“But the baby’s not his,” I pointed out hoping she’d forgotten that possibility.
“Probably not,” she agreed and tightened her grip on Amanda’s hair. “This is precautionary. A just in case.”
The tattoos shimmered as her crazy increased. The glare off her skin intensified. I squinted and kept my eyes on her face.
“So, how’s this gonna work?” I asked.
Wrath rolled her eyes and blew out an exasperated breath. “As attractive as I find you, Astrid, your stupidity is beginning to bore me. I am over a thousand years old, and some little hussy will not blow out a boy and take my birthright. It’s quite simple. She dies and her child dies with her. Daddy won’t retire for hundreds of years and I’ll be forgiven by then. Done. Get it?”
“Why the Sword? Why don’t you just kill her with magic or your hands?” Amanda moaned with despair.
“Nice of you to notice. I wanted to show all the Demons in Hell how magnificent I was and thought it would be a fun touch.”
Deranged didn’t even begin to describe her . . .
“Demons aren’t allowed to kill,” I reminded her.
“You bought that bullshit?” She cackled and my anger rose. “Of course we can kill. True Immortals are allowed to kill. Did Daddy leave that out of your lessons? Satan has blood on his hands,” she snapped. “Why do you think he’s in Hell?”
That was a surprise, but her logic was faulty. “You’re not a True Immortal.”
“Not yet, but there are three more unknowns and I plan to be one of them.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works, cousin, but good luck with that. Now, I’m going to ask nicely, mostly because I like my dress and getting into it with you might fuck it up . . . drop the Sword and let Amanda go.”
“Who do you think you are?” she screamed. “You are nothing. A Vampyre hybrid—a wannabe Demon. I am Wrath and I can destroy you.”
“Blah blah blah,” I muttered. Her eyes widened in shock and I bit back my inappropriate laughter.
“What did you say?” she ground out between clenched teeth.
“I said blah. Blah. Blah.” I smiled and watched her unravel.
“You,” she hissed and dropped Amanda to the floor. Turning quickly she shot a spell at her. Amanda froze in a grimace of pain so awful, I felt myself viscerally react. I didn’t like her, but she was pregnant and for the most part innocent. Being a bitch was not a crime to die for. This was not gonna happen on my clock. She and her unborn child didn’t deserve death at Wrath’s hand.
“You are scum,” she spat at me. “You come from scum.” Her hair whipped with wild abandon around her face and the tattoos raced even faster on her skin. The effect was dizzying. “Your mother was a whore. A greedy whore who traded her soul for power. That certainly ended up working out well for her, didn’t it? She’s looking a little worse for wear down there in the Basement. I do find it sweet that you still want her love.” Her laugh made my teeth grind. My fangs descended and I knew my eyes glowed green with rage.
An acid-like burning started low in my gut and raced through my veins like fire. I sucked in a painful breath and finally accepted the darkness I’d avoided. It was liberating and frightening. I had no time to wonder if I was making a fundamental change in my chemistry. Honestly, it no longer mattered. I was what I was.
I eyed the lunatic Sword brandishing woman in front of me with rage. Wrath had been correct about my mother, but she was also deadly wrong. Yes, my mother’s choices had been motivated by greed, but she’d been a mere child when my father got to her. Her free will had been destroyed by methodical abuse over lifetimes.
My body jerked forward as my Vampyre tried to reject what was happening to me, but I pushed her down. My hatred was consuming me and I let it.
“And your father,” she hissed. “He was an imbecile. A stupid, stupid nothing. What could we possibly expect from you? You come from shit.”
The blood roaring in my ears blocked all sound. Her lips moved, but I no longer had any desire to hear what she said.
It wasn’t slow and it wasn’t gentle. I called for the darkness and it came. I had control. I briefly closed my eyes and let the magic consume me. It was no longer just gloves. It was me—all of me. My skin was covered in a fine black glitter. I sparkled and vibrated with power from head to toe. Wrath’s eyes rounded in fear and she took a step back. She was no longer the big, strong, evil bad guy . . . I was.
“What are you?” She pointed the Sword at me and took yet another step back.
“I’m the nothing that’s going to take your Demon ass out.”