Kingdom of the Feared (Kingdom of the Wicked, #3)(16)

“Father slay me,” Lust groaned. “Must you always speak as if you’re reciting a medical text?”

My interest shifted away from my own thoughts to regard the demons. The princes rarely spoke to other demons in such a derogatory manner, which meant this blue-eyed one was related to them. There was only one prince I hadn’t been formally introduced to, though I’d been curious after catching the briefest glimpse of him at House Gluttony during the Feast of the Wolf.

I studied the blue-eyed demon again.

“You’re the Prince of Sloth,” I said. He inclined his head but didn’t elaborate. “I thought you’d be—”

“Lazier?” Lust supplied. “He is, trust me. All he does is lounge about with his books. His House is one giant, messy library. Not an orgy or sinful tableau to be found in the whole of his circle. I can’t tell you the last time he engaged in debauchery. I bet he hasn’t even stroked his own cock in a decade. Fucking insulting to demons everywhere.”

Sloth gave his brother a slow smile that was anything but pleasant. “There are many texts in my collection that outline adventurous sexual positions. I probably know more ways to make a body shiver from pleasure than you do.”

“You may know how to,” Lust said, “but actually doing it is an entirely different thing. You’d need to put the book down and put some effort into it.”

“I can still read with someone’s mouth on my—”

“That’s enough,” Wrath interrupted just as a dagger flew through the air, sinking into Lust’s shoulder.

“What the fuck, Greed?” Lust yanked the blade free, glaring at Greed as he stepped forward, aggression rolling off him in waves. “You want to brawl, brother?” He shrugged his suit jacket off, eyes flashing as he roughly rolled up his shirtsleeves. “Let’s go.”

“Lust, stand down.” Wrath stepped in front of his brother, checking him with his massive body. “Either stay and be useful or take this trivial nonsense elsewhere.”

“Greed threw his House dagger at me; that’s not trivial nonsense. I’m here doing him a favor. I could be well into debauchery and drink instead of listening to cursed skulls and Sloth’s less-than-scintillating observations.”

“You’re still standing here. Which means Greed didn’t hit anything vital.” Wrath turned to Greed, not giving Lust a chance to respond. “Where did you find Vesta’s body?”

A beat of silence passed before Greed responded. “In her bathing chamber. She’d finished training and was cleaning up before our dinner meeting. When she didn’t arrive, I knew something was wrong. Vesta was never late to anything.” He strode over to the tumbler he’d left on his desk and gulped the liquid down. Almost faster than I could process, he threw the glass against the wall, watching it shatter. “Vesta was special. There is never going to be another like her. You know who did this. She even placed rubies in the skull’s eyes to send a message. On honor of my House, I demand a blood retribution. If you do not grant me this, then House Greed declares you and yours an enemy.”

Wrath slowly turned to me. “Emilia.”

His quiet tone, the way Lust and Sloth suddenly found the invisible lint on their suits to be interesting, the hard stare coming from Greed. The insistence it was a werewolf. They were laying out the evidence. Against my sister.

I wasn’t entirely sure what their blood retribution entailed, but I couldn’t let them harm Vittoria without more facts. At the same time, I knew we didn’t need Greed to be openly at war with us.

Wrath glanced at me, his expression now the cold mask of a ruling prince of Hell, before turning back to his brother. “Sloth, what is the probability a beast other than a shifter inflicted those wounds?”

“Slim. I don’t have exact percentages, but it’s highly unlikely another creature breached the walls or wards surrounding the castle without first being noticed. Now, a shifter who can cross realms magically would have a much better chance at transporting themselves into these walls.”

“And Envy said the abomination had no trouble getting through his wards,” Greed added. “She made it all the way to his private wing, where she put on quite a show, but Envy suspected her taking Alexei so publicly was a ruse to keep him distracted. There’s no telling what nasty trick she was up to. He’s been searching to see if anything was stolen but hasn’t reported anything.”

“I doubt Envy would be so forthcoming if he did find something missing,” Sloth said.

I shook my head—was that enough evidence to confirm my sister was to blame? I turned to Greed. “Vittoria had an alliance with you. Why would she attack your House? What were the terms of your agreement?”

Greed didn’t appear inclined to answer my question, but Wrath gave him a hard look that had him rethinking ignoring his soon-to-be queen. I let the slight roll off me for now, though I wouldn’t tolerate such disrespectful behavior a second time.

“Your sister wanted an ally in the Seven Circles for reasons I will not disclose in front of rival demon courts. Part of the terms included a vow to not harm any wolves. Something that seemed fair since she’d already formed an alliance with them and demanded the same from them in return. I was interested in the idea of taming such beasts. Seeing what they might offer. We are normally at odds, so it was an interesting gamble to take.”