Chapter Twelve #3
“But if you’re going to miss them that much,” she said as she strolled over, “maybe next time don’t cut them off.”
I could only blink at her, mind refusing to believe what I was seeing.
As usual, Raven was a knockout in an emerald-green minidress that clung to her every dip and curve.
She raised a brow at me as she perched on the end of the mattress.
“Well? Fucking say something. I’m the one who cleaned up you, the bed, and fixed your face.
Is that stupid look all I get in return? ”
My mouth worked. “I... thank you?”
She rolled her eyes. “What the hell am I going to do with a thank-you? I’m more interested in money. Gold obols will do just fine.”
What the hell is happening right now?
“Oh.” I sat up a little straighter, settling on the pillows. “Sorry, but I don’t have any money.”
Another eye roll. “Useless.”
“If I’m so useless, what the fuck are you doing here?” I snapped.
“Uh-oh.” Raven laughed. “Look who’s got some life back in her.”
I rolled my eyes, and paid for it. Weeks of crying had made them sore and achy. “Seriously, what are you doing here? Why would you heal me and clean me up?”
“Why else? I did it because Ronin asked me to—” She tipped her head. “Well, he asked all of us—Sauda, Kama, Eris, and Ursula—but only I volunteered. It just so happens there’s a mouthy bitch on my hitlist that deserves to lose their lips more than you.”
“What! You transferred my injury to someone else? But why?” I cried. “I never wanted—”
She waved my noise away. “Relax. This bitch is cruel, even by demon standards. She’s got a thing for incubi, so she abducts them, traps them in her house, and rapes them repeatedly.”
My brows blew. Okay, yes, I did care a lot less about someone like that keeping their lips. “But still, why would you help me and not Ronin? I know he knows the spell to transfer someone’s injury to someone else.”
“Are you kidding?” Raven stretched out on the bed, propping herself on her arm.
“He didn’t do it because you freaked him the fuck out.
The man was shaking when he came to us—practically begging on his knees for us to help you.
And now he won’t go anywhere near you because he’s afraid he’ll say or do something that’ll provoke you into hurting yourself again. ”
I opened my mouth... but nothing came out.
“But don’t feel bad,” Raven went on. “As far as I’m concerned, Ronin’s got this guilt coming. And I hope the bastard’s choking on it. This time...” She shook her head. “He went too far.”
“Too far?” I wasn’t really hearing this. I couldn’t be. “Too far with what?”
“Using the sub bond to force you to kill your own sister.”
Surprise stole the reply off my tongue... for all of five seconds. “How did you know about that?”
“Are you kidding? The whole school knows. Everyone knows he killed Professor Leech too,” she confessed, “but killing Lucifer’s daughter is on another level.
Lucifer wants Ronin expelled for what he did, and technically he should be for killing a professor, but the headmistress hasn’t handed down a decision yet.
“I’m pretty sure it’s because she knows Lucifer wanting Ronin dead has nothing to do with your sister or the leech. He just wants to cut off the head of the empire of sin—Ronin.”
I could only stare at her. This was the longest conversation Raven Zuriel and I have had. Ever. And I still didn’t understand why it was happening.
“But all these political games aside, what he did to you guys was messed up. He may not understand that, but it was.”
My jaw clenched, hands fisting underneath the sheets. “How could he not understand what he did? Of course he knew what he was doing, and he got exactly the outcome he wanted.” My eyes filled. “I’ve got nowhere to go now. I’ve got nothing... to live for.”
Raven just eyed me, her expression no less nonchalant than when I wasn’t speaking.
“It may be hard for you to understand, mortal, but sisters aren’t worth that much around here.
Most demons only adopt one child because what’s the point of two?
And for those that do adopt multiple children, they do so to pit them against each other...
like my father did with me and my sisters. ”
I stilled.
“Ten of us,” she said, dropping down on her back.
“And you might not believe it, but we weren’t raised to hate each other.
On the contrary, Father pushed us to get along—saying that wrath was always best delivered in a group.
For a long time, I really believed that I’d one day be queen, and my sisters would be my advisors.
“That all ended when Father trapped us in the endless maze and told us the one who found her way out alive would remain his princess, and if we refused to kill each other, he’d hunt us all down and cut off our heads.
He told us that if pissy little brats like us weren’t ruthless enough to kill for the throne, we had no business being the ladies of wrath.
“I killed four of them,” she dropped. “The rest took out each other.”
