Page 174 of Psycho Gods

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Malum who responded. Orion whispered in my other ear, “Whatever you need to tell yourself, sweetheart.” His tone turned seductive. “Just imagine how much shopping you could do.”

Scorpius took the bags from my hands and smirked.

I inhaled smoke angrily as the three pompous, apparently filthy-rich devil kings escorted me through the mall. They thought they’d proven something with their little display.

Too bad for them, I was not swayed by the hollowness of materialism. Okay, only a little. Fine, I had a shopping addiction.

Sue me, I liked cute clothes.

There were worse things in the world. For example, I could have a drug addiction. I stared down at the pipe in my hand. Never mind.

As we walked through the mall, I fantasized about all the cute new outfits I could wear.

It was going great, until I saw the wall.

My vision blurred.

I forgot how to breathe.

Chapter 29

Corvus Malum

PUBLIC DEVOTION

Acedia (noun): apathy, boredom.

DAY 20, HOUR 16

She stood unnaturally still. Pale skin was flushed a sickly gray.

Mesmerizing navy eyes were wide with horror as she gaped at the enchanted billboard that listed the High Court news. The floor beneath her feet was shiny with black ice.

The temperature in the mall plummeted.

Shifters moved around her, unaware.

Women and men—arms overflowing with shopping bags—chatted and laughed as they stopped to read the billboard, then moved on to make more useless purchases.

Clad in all black, Arabella was an immovable force among sheep. She was different from them all.

Harder.

Colder.

Stronger.

She was so frustrating that I wanted to strangle her; she was also so beautiful that I wanted to burn the world for daring to hurt her, myself included.

I couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d melted beneath the three of us in the dressing room. She’d played with my cock like it was hers. It was.

Sun god, I wanted to do depraved things to her.

Flushing with heat, I focused on thinking about Dick and Lothaire naked until my erection deflated.

My mind wondered to what Arabella had written in the truth journal. She thought our relationship was toxic, which meant my Revered hated being around me.

The aching hollowness in my chest expanded.

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