I jolted awake when the room’s door opened. Half buried under me, Seyari twitched then shoved me off her with surprising strength. It was enough that I tumbled over and caught her wing while my tail tripped her.

We landed in a haphazard pile on the cushions looking up at the person who’d entered.

Unfortunately for us, Utraxia herself had entered, ahead of any servants of preamble. She stood halfway through the door and was staring at us.

Hastily, I scrambled into a sitting position. “Forgive our impropriety, Sovereign Utraxia. Though I must say this room is quite comfortable.”

Next to me, Seyari elbowed me, probably on purpose, as she sat up. I realized that I’d been bowing and pulled my chin up.

Just in time to meet Utraxia’s glinting eyes and amused snort. “Of course it’s comfortable. Though I am pleased to receive both your gratitude and apologies. Suffice to say you are forgiven.” She walked into the room like a prowling cat and laid herself across a spectacularly large divan facing the pillow pile.

With a flick of her wrist the door closed with a sense of pressure that I felt in my ears.

“Now that we’re away from prying eyes,” she continued, pose regal and chin high, “there is much I desire to know from you.”

Seyari and I shared a glance.

“Yes, both of you. We’ll start with the angel. You will forgive my bluntness: what are you? I’ve slain several angels and none have looked quite so… feral. It’s a marvelous inversion of aesthetic, but in your aura I do not sense a demon.”

“I’m an angel of wrath,” Seyari answered simply.

“An angel of wrath…” Utraxia hummed and looked Seyari up and down. Not just clinically, but lasciviously enough that I was about to speak up when her eyes darted to meet mine. “You’ve made quite an interesting choice of partner, Wrath. I am pleased; such a pairing would make even the most daring storyteller blush with scandal. Simply marvelous, a thrilling perversion of divinity.”

I narrowed my eyes.

She must have figured out what I was about to say because she clicked her tongue. “Now I am afraid it is I who must apologize.” Her head dipped almost imperceptibly. “None should look upon your love with such a gaze. Though you must understand that mine is not of the individual, but the concept. She…”

“Seyari,” my wife supplied with a curt, clipped tone.

“Seyari, Angel of Wrath… hmm…” A faint rumbling started up and I realized Utraxia was literally purring. “Well, suffice to say Seyari is inspiring. I’ve not felt such a spark in… nearly a century. Decades at least. But I will not ramble. How then, did such a pairing come to be? Lost in their conceit, angels are not wont to mingle with mortals—let alone demons.”

“It started when we both thought the other human,” I offered, bending the truth for brevity’s sake.

Utraxia responded with a coy smile. “Eloquent, but you are no natural-born liar. Wrath is ever honest.” She held up a massive, clawed hand. “But I will pry no further. You thought the other human, but remained together after. Or did you find out before?”

“I had a hunch what she was,” Seyari answered with surprising honesty. “Funny I’d meet a demon kinder and more innocent than most humans. As for her corrupting me?” Seyari laughed, voice rich in a way that sent a shiver all the way down to my tail. “No, I’m afraid you’ve got it backwards. This little one hadn’t seen her first kill until she met me.”

“Sey!”

She shrugged and took one of my hands in her own. “I’m proud of us, Renna. Besides, I see another potential ally in Utraxia.”

“As do I in you,” Utraxia replied. “What I can sense near the boundary of my demesne is limited, but I felt your battle. Would that I could be there, but it is not wise to throw myself against one I barely know for another I am ignorant of.” She turned her gaze toward me. “Zarenna, Sovereign of Wrath, tell me, how long have you carried the title?”

I took a moment to think. With all the traveling, I’d hardly had time to sit down and count days. “Perhaps a year?”

Utraxia’s eyes flashed with aura sight before she threw me a sharp-toothed half-smile. “Impressive. And I do not say that lightly. Sovereigns of Wrath rarely come about, and more rarely still do they rise above the chaff.”

“Really?” I asked before I could stop myself.

The Sovereign of Pride nodded. “Of course. Wrath is, by its nature, impulsive, thoughtless, and easily misdirected. Those who do not throw themselves into the waiting spears of the human church, or another, cannier opponent, find themselves outwitted and outmatched before they can gather any noticeable power.

“But you, Zarenna, have attempted something so recklessly foolhardy I simply must applaud the audacity of it all. You have allied and bedded the enemies of demons. Do you think me unaware you came here to kill a human criminal being used as bait by Envy?

“Even caught in their web, you struggled free and tore a piece with you. You are a fascinating rarity that may just stand the test of time. Moreover, you stand to affect real change in the world, should your mad experiment last longer than a fleeting season.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

She leaned in close, showing immense incisors. “I doubt it will. Blind zealotry rejects sight, fear supercedes trust, and might rules whether it desires the crown or not. So I ask you this, Sovereign of Wrath who is more than her vice. Why?”

I met Utraxia’s gaze; now wasn’t the time for irreverence or halfhearted comments. Behind the smile and the posturing was a very real question: Who are you, really?

And: Are a potential ally or enemy?

So, I chose my words carefully, letting the silence linger before speaking in a voice whose steadiness surprised me. “I wish to be a part of mortal society. For purely selfish reasons as well: I have mortal friends and will make more. Plus, society comes with the benefits of trade.

“As I’ve tried this ‘experiment,’ I’ve come to understand that I’m not the same as a mortal, and I shouldn’t pretend otherwise—already I delegate my position to insulate those who would be cowed by fear. I’ll do my best to persuade and compromise, but if I am given no other choice, I’m not exactly going to hold back.”

Utraxia frowned, and I wondered if I’d answered wrong. “Will you bow to a mortal king?”

“I…” I stopped myself from saying yes. Would I? If King Carvalon asked me to break a promise, to go against my ideals, would I tell him no?

