, then shut it. I raised a brow, waiting.

“Anir no longer claims the human world as his, therefore, he cannot provide the same . . . benefits you can.”

Anir snorted, and quickly tried to choke the rest of his laughter down when Wrath turned his blazing glare on him. “That’s certainly one way of looking at it.”

“What’s he talking about?” I asked, staring hard at the demon. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Wrath gave me a look that said “a good many things,” but didn’t bother answering aloud. Instead he said, “Anir was just leaving. He was waiting to see if the robed figure arrived, but they never showed up. Now he’s got House business to tend to back home.”

“Who’s the poor girl?”

“Valentina Rossi.”

My whole body went numb as I let that information sink in. Valentina was Claudia’s cousin. If anyone would want to readily agree to become the Queen of Hell, Valentina would take up that shadowy mantle with pride. She wasn’t bad; she just seemed regal and meant for a role larger than a weaver on our little island. I wasn’t surprised she’d be intrigued by a deal with the devil.

I started for her neighborhood. We had to warn her before it was too late.

Wrath stepped into my path, halting my steps. “What?”

“I know her.”

“And?” he pressed.

“I’m wondering why he’s choosing witches with ties to dark magic.”

“Well,” Anir said, “that’s because the—”

Wrath cut him off. “Time to go.”

As he glanced between the demon prince and me, Anir’s smile was that of a wolf who’d found a squiggling snack it wanted to shove down its throat. “Actually, I’d rather stay here for a while. Demon weddings are not for the faint of heart. Plus, you’ll need some extra eyes and ears when you speak to the girl. Maybe the robed figure will follow us.”

He winked at me like we were the oldest of friends sharing a secret. Wrath caught the look and stared until his “associate” shrugged and started walking across the square. I waited until he was out of earshot before turning to Wrath.

“Are you going to try and convince Valentina to go to the underworld with you?”

“I swore I wouldn’t do anything but offer the bargain. And I will keep my word. However, once we get her to safety, I’d like to see if she’d be willing to help us draw out the murderer.”

“You’d like to use her as bait.”

“Yes. Someone is doing their best to ensure Pride doesn’t break the curse. I intend to discover who and why before anyone else dies. Then I’ll offer a bit of retribution of my own.”