Page 31 of Of Realms and Chaos

The speech was flimsy, and I knew it was not particularly enticing to a creature that seemed capable of defending itself without trouble. Hopefully royal blood tasted better than most.

“I am born of death, stupid girl.”

I waved a hand in dismissal, not remotely understanding what it meant and unwilling to show that.

Wrath stilled, head tilting to the side. I held my breath, thinking of how much help it would be to have this beast on our side when the fae attacked. A part of me wondered how many innocents would perish simply because their king and queen told them they had to fight. That part also could not help but hope that some miracle would come and prevent the war—in the ways I had previously dreamed of doing.

That way of thinking would not do me any good though.

“Do you not fear that I will turn on you? That I will eat you here and now?” it asked. Without hesitation, I shrugged, offering up an indifference that—Eternity willing—made me appear stronger.

“I have suffered at the hands of pretty creatures my entire life. A bit more pain would be nothing new. But hear me when I say this, I will not make it easy, and you will not walk away unscathed.” Probably not true, but I imagined that confidence would carry me farther than terror.

Wrath laughed, the sound horrifying. It rang in my ears, a rough and menacing cackle that sent shivers down my spine. It was far too cute for the menacing sounds it made.

Clearly, I had finally overstepped. Should I apologize? Offer more scratches?

“Brave of you. I do not think that I have ever been threatened in such a way, let alone believed it.” I let out a breath, the surprise rushing through me. It laughed again, this time a far less scream-inducing sound. “Fine, I shall keep you. Not because I particularly like you, nor do I care about saving lives. But because my own life lacks entertainment, and you seem to be in abundance of it. Especially if the blood of my enemies is involved.”

I whooped in exclamation, swiping it up into my arms when it approached and rubbed against me. I had done it. I could not believe it, but I had.

“Sure thing, Wrath, let’s go.”

I had not felt this level of joy in quite some time. Wrath was right. This was an exciting turn of events. How strange that we had walked into these mountains believing that we would die here, and instead, we were walking away with the sweetest little—

“That thing is not coming with us!” Henry shouted, jogging after me as I began retracing our path. “We need to portal it to Bell and let him figure out what to do with it!”

Like the dalistori, I ignored the demon’s pessimism, the smile on my face impossibly large. “We did it, Henry! Let’s just be happy and get back to the inn. Then, we will figure out what comes next.”

“Absolutely not. It. Is. Not. Coming.” Oh he was livid.

“I am not an it. I am a him. Though I do believe I like the idea of having a name. You, too, may call me Wrath. And I will go where I please, which at the moment is wherever this female is.” Wrath curled farther into my body, nuzzling that sweet little head into my neck. It took me a moment to realize that he was smelling me.

His mind still felt odd, as if it were the hole left in an unfinished puzzle—something that should be there but was not. Something that was missing, somehow.

I decided there was no harm in trying to use my power on him.

Can you hear me, angry little one?

Wrath ceased his sniffing, his body going rigid. I took that as a yes. He leaned back, those yellow eyes meeting mine with a curious and suspicious light in them.

Strange thing you are, female.

“You can call me Asher,” I offered. Wrath took one last look at me, an inquisitive and calculating stare that made me wonder if he also felt that odd connection we seemed to have with one another.

“Ash!” Henry shouted, grabbing onto my shoulder and spinning me around. I shook off his hand, beginning to lose my temper. Wrath was not pleased by it either.

“Do not touch my creature, you gangly fool, or I shall end you with a thousand cuts! I shall feast on your innards and sacrifice your still-pulsing heart to the great God of Death and Creation! I shall—”

“He is so cute,” I said, cutting off his monologue and scratching under his chin. Hoping that would be the last interruption, I began walking again.

“He just threatened to murder me!”

I turned, my hand stilling as I glared at Henry. For someone who was supposedly attempting to save his realm, the Sun sure was doing a poor job of winning over those who could help.

“Did I tell you that you could stop scratching me?” Wrath said, slapping my face with his paw—his claws nearly breaking my skin. I huffed and turned my glare to him before complying.

I continued petting him, making impeccable timing on the journey back now that I was not scared senseless. Still, I hoped that Henry would concede soon and portal us to our next stop. We had a long way to go.

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