Wrath knew I possessed this talent. This power. And he’d never let on. I wanted to know what else he knew about me, what other secrets I’d yet to uncover about my past.
The Crone told me to solve the mystery of myself. And I intended to do just that.
Perhaps, no matter what Celestia had said in her tower chamber, I really was the First Witch, and this block on my memories was the price I’d paid for using dark magic. That would certainly explain why Nonna warned me away from certain spells.
I gritted my teeth, recalling the way she’d make us bless our amulets during each full moon. Did she know the truth of who I was? She had to. And her betrayal carved deep.
Maybe—unlike what Nonna claimed about our amulets hiding us from the devil—my cornicello, his wings, had actually been used to keep my power in check, not his. And if that were true, then perhaps Wrath took my amulet not only for his benefit but for mine. My power had definitely shifted since its removal.
I exhaled, focusing on the question I wanted an answer to first.
“How long have you known I can summon fire?” He pressed his lips together. I shook my head, laughing bitterly. “My twin is alive. Though I suspect you already know that, too.”
Emotion finally flickered in his eyes, but he remained silent, watchful. On guard. As if I was something to be feared. He wasn’t wrong.
“I want answers.”
I would not wait for my twin to give me her version of the truth when I saw her in the morning. I wanted to gather it myself. Starting now. I looked Wrath over. Once, he’d told me to study my enemies closely. To look for any sign of the truth in their mannerisms. He wasn’t speaking. And it was unusual.
“Judging by your silence I imagine this is the curse at play again. We’re skirting around things it does not want me to learn.” A gleam of approval entered his gaze. Gone in the next instant. “If I accept the marriage bond, I have the strangest feeling some of that will change. The curse may not fully break that way, but I believe there are some bonds more powerful than dark magic. And there is nothing more dangerous than love, is there? People fight for it. They die for it. They commit acts of war and treason and all manner of sin in its name.”
I would know. I’d been willing to do dreadful things to avenge my twin.
Something resembling worry flashed in his eyes. “Feelings are not facts.”
“Interesting.”
My mouth curved seductively. Wrath had just lied. In the closest way he could.
Curse be damned, he still wanted me to wield my power of choice. To accept our bond without outside forces interfering in my free will. The prince of bargains was forfeiting a winning hand. And he was doing it for me. Always for me.
“Tell me about our amulets, your wings. I want to know why Vittoria and I really wore them. Was it to keep our power on a leash, or was it as my family claimed: a way to hide them from you?”
“I have no proof, but I believe both are true. I’ve also been looking into the possibility that they may have been spelled to ensure you forget certain things.”
“You had me wear them in the Crescent Shallows to test that.” I inhaled as he nodded in confirmation. At least his expression was one of guilt.
“I’d hoped the truth properties of the shallows would remove any blocks on your mind. I did not anticipate the extreme reaction it caused.”
“Do they really lock the gates of Hell?”
“Yes.”
Internally I breathed a sigh of relief. At least not everything I’d been told was a lie.
“I have one final question for now, your highness.” I placed my hand on his chest, feeling the steady thumping beneath my touch. His attention dropped to that tiny connection before he dragged it back to mine. “Pretend there’s no curse. No magical betrothal. Or romantic urges created by our bond. Would you choose me? To reign beside you. To be your queen. Your friend. Your confidant. Your lover.”
“Emilia…”
“You tricked me into a blood bargain with you before I crossed into the underworld. Do you recall what you said?” I swore his heart stuttered a beat before furiously picking up its pace. “You told me to never make a bargain with the devil. ‘What’s his is his.’”
“It was a figure of speech. A blood bargain does not equate possession.”
“Perhaps not technically.” My hand fell away and I stepped back. “You did it as another means of protecting me. In case I didn’t want to accept our bond. You claimed no other prince of Hell would be stupid enough to challenge you. It was your secret way of offering me a way out of any contract with another demon House. The blood pact I made with Pride included. Am I wrong?”