Page 37 of Wrath

“Do you remember what we talked about weeks ago? When we were at the resistance camp in the mountain?” Dair asked, and the abrupt change in topic took me off guard.

“Um…?”

We’d talked about a lot of things. The biggest takeaway was what had already been confirmed—that I was a reincarnated angel or demon or angel-demon hybrid and that my men were the original Seven Deadly Sins.

You know, completely normal things to discover about yourself.

Oh! Did I mention that I had an evil sister hellbent on corrupting me and killing my mates?

“B mentioned that there was a way to counter a king’s spell,” Dair said, and I frowned, not sure where he was going with this.

“You have to ground up the bones of the past kings,” I recited. “But?—”

“Every kingdom has a cemetery dedicated to the royal family.” A strange eagerness lit a fire behind Dair’s eyes, turning the sea-blue luminescent. Then he began to ramble, and I struggled to hold on to every word he said. “At first, I thought I could use the bones of kings still alive. It would be fucked up and a little messy, but they deserve it after what they did to us. Except for Ryland’s father, of course. But then Paco said that the bones must be from a dead king, and I thought?—”

“Dair, slow down. Breathe.” I placed my hands on his shoulders, feeling the muscles tremble beneath my touch. “I don’t understand.”

“Now that we have control over the Mage Kingdom, we were able to extract the body of a king and use one of his bones for the spell.” Dair sucked in a harrowed breath, and a tiny, beatific grin teased the edges of his lips. “Z, with time, I could get all of the bones I need to complete the spell.”

That still didn’t answer the question.

“And you’re in the wheelchair because…?” I supported him one hundred percent and loved him regardless, but I knew he struggled with the physical limitations of being in a chair.

“Because Paco said the magic wouldn’t work if I had other spells in my system—including the one that allowed me to walk for a short period of time.” He cupped my face between his palms and beamed. It was a wide, unencumbered smile that made my heart gallop in my chest. “I can handle being in a wheelchair for a few weeks if it means I’ll be able to walk, Z. Actually walk. No more spells. No more potions.”

His hope was infectious, and I felt an answering smile pull at my own lips before it straightened out.

“But Dair, we have no idea how long this will take. Couldn’t you take the potion for now and?—”

He was already shaking his head. “Paco said my bloodstream must be one hundred percent clear of any spell or potion. I’m not risking it.”

His logic made sense, in a way, but it also made me terrified. Was he saying that until he could retrieve all of the bones, he’d be vulnerable to attack? Couldn’t he simply use the potion Paco had until we were positive we had the?—

Wait a minute.

I narrowed my eyes at Dair.

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” I accused.

Dair noticeably winced. “I don’t?—”

“Don’t lie to me, or so help me…” I allowed the threat to trail off because I honestly didn’t know what I would do to him.I leaned in even closer until his blue eyes were all I could see, consuming my vision. “There’s more to the story, isn’t there?”

He forked his fingers through his golden hair. “I just didn’t want you to worry.”

“Consider me worried.” I folded my arms over my chest and glared at him. It was a little awkward to do, considering I still sat on his lap. “Tell me the real reason why you aren’t taking the potion.”

“It doesn’t work anymore,” Dair said in a rush.

His words took me by surprise. I expected him to say that Paco refused to make him a batch or there would be unseemly side effects like a flaccid cock. But I certainly didn’t expect Dair to confess that the potion—the one thing currently enabling him to stand—wasn’t working.

My heart vaulted into my throat.

“What do you mean?”

Dair leaned in closer, skimming his mouth down the side of my neck.

I scowled and said, “Don’t distract me.”

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