She grabbed another text and shoved it toward me. An intricate map of House Wrath that featured tunnels and temples and caverns hidden below like underground cities and towns.
“There is a place on these grounds called the Well of Memory,” Fauna continued. “And I believe it is the key to finding out more about the Blade of Ruination.” She pointed to a section of the map labeled GARDENS. “You must pay the goddess a tithe to enter the Well of Memory’s chamber. It’s unpleasant—the well must deem you worthy, and the memories it shows you are often nightmares others have purged. Or other things they wished to forget.”
“Is that all?”
“It’s not as easy as it sounds.” Fauna bit her lip. “The well can trick you into thinking you are really in the memory it’s showing you. Some are said to get stuck there for eternity, reliving the worst moments of memories that do not even belong to them.”
It was not something I felt concerned over, but I knew spell-locked Emilia would. Fauna was doing remarkably well hiding her fear outwardly now, but I still sensed it simmering below the surface. My lack of fear didn’t exactly frighten her, but it did make her uncomfortable. We couldn’t afford to have any distractions with so much at stake—I needed to soothe over her worry so she could focus.
“How do you avoid that?” I asked.
Fauna’s eyes narrowed, but she must have decided against inquiring if I was truly worried or appeasing her. She glanced down at the book in front of her.
“According to this text, if you focus on your question and don’t lose sight of it, you’ll be able to sift through memories until you find your answer. The memories are mostly imbued in clear quartz, hematite, amethyst, or lapis lazuli. You hold one crystal at a time while thinking of your question; supposedly it will attract the correct memory to you or vice versa.”
I nodded, thinking of the question I needed the answer to the most. “You’re certain this well will know the location of the Blade of Ruination if I ask it to show me where it is?”
“Theoretically, it should. Someone must know where it is, or at least know of someone who’d come into contact with it. Even if it’s not directly spoken about, it might appear in a purged memory. It might not lead you to it directly, but it could give us a starting point.” Fauna exhaled. “But I personally don’t know anyone who’s ever used the well successfully.”
That caught my attention. “Not even the princes of Hell?”
“They cannot. No one knows why. His majesty certainly tried when the curse went into effect. He even allowed Envy to try to use it. Both attempts failed. They couldn’t access any memories. Not from mortals, or demons, or any supernaturals.”
How curious. “The well was here before the demon princes started their rule, correct?”
“Yes.” Fauna nodded. “The goddess statue is new, but records indicate the well itself predates the formation of the Houses of Sin by quite some time. But…”
“It doesn’t predate me.”
“No, Lady Emilia. Aside from the Crone and the Sisters Seven, there aren’t many beings that were here before you and your twin.”
If my spell-lock were still in place, I’d be disturbed by the idea of my lengthy existence. Instead, I cast my newly freed memory back, tunneling into a vast cavern that spanned what seemed like eons. Recalling a time before the princes of Hell left me with an impression of boredom. Debauchery. Back before the devil took his throne, Vittoria and I had greeted souls.
And they did not enjoy our welcome party.
We were ruthless, wicked creatures. And we reveled in it.
I had a clear impression that was why our mother had tampered with memories to begin with, why she’d also created the veil between the mountains separating House Vengeance from the rest of the Seven Circles. Celestia didn’t want anyone to recall the time before the demons ruled. When worse creatures reigned.
Wrath’s power shifted suddenly, drawing me into the present; it blinked out from where he’d been and reappeared closer. More powerful. It burned like the heat of the sun. He was angry. Savagely so.
Great Divine above, his wrath made my fury sing like a battle hymn. His attention reached out, and I knew he was sensing my power and following it to its source. Outside the tower, footsteps thundered down the corridor. Fauna quickly offered her good-byes and dashed out the door. Her emotions spiking wildly. Our king was in a wretchedly foul mood.
And I had a good indication why.
I perched against the table, waiting for what promised to be quite a display of emotion. His arrival did not disappoint. Wrath wrenched the door off its hinges and tossed it away as if it weighed nothing. Golden eyes blazed with his sin as they settled on mine. If there was a quick flash of relief, it was immediately replaced by the hardness of anger.
“The door did nothing to deserve that,” I said.
“You could have died.”
I made a show of carefully looking myself over. “Envy was correct. Immortality won out.”
“It was a risk.”
“A calculated one.” I smiled. This time it didn’t provoke fear. Wrath’s steady gaze never wavered from my face, his anger still burning brightly between us. “I know why you didn’t wish for the spell-lock to be broken.” He crossed his arms over his chest and cocked a brow. Alluring, arrogant demon. “I am able to control my fury. Your subjects have nothing to fear.”
“Is that so?” Wrath shook his head. “The smell of smoke lingering on your clothes has nothing to do with vengeance? Somehow, I cannot picture you and your sister sitting around a fire, discussing times past like two civilized goddesses.”
“A little act of vengeance was well deserved, and you know it.” I gave him a hard stare, my power surging up to confront his before I gripped it tightly. “The witches ought to count their blessings I took only their restaurant and not their lives. They can rebuild. And they will think twice before crossing me again.”
“You’re right.” Wrath sighed. “They’ll think before directly attacking you. But that will not stop them from responding with fire of their own.” He held my gaze, his own turning as icy as his tone. “Greed was called away from the Pit to his House. His spies spotted witches gathering in the mountains behind his circle. They’re going to attack. Then they’re going to blame you.”
And that was the root of my husband’s anger.
Greed would demand retribution from me as well as Vittoria and my prince would be forced to make a choice that would end in bloodshed. There would be no game Wrath and I could play to avoid that; more and more, Greed was becoming a problem. There was little doubt in my mind that he was responsible for the enchanted skull to cast suspicion on my twin. Whether he knew or suspected Vesta was alive didn’t seem to matter. He wanted vengeance. And he’d use this as the perfect excuse to exact some.
My hands curled into fists at my sides. “Send a missive to House Greed requesting a visit immediately. We’ll attack the witches before they strike. And this time, I will not be merciful. Let the witches and your brother see what I am capable of.”
I spun on my heels and headed to my suite, my lavender gown billowing around me like a storm cloud. It was time to dress for war.
TWENTY
Sleet drummed icy claws along the stone parapet of House Greed. We stood silently on the narrow pathway, gazes locked onto the tree line in the distance, ignoring the frigid water pelting our battle leathers. A guard spotted a flicker of light toward the northwest. It was impossible to know if it was meant to distract or if it had been an accident. I doubted the witches would be so careless, given how calculated they were, but stranger things had happened when emotions ran high. Which made me wonder…
I surveyed the quiet grounds, magic primed and ready. Even with the sleet coming down hard, no birds or animals stirred in the woods. It seemed as if the whole circle was holding its breath, waiting. I hadn’t yet sensed any fear. Greed’s lawn extended hundreds of meters in all directions, a clever way to remove any cover for unfriendly or unwelcome visitors. Like witches.
My hand flexed at my side. When thinking of witches, it was impossible to not wonder about Nonna. If she was with the witches here now, I would not hesitate to defend the demons. Even if that meant I had to battle her. I prayed it wouldn’t come to that, but there was no longer any telling what my “grandmother” was capable of.