Page 22 of Sin

“Are we prepared to handle that? We’re weakened, drained, and vulnerable. Not in fighting shape.”

One silver brow raised as he assessed me. “Afraid, Chaos? That’s not like you.”

“Concerned. Our enemy is much more powerful than we are as it stands right now.”

“How do you know that? He’s been locked away for decades. He could’ve been drained just as we have.”

“The Morningstar has a reputation for a reason. I would never underestimate his ability.”

“But you’re happy to underestimate mine?”

My eyes narrowed slightly at Grim’s tone. He might consider himself the leader of our little warband, but I’d long ago stopped bowing to any man.

“Show me your shadows. Then maybe my faith will be restored.”

It was a gamble to challenge him, but if I’d been considerably weakened by Helene’s game, there was no doubt in my mind he was too.

“No.”

“Because you can’t?”

“Because I have nothing to prove. No matter my current state, I am Death, same as I’ve always been.”

I waved a hand. “Yes, yes. You’re inevitable. Blah, blah, blah. I’ve heard this speech before, Grim. But you’re failing to consider one very key fact. You’ve never been weakened before. None of us have. And none of us have ever been stupid enough to face off against Lucifer and his Princes either. How exactly do you see this playing out? Did you even stop to think what this meant for the rest of us when you accepted Lilith’s proposition?”

Grim sighed and dragged a hand through his thick, pewter-colored hair. “It takes time.”

“What does?”

“Releasing the Princes. We will regain our strength, of that I’m sure. You’ll succeed in breeding the girl, so Lucifer won’t get a chance, and then he won’t want to fight. He’ll slink back to where he came from like he always does.”

“If you think it will be that easy, you’re an even bigger fool than I imagined.”

It was ludicrous to think this would go off without a hitch. Something would get in the way, and relying on Sin or me to successfully impregnate her was a long shot at best. There were so many other factors at play, not the least of which was thedawn of the apocalypse. Just because it hadn’t fully taken hold didn’t mean it wasn’t a threat. The veil between the mortal realm and hell had lifted. That was cosmic interference on the very highest level. There was no telling what sort of hell—no pun intended—that would unleash.

And that didn’t even take into consideration the four of us all cohabitating for the foreseeable future. There was a reason we’d all gone our separate ways. Needs we each had to fulfill and manage. Needs that, if left unmet, would become... problematic.

I balled my hands into fists to hide the tremor in my fingers. The urge for violence surged to the surface, clawing at me as I contemplated the potential enemies that lurked in every metaphorical shadow.

“We are the only thing standing in the way of Lucifer claiming his throne. If you think he doesn’t already know we’re not on his side, you haven’t been paying attention.”

Grim drummed his fingers on his desk before shoving his chair back and rising to his full height. “Of course he knows. The girls have already aligned themselves with him if they’re smart, and we know they are.”

“Smarter than us?”

He leveled me with a weighted stare. “They’ve done what we never could. They beat us at our own game.”

The echo of my earlier thoughts added fuel to my inner fire. Around me, Grim’s desk rattled, and books fell from the floor-to-ceiling shelves lining the wall.

Grim’s eyes clocked the movement and slowly dragged his silver gaze back to mine. “Chaos,” he warned.

“I’m trying. My control is threadbare after Hel’s game.”

“Fix it.”

“Don’t you think I would if I knew how?”

“What do you usually do to let off steam when you’re not out waging war?”

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