Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked, 1)

Never enter into a bargain with a demon, but most especially a prince of Hell. The Malvagis’ lies are like sugar—sweet, but deadly when too much is ingested over time. Beware: Very few antidotes can be crafted for such a wicked poison.

—Notes from the di Carlo grimoire

My heart thrashed from his proximity, the sound almost as loud as the waves attacking the cliffs below. He lingered a moment before stepping away, like he not only heard it, too, but relished the rhythmic, primal beat. I wondered if it reminded him of war drums, and if he suddenly craved battle. I certainly did. Too many emotions were swirling inside me, making my decision especially hard. My sister’s possible bargain with his brother. Wrath’s blood trade. This whole strange, impossible night. I was barely able to wrap my mind around the fact that the Wicked were not only real, but that one was standing before me, offering a bargain.

“Well?” he asked. “Do you willingly accept my blood trade?”

“You haven’t bothered to explain why you’re offering it, so no.”

He took a deep breath, like the very act of explaining himself to a witch was exhausting. “Per the terms of your protection spell, I must ensure your safety. The spell binds me from harming you, but it also requires me to grant you protection from others. A blood bond between us will alert other demons that you are a temporary member of House Wrath, and therefore they should not kill or maim you too terribly. There. Will you agree to the blood bond now?”

Not maiming me too terribly wasn’t the same as not maiming me at all. I stared, lips pursed. After a minute, I slowly shook my head. “No, I don’t think I will. You’re bound until I release you, and I don’t plan on summoning any other demon. Therefore, I don’t need your protection.”

“First, I’m bound to this circle for three days. Not until you release me. Your . . . protection charm is different—that is, unfortunately, for eternity now.” He rolled his shoulders, though it didn’t appear to undo the tension in them. “Second, the blood trade will allow me to sense when you’re in danger. Without it, I can’t guarantee your safety. Which puts me in violation of the rules that you made when you crafted that spell.”

“Is that so.” My tone accused him of being the worst liar I’d ever met. “None of that matters. When our time’s up, I’m releasing you back to Hell, not the shopping district.”

“Blood of a half-dead demon. This was your first summoning spell, wasn’t it?” He watched me carefully. I glared, but said nothing to deny it. He sighed. “Of course