“Queen of Wraiths,” Lust, definitely Lust, purrs, her breasts practically falling out of her dress. “There is no such thing.”
“I wish you were right,” I say. “However, here I am.”
“Andwhyare you here?” Voren presses. “As Dreven says, you all left.”
They shift uncomfortably until Air decides it’s his turn to speak. “We did leave. We were locked up for centuries byherkind.” The hiss of the wind is chilling. “We were called back from the four corners of the earth. Something is coming.”
“And you don’t know what?” Dastian asks.
Water shakes her head.
“The Devourer,” I state. “It’s sniffing around, eating realms. But we have reason to believe it has stopped and taken on human form. We are here to call it and box it.”
“You intend to trap the unmaker of worlds?” Fire asks. “You are mad. All of you.”
Ambivalence sighs, a sound like a tyre deflating. “It seems like a lot of effort. Dying is easier.”
“Not today,” I say. The snake in my soul uncoils, sliding icy scales against the back of my ribs. It hates the chatter. It wants the silence of the hunt. My voice drops, borrowing that awful, cold authority again. “Clear the corridor. If you aren’t part of the walls, you’re in the way.”
Lust looks me up and down, licking her lips nervously. “And if we refuse?”
Voren smiles, the temperature plummeting until frost patterns creep across the obsidian floor. “Then you become part of the mortar.”
Air swirls in a panicked eddy, knocking into Water, who looks ready to dissolve into a puddle. They exchange glances—fear winning out over pride.
“How do we help?”
“You don’t. You step back and let me do what I came here to do.”
“Or you can leave again,” Dreven says. “The choice is yours.”
“This is our home. We were called back.”
“You shouldn’t have left in the first place.”
“Noted,” Lust murmurs, eyeing up Dastian like she wants to do a bit of devouring of her own.
“Hey,” I snap, clicking my fingers. “Eyes on me, bitch.”
She slides her gaze across with a lazy smile. “Possessive.”
“He is mine. You want him, you fight me for him. You will lose.”
“I am a goddess.”
“And I amthegoddess, so try me.”
Lust’s gaze flickers. She takes a half-step back, smoothing her silk dress with a pout that’s more petulant than fearful.
“No need to get all territorial,” she murmurs, though she breaks eye contact first.
“Move,” I tell the assembly, keeping my voice flat. “Unless you want to be bait.”
Ambivalence is the first to shuffle aside, muttering about how he wasn’t sure he wanted to be here anyway. The others follow, parting like a reluctant sea. They vanish into the fog, smart enough to realise they are out of their depth.
We stride past them, deeper into the gloom. The air grows heavier with every step, the scent of ozone and ancient dust clogging my throat.
“That was unexpected,” Dreven muses.
