I surveyed him closely. “That sounds ominous.”
“Oh, look. You have another guest to attend to.” Envy shoved Pride in front of him and flashed his dimples. “Enjoy your celebration, Lady Emilia.”
Envy finished his wine and fled the ballroom, narrowly missing an encounter with Vittoria. Pride folded his arms across his chest, watching my sister accept a dance from a rather dashing demon. Pride’s expression was carefully blank, but he called for another glass of sparkling wine, well before he’d finished the one he currently held.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said, his attention still on my twin. “Nicoletta”—his teeth gritted together as he corrected himself—“Vittoria loves stirring up trouble.”
“You seem to enjoy a good challenge. Enough to be unable to turn it down.”
Pride wrenched his attention from my sister and focused on me. “Your sister and I share many commonalities. Or at least the person she pretended to be shared my interests. I do not know who she truly is, nor does it matter anymore. Nicoletta was never real. My wife was. And I fucked that up. Royally, as my brother so kindly pointed out earlier. I should have tried harder to understand her. We both knew our ways were different. It was our responsibility to attempt to bridge the divide of our upbringing and cultures.”
I chose my next words carefully. “Do you think, aside from loving each other, that you and Lucia were well matched?”
Pride’s gaze flickered over my shoulder. I knew, without looking, he was watching Vittoria again. Whether in hatred or something else, I didn’t dare to inquire.
He shook his head and downed the rest of his wine. “Forgive me, your majesty. This evening is about you, and I’ve somehow gone and made it about me again. If you’ll excuse me. I’m not very good company.” As Envy had done, Pride bent over my hand and kissed it. “Treat my brother well.”
He straightened and bowed, then strode over to the table towering high with wine. Apparently, he wouldn’t be feigning intoxication this evening. Sadness crept in, but there was nothing I could do. Vittoria and Pride and Lucia needed to sort out their feelings. And be honest about them. If Lucia even wished to involve herself again.
Sloth inched his way over, looking every bit as handsome as his brothers, though he seemed ready to curl up in the corner and read a book I was fairly certain he’d smuggled into his jacket pocket. Lust would tease him endlessly if he saw it.
“Prince Sloth.” I greeted him warmly. “Thank you for attending.”
A slow smile tugged at his lips. “One doesn’t ignore a demand from Wrath. But I am happy to have shown my support. Regardless of the past, I know you’ll make a fair and just queen. None of my brothers may say it, but we all appreciate the sacrifice you made, breaking the curse.”
The reminder of my loss of magic only stung marginally this time.
“Thank you. Truly.” I clutched his hands in mine. “What are your plans now that the curse is broken?”
He glanced around the crowded room, pausing on where Gluttony and the columnist stood a foot apart, not speaking. “My plan is to not plan anything. To take one day at a time. This is the Seven Circles, and things change swiftly here. I like to watch what happens after the puzzle is pieced together. What happens after that last chapter? That is the part of the story I’m always most intrigued by. Who rises up next, a hero or villain? There are certainly many more tales that have yet to be told.” He bowed and kissed my hand. “Your majesty.”
Once he left on that curious yet ominous note, I was introduced to several high-ranking demons from House Lust. Between meeting lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses, I managed to catch sight of Fauna. She turned to Anir, and I’d have paid good coin to know what she’d said to make his brows hit his hairline.
Anir quickly set his wine aside and escorted her toward the curtained-off room. Good for you, my friend. I grinned. The mortal was detail-oriented enough to be Wrath’s second-in-command, highly trained in battle and war, but he had missed the subtle art of seduction. Fools, the lot of them. I was proud Fauna had taken charge, going after what she wanted. I hoped tonight was the start of something wonderful for both of them.
Something I hadn’t felt in what seemed like eons filled me with warmth. Happiness. Nonna and the Star Witches might still be plotting against us in some way, that would likely never change, and the vampires might rise up one day. But for now, Sursea was out of my life. My sister had her House of Sin back, Wrath and I were finally together, and my memories were my own again. Giving up my magic had been worth all the good that came from it.
My sinfully debonair husband stepped up beside me and brought his lips to my ear. “Would you like to go somewhere more private, my love?”
A flash of the last time we’d been at a party crossed my mind. We’d sneaked away to an empty room to make love. This time, I didn’t simply recall fragments. I remembered in vivid detail how that night had gone.
Wrath’s eyes twinkled as I took him by the hand and flashed a devious smile of my own. “I know just the place, my king.”
THIRTY
House Vengeance was a gothic castle nestled between soaring, snowcapped mountains to the south, keeping it hidden from the seven demon courts in the north.
As my sister had shown me on that magical map, its remote location and magical veil of memory loss helped keep it an enigma from the demon princes and their subjects. Only an invitation, which Vittoria and I had never extended, would grant the princes passage to the realm ruled by the goddesses of vengeance. The realm where the Maiden, Mother, and Crone were rumored to reside.
With my memories now intact, I recalled that it had been a lonely existence. One we filled by reveling in our title of the Feared.
The morning after the coronation party, I stood on the terrace of House Vengeance’s castle facing the eastern gardens, icy wind whipping my unbound hair as I looked out at the familiar landscape. This had been my home for centuries. The seat of my power. This was where the great goddesses of death and fury played their vengeance games.
And now, not only had I returned as a goddess without magic, but I was also the coruler of a rival House of Sin. I might have lost my magic, but I’d certainly gained a heart, a soul. Things that now mattered more than cold, impersonal vengeance. Once upon a time, it had felt like justice. And maybe in our world, full of sin and vice, it had been. Now, having lived among mortals, I saw how wrong I’d been. There was more to life than vengeance and retribution. If we went after everyone who ever hurt or wronged us, we’d never appreciate the good in our lives.
Knowing what I did now, experiencing how it felt to focus on the good in life, to feel genuine peace, I’d never return to who I was before. My life might be long, but I still wanted to savor each bit of brightness that came my way.