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Vittoria held me back, her sudden laughter tinged with sadness. “If you tell anyone, I’ll murder your firstborn. Plus, I would hardly say binding House Greed to my cause was altruistic.”
My lips curved upward, knowing full well the goddess of death would never murder my firstborn. I wished to halt time and just stay in this moment with my twin. But wishes didn’t exist in this place, only pain and heartbreak. I held Vittoria a little closer, then finally let go. For a brief moment, her eyes had returned to that warm brown.
“You didn’t really kill Greed’s commander, did you?”
She heaved a sigh. “No, but I would have loved to. Not because I dislike her, but just to twist the dagger for Greed a little more.”
“Perhaps you ought to keep that opinion to yourself next time you see Greed or any of the other princes.” I exhaled. Despite learning the very foundation of my world had been a lie, a heavy weight was lifted from my shoulders. I knew deep down my twin couldn’t be the ice queen she’d been pretending to be. She’d been too warm, too full of life to lose it all when she’d become immortal again. “Vesta wasn’t stabbed. She was… eaten.”
Vittoria’s brows raised, looking half-impressed, half-aghast. “Gruesome way to go.”
“I have cause to believeshe’snot dead. And I think you are intimately aware of that. I also believe you know who did die in that chamber.” I watched my twin, whose expression turned unreadable. “You need to tell me the whole story. Why Vesta wanted to leave. Who took her place. Where she is now. Greed called for a blood retribution. And Wrath granted it. If you don’t confess your innocence in front of Wrath soon and bring him proof, the other princes will eventually hunt you down.”
“Life would be rather dull if no one ever threatened to obliterate a rival House.” My sister grinned, avoiding giving me any more answers about Vesta’s disappearance and whose body was found. She did give me some information, which would need to be good enough for now. “I’m pleased to have caused such strong emotions in Greed. He must well and truly be put off that I’d do such a thing after forming an alliance.” She playfully nudged my side. We both knew she hated that prince for reasons she still hadn’t shared. “Perhaps it’s true love.”
“And what of Pride? Did it remain only a game to you or did you become attached?”
Vittoria’s spine straightened, and darkness fell across her features. “That demon ought to count his curses that I haven’t paid him a visit.”
I studied my sister out of the corner of my eye. I’d once felt as strongly about my wish to stab Wrath, and now I couldn’t stop myself from thinking of his troublesome mouth and all the wickedly delightful things he could do with it. Vittoria slanted a look in my direction.
“Don’t. I see what you’re thinking, and I swear I’ll slow your heart until you lose consciousness.”
“You know”—I looped my arm through Vittoria’s and started walking down the cobbled road that was nothing more than an illusion—“someone once told me hate is rooted in passion. Perhaps you ought to visit Pride and work out your issues.”
“I’d rather bathe in pig’s shit.”
“Mmh-hmm. Speaking of pigs, if you wish for me to find my storybook ending, why do you keep warning me away from Wrath?”
Vittoria stared off at a point in the distance, though I had the impression she was actually looking inward. “If you become part of his House, you cannot corule over ours. So many things have changed, and I don’t want to lose one more familiar thing. Regardless, I wanted you to discover the whole truth before you bound yourself fully to him, so you could make a true choice, with all the facts, between love and your House.”
There was the sister with a mortal soul. “Change is terrifying, but wearethe Feared. Or so you keep insisting.”
Vittoria snorted. “Are you telling me to have some dignity?”
“You said it, dear sister. Not me.” I smiled as she rolled her eyes. “You know, Wrath said there would be no issue if I wished to reestablish our House.”
Vittoria’s head snapped in my direction. “Did he now?”
I nodded. “If you stop your campaign to stir up trouble and create inner conflict, it might be something I’m interested in. But I won’t help you if you keep pitting everyone against one another. That’s not the sort of life I want anymore.”
We strolled to the end of what had been our street; the silence was comfortable, but my thoughts had shifted to more pressing matters again. Ones that needed to be addressed before we left this fantasy and returned to the Seven Circles. My sister was wanted in that realm, and we needed to ensure her safety. We paused at the next street, and I lifted my face toward the heavens. The air was balmy, the salty sea breeze pleasant. Yet chills raked down my body.
I dropped Vittoria’s arm and faced her. “If you are harboring Vesta, or Marcella, or whoever she’s calling herself, you need to tell Wrath. He will sense the truth of it, and you’ll be cleared of any wrongdoing. Please. I cannot lose you, too. Not after all of this.” I motioned to the world around us. “Please, Vittoria. Just tell me she’s alive and well and you have a damn good reason for making a powerful enemy.”
Vittoria pressed her lips together and glanced away. If I was correct and Vesta was alive—which I fully believed to be the truth—my sister was not going to confess anything to me. I had to trust she had a reason, something more powerful than vengeance that drove her.
“Who is the actual villain in this sordid tale?” I asked instead. “Us? The demons? Witches?”
Vittoria thought carefully. “Depending on whose side you’re on, I suppose it could be all of us. Though I find the most fault with witches and demons. Their dislike of each other has gone on forever, and they never should have dragged us into their issues.”
I blew out a long breath.
“No wonder it hasn’t been a simple path to unraveling the mystery. You and I schemed against Pride and Wrath. Pride was careless with his consort’s heart. Which enraged the First Witch. Sursea cursed Wrath when he wouldn’t whisk away her daughter from Pride, Wrath responded in kind, and the Star Witches upheld their duty to keep the Feared and the Wicked locked away, even if it meant sacrificing their own.”
“And on and on the blame goes,” Vittoria finished. “I don’t think it matters who the first villain is or was—we’ve all done terrible things.”
“But someone did help Vesta escape Greed’s court. And someone is truly dead.”
