Page 10 of Wrath

If they suspected we were the reincarnations of an angel-demon hybrid and seven demons…

Not just any demons, either, but the original ones.

The Seven Deadly Sins.

Fuck.

Lupe cleared his throat doggedly. “Yes. Lilith. That Lilith.”

“Continue on, boy.” B waved a hand flippantly in front of Lupe’s face.

To hear B call Lupe “boy,” despite being a seven-foot-tall stack of muscle, was almost comical.

But Lupe’s next words smothered my smile before it could fully form.

“Lilith wanted her rulers to be cunning. Powerful. So she designed these trials as a way to weed out the weak.”

“I don’t like the sound of this. At all,” Bash murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

“What exactly are you saying, Lupe?” I demanded, my insides coiled tightly, seconds from unraveling.

I absently rested one of my hands on the handle of my dagger. I knew I didn’t have an enemy in this tent—no one I needed to stab—but it made me feel better, gave me comfort.

“This might be the only way to legitimize our rule,” Lupe explained, though he didn’t sound happy about it.

Not that I blamed him.

Pouring lemon juice in my eye sounded more appealing than completing the Trials of Lilith.

“The council will have no choice but to follow you,” B interjected. “You would be blessed to rule by Lilith herself.”

Just hearing her name caused fear to culminate in my chest. A dull ache took up residency behind my eyes.

“That’s great and all,” Bash drawled, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest. “But what are these trials?”

“Each prospective ruler will have to complete a trial based on their sin,” B told us gravely. His mouth was a firm line behind his gray beard. “And if Z were to be the queen…”

“Wait. Wait. Wait.” I shook my head rapidly. “Who even said I wanted to be queen? Because let’s be real—I don’t think I fit the job description, if you know what I mean.”

The prospect of me ruling the kingdom was almost laughable. It was bad enough that the humans had taken to calling me Liberator, but referring to me as their queen? Gag.

“If the princes become the kings, and you’re married to the princes, wouldn’t that make you queen?” Davia pointed out.

A flush of heat crept up my throat as I sputtered out, “We’re not married!”

“Yet,” one of my mates murmured, but the voice was too low for me to detect which one.

B turned his searing gaze onto me, his expression hard but not unkind. “You’ve provided something for the humans that has been missing for over one hundred years now—hope. They’re in this army not because they want more nightmares on the throne, but because they wantyoutaking the crown. You’re the reason they’re willing to fight.”

My heart hammered. “But to be queen…”

“You would have to complete all seven trials.” That came from Mali, her voice a raspy husk.

Killian’s tail began to twitch. I was beginning to believe that was something it did whenever he felt a strong emotion—agitation, fear, confusion, and even lust.

Both B and Davia homed in on the strange appendage, but neither of them commented on it.

“I really, really don’t like this,” Killian said, scratching at his cheek.

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