Page 132 of Wrath

All eyes turned to the genie, as expected. Devlin had a way of effortlessly commanding respect and attention, even without trying. The confidence he exuded was both admirable and terrifying. I was just grateful he was on our side.

“You seven are still alive only because we can’t kill you,” Devlin said.

See? Admirable and terrifying.

The shadow and vampire council members exchanged worried glances, but the incubus only appeared amused. The others simply stared at Devlin, their expressions ranging from furious to expectant.

Since council members were voted in, we couldn’t kill them without the various kingdoms rioting. We would have to hold a new election—and soon—but for now, these vultures would have to do.

“We hope to establish a working relationship with the seven of you,” Devlin continued, hefting his chin up imperiously. “You all have loyally served your communities for years now. We wouldn’t take that away from you. However, if you wish to maintain that power, you need to understand that we’re not our fathers. We’llneverbe our fathers.” His violet eyes slid over the representatives, hardening. “If you can accept that, then we can foster a new start. But if you can’t…”

He allowed his threat to taper off, to linger unspoken in the air.

The genie representative took a single step forward, splitting away from the group, and smiled. “I, for one, love a little mayhem. I’m excited to see what you eight bring to the table.”

Then he surprised the ever-loving shit out of me by bowing his head.

The shadow and vampire council members exchanged another eloquent glance and then stepped forward as well.

“Vampires will still need to feed,” the vampire said, flashing a hint of his fangs.

“And we’ll find willing donors.” Jax moved to stand beside Devlin. “But feedings will be done humanely.” Darkness briefly flashed in his garnet eyes, and I knew he was thinking about my time at the vampire carnival, when I’d witnessed unspeakable horrors. “There’s a way to do it that doesn’t involve senseless killing.”

The vampire representative, surprisingly, turned towards me, one eyebrow raised. “And you think the humans would be willing?”

“It’ll be like any job,” I said. “As long as they’re treated with respect and can return to their families unharmed, then yes. They’ll be willing.”

The vampire still seemed unconvinced, but he nodded stiffly.

None of the other representatives declared their allegiance to the eight of us, but that was okay. I didn’t expect them to. This would take time and effort on all of our parts. And if they couldn’t accept the changes we wanted to make, then they would get voted out in the next election, which was scheduled to occur in only a couple of months.

“We should discuss this more inside.” The mage representative sniffed. “It’s…unbecoming to have such important conversations on the steps. You can send your troops to the barracks?—”

“Actually,” I interrupted, glancing over my shoulder at the one hundred men and women standing behind me. “They’ll stay with me.” I turned towards Atta, who had finally pulled her mouth away from Mali’s and watched our exchange with rapt fascination. “Do you think you can find housing for our troops inside of the capitol building?”

“Of course.” Atta flashed me a quick smile and then bounced inside, dragging Mali along after her.

Hopefully, Atta heard my unspoken order—keep our troops close, in case things go south. We had some of our best shadow spies keeping an eye on Aaliyah’s movements, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t make an unexpected appearance. And god only knew what those loyal to the kings would do when they caught wind of the eight of us here.

“Let’s reconvene in two hours,” Devlin announced, focusing on the representatives. “There’s a lot we need to discuss.”

Like the execution of the disgraced kings.

The representatives nodded and stepped back inside the building—though not without a parting glare from the shifter.

Atta returned a few minutes later and gestured for our troops to follow her. It would be a tight fit with so many people, but we would make it work. We had to.

Soon, only me and my mates stood on the sandstone steps leading to the capitol building.

The sun was high in the sky, spindly strands of gold weaving around fluffy white clouds. On any other day, I would say it looked beautiful, but I couldn’t quite ignore the ominous chill that permeated the air.

Something was coming.

Something bad.

“You sent Axel to guard the kings?” I asked Devlin, and he nodded.

The last thing we needed was the kings escaping and creating an even bigger mess for us to clean up.

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