“I... I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Raven.”
“What are you sorry for?” she snapped, scowling at me.
“You didn’t do it. I did it. I chose power over my adopted siblings, and it wasn’t even fucking worth it because that rancid dump of a father will never give up the throne.
In the end, my sisters weren’t worth very much to me either, but I could tell it was different between the two of you. ”
Sniffling, I wiped my nose on a corner of the blanket. “You could?”
She nodded. “That day, you said all that stuff to us about the empire of sin because you didn’t want her to see you get hurt.
Because you knew it would upset her. And even though you were pulling all that shit out of your ass, you handed me the best method for revenge against my father.
It’s taken eighty-two years, but that dick isn’t calling me a pissy little brat now.
” She shrugged. “So I figure I owe you one.”
“Oh.” I bobbed my head. “Well, then, thanks again for healing my—”
“And here it is: get the fuck out of this bed,” she blared, blowing me back. “All the people who hurt your sister are out there, so what are you doing in here?”
Normally, I’d bristle at that comment. Get mad or indignant, and ask if she had a trace of tact or sympathy in that beautiful head—
—but I couldn’t even summon the energy for that much.
“Where else would I be?” My tone was flat—lifeless.
“In here or out there, there’s nothing I can do to Lucifer, Mother, or Ronin to make them pay for what they did to Dora.
One is frickin’ Satan, and the other two are masters of dark magic, while I...
” I looked away. “I’m just a weak mortal who couldn’t protect the one person I swore to always protect.
“There’s nothing I can do—”
“Bullshit,” Raven sliced off before I finished my sentence.
“That’s just what they want you to believe.
That you’re helpless. That no one exists who can bring consequences against them, but that’s only true when people like you give up.
Tell me something,” she said, raking me up and down. “Would your sister give up on you?”
“Don’t fucking pull that,” I barked, anger flaring in my chest. “Don’t ever use her to emotionally manipulate me, Zuriel, I’m not one of your braindead flunkeys!”
“Yeah, whoo!” She clapped, whooping me up and bursting my anger like a balloon.
“Finally. Got some life in this corpse after all. So now, if you’re gonna get this mad at me just for bringing her up, I’d better see you unleashing holy hell on Lucifer, Mommy, and Ronin right about...
” She snapped her imaginary watch. “Now.”
I blew out a breath, dropping my head back. “Yeah, that was a nice trick, but I’m not buying it. Why would you want me to get back at Ronin? You need him and the alliance with House Sloth to unseat your father from his throne.”
“Oh, absolutely,” she replied without hint of hesitation. “But anyone paying attention can see how obsessed with you Ronin is. He fobbed off all five of our marriage proposals for decades, but you...?” Raven whistled. “If you asked him, he’d marry you tomorrow.”
I hated myself. Because even then, hearing those words made me flush.
“This rift between the two of you works out for me just fine. Now there’s no chance that you are using this alliance to unseat our fathers, consume our Houses, and then slaughter the five of us so that you can have Ronin all to yourself.”
I rolled my eyes. “Get serious, woman. I wouldn’t do that even if Ronin hadn’t crushed any chance of us being together beneath his boot.”
“Ugh, mortals.” Can you believe she actually sounded fed up with me, and my refusal to consider assassination and world domination? “It’s amazing you live past a day.”
“I’m serious, Zuriel.” I looked past her to the door of my and Dora’s room. I hadn’t set foot in there in over two weeks. I just couldn’t. “What do you expect me to do now?”
“Simple.” She was grinning as she stood up, standing between me and my bittersweet memories. “I expect you to make them feel your wrath.”
I said nothing for so long, she turned to leave.
“Wait,” I rasped as her hand closed over the knob. “If you really meant all that, and you want to see some real wrath...” I peered at her through my lashes. “Are you willing to put your money where your mouth is?”
A smirk as terrible as it was wicked stretched her lips. “For revenge’s sake? Always.”
RONIN
“Why the fuck are you in my room again?” Tristan growled.
“Listen.”
“Fucking hell, what will it take to keep you out?”
“Will you shut up! You’re missing it!” I shoved the mirror in his face.
Charlotte’s voice filled the room. “If you really meant all that, and you want to see some real wrath... Are you willing to put your money where your mouth is?”
Tristan’s jaw slackened. He was wearing clothes—shirt and pants—for fucking once, but they were pajamas because it was two in the morning. “Oh, shit.”