“Was his head really turned?” Envy countered. “I wouldn’t be as sure.”
“I will not permit my sister to be bound by such foolish constraints as fate or love.”
Envy flicked his gaze to me. “I’d love to see you try to stop her.”
I was through with being spoken about as if I weren’t present. And I was not without power, no matter if I’d been taken against my will. I would bend this meeting to my advantage. Before my sister could retort, I quietly cast a truth spell. I was still a witch, but my magic was closer to that of a goddess now. The spell lashed out and gripped my twin, squeezing her tightly. When I spoke, my voice was laced with pure dominance. With the surge of power, I sounded more demonic than any of the princes ever did. “Where is Wrath?”
Vittoria’s eyes nearly bulged as she tried to fight off the magical command. I fed the spell more power, watching coldly as blood trickled from her nose, dripped onto her pretty gown.
Her teeth ground together; sweat dotted her brow. It was all happening so quickly, but I’d crush her skull and break her mind to get what I wanted. Envy chuckled at my side, likely sensing my growing savagery. Her attention shot to him, glaring. “My temple.”
“WHERE?”
Vittoria’s nostrils flared. She was strong, but I was fueled by rage. “The Shifting Isles.”
“Did you murder Greed’s commander?”
“No.”
“Did you hire someone to murder her?”
Vittoria bared her teeth again but managed to keep her answer to herself.
The magic had already been receding, so I wasn’t sure if she lied about murdering Greed’s commander or not, but it gave me a sliver of hope that she hadn’t. “Thank you, sister. That wasn’t too painful, was it?”
She staggered away from the bars of my cell, her expression murderous as she swiped the blood from her nose. “You’ll regret that.”
I made sure to mimic her cold look from earlier, my voice full of malice. “Like you’ll soon regret locking me in here, keeping me from Wrath.”
“I warned you.” Envy practically bounced on the balls of his feet. “You struck the match; I hope you meant it when you said you enjoyed the burn.”
I ignored their side argument and stared at my twin. “Did you send the enchanted skull to Greed?”
“Anyone with the correct spell can enchant a skull. Even a prince of Hell.”
It wasn’t a direct answer, but it did make me wonder again if Greed had been behind the skull. Thus far, I hadn’t found anything to prove hedidn’tsend it to himself.
“Yes,” Envy drawled, “even lowly demon princes can do parlor tricks. Just like a goddess.”
“Have any of your wolves been attacked by demons or gone missing?” I asked. “Aside from the coup you just pulled with me and Wrath.”
“If a demon harmed a wolf under my care, that demon would no longer breathe.”
“Even if that demon were a high-ranking official of a court you’d aligned yourself with?”
“Especially then.” Vittoria’s attention slid to Envy. “If you continue smirking at me, I’ll tear your heart out a second time, demon.”
“Vittoria,” I said sternly. “Have any of your wolves been slain or stolen in the last week or so?”
“Why do you need to know that?” she asked. I gritted my teeth. It was a familiar deflection tactic that Wrath used when he was avoiding a question.
“I found out werewolf blood can overwhelm demon senses. There was quite a lot of it found around Greed’s commander’s remains. You remember Vesta, don’t you? I’m sure you must have met when you’d made that alliance with House Greed.”
“I didn’t pay much attention to Greed’s lapdog.”
“You sound bitter,” Envy remarked. “Did she refuse your advances, too?”
I wanted to press the issue, but my sister obviously wouldn’t speak in front of a demon. “Why am I here, Vittoria?”