Would I tell him to go pound snow? Yeah, I would. And I could do that because if he wanted to force the issue, he’d need an army. So I shook my head instead, and I felt Seyari’s hand wrap around mine.

“Proud of you,” my wife whispered through sharp teeth and I shuddered.

“Then you understand,” Utraxia said with an air of finality.

I shuddered again. “Yeah, I do.”

“You understand then the fallacy of living amongst mortal society. Of trying to grow close to petty, manipulative animals who would see you as no more than a cudgel to be wielded or shielded.”

At that, I shook my head again. “I have friends, and I have family. I must try.”

“You will see them suffer for your arrogance?”

My breath hitched. When did my eyes get wet? Suddenly, I wanted to shout that Utraxia was wrong, that I’d make a way for this idyllic dream to all work out. To make that cottage even if I had to carve it out of a mountain.

Instead, though, I just felt tired. A deep, bone-chilling fatigue that made my head swim, even if my body felt nothing.

“What of those who volunteer to stand with her and accept what may come?” Seyari said, voice clear even as she pulled me into a half embrace.

“They will be as gnats before a wolf.”

“Tell me then, how wolves are so adept at striking gnats.”

I couldn’t see Utraxia’s expression from my view of the side of Seyari’s chest, but I heard her snort. “The principal is not the same.”

“But a similar thinking may be applied: would a wolf consider a gnat?”

“For good reason, it would not. The gnat cannot harm the wolf.”

“But if the gnat were able to gain the attention of what may, or could report a weakness of the wolf…”

“Then the analogy would break.” Utraxia’s voice held a dangerous-sounding edge. “A wolf understands that a gnat cannot do such a thing.”

“In the same way you understand perfectly the loyalty and capability of each mortal?”

Utraxia sighed heavily and shifted her forelegs. “Enough. Your point has been overmade, and it is moot. It is not unheard of to have mortal followers. And they are, at best, an asset of dubious value.”

Seyari hissed, but back down, leaving the room in silence once again.

I pushed myself up from my amazing wife and blinked my eyes clear. “I understand your point as well, Pride. What I am dragging Astrye into is unfair; they were not given a choice. But as they are now they are valuable to me, and Envy would take any chance to destroy them to harm me. Am I wrong?”

“You are not.” Her eyes moved from Seyari to me, cold stare feeling like it was burning a hole into my brain.

“Then it is my duty to protect them as per my promise.”

At that, she nodded firmly. “It is. I never doubted you understood honor, Wrath. I am merely concerned that you harbored delusions.”

I sat up straighter and lifted my chin. “Do you still have this concern?”

Utraxia shook her head. “You are a fool and an idealist. But I also… concede”—she forced the word out like it’d personally hurt her—“that you have conviction and clarity of intent. I believe I did not hear your answer from you, however. If your ‘king’ demanded you bend the knee against your own ideals, would you?”

“No.”

“And if he insisted with force?”

This time I knew the answer, felt it in my heart. “I would crush him.”

Utraxia smiled. “Acceptable. Befitting of your title.” She rose. “Very well, then. You may consider me a favorable acquaintance. Perhaps I may be persuaded to a more formal relationship in the future.”

“You want to get Envy back, right?”

“I do, but I am uninterested in the politics of mortals and a trespass is hardly worth a declaration of war.”

Her last words made me smirk. “You’re scared of them.”

Utraxia’s eyes narrowed. “Envy is of unfortunate might. I am not ‘scared,’ I simply do not wish to escalate the situation. Destroying them would be a waste of resources.”

“Riiight.”

“Do not test me, Wrath.”

In an instant, I was reminded of the strength of her aura. In comparison, mine… wasn’t worthless. But I was weaker, no doubt about that, and by a good margin. So I bowed my head. “I wouldn’t dare, Pride.”

She scoffed. “You’re just like her.”

“Her?”

Utraxia grimaced and glanced at the door, her haunches shifting. “I do not wish to keep you overlong. I believe your home is at great risk?”

I stood up. “It is.”

Next to me, Seyari pulled herself out of the pillow pile and chuckled. “You and Lust have quite the past don’t you, Pride?”

Utraxia… blushed? “I believe you should be leaving. Now.”

“Sure. Let’s go, Renna.” Sey waved the comment off and made for the door, grabbing my arm.

When she reached the handle, I stopped us. “Utraxia, it is only fair of you to know this, as I don’t want any misunderstandings. First: I would greatly appreciate a positive relationship, or perhaps even an alliance. Second: I am allied to Lillith, Sovereign of Lust already.”

At Lilly’s name, the room grew colder and Utraxia cast her eyes downward. “Do not speak her name, Zarenna, though I do appreciate your candor. Provided this is true, as you’ve no sane reason to lie, then I will not go back on my word.” She looked up, right into my eyes, with a hard-set jaw. “Understand this, however. For us to form an alliance, the need must truly be great.”

I nodded politely. “I understand.”

“Good. Now leave before I regret my benevolence.”

When Seyari opened the door, a thin sheen of ice covering it shattered like glass. Out in the hallway, Quiraxa was waiting. I didn’t miss how Seyari perked up in the presence of her budding friend.

Great, so I’m friends with Lilly who Seyari doesn’t particularly like, and Seyari’s friends with Quiraxa who is… tolerable at best.

All the more reason to play the middlewoman I supposed.

“I am to take you to the edge of my Sovereign’s demesne such that your journey home is swift,” Quiraxa said with a shallow bow.

My thoughts were once again on Nelys’s pain through the contract. They were fine now, but for who knew how long. “We need to move as quickly as possible,” I said.

“Yes, I—” Quiraxa’s head froze mid-nod, and her eyes widened. “Surely you don’t mean…”

I gestured, all four palms out. “Top arms or bottom arms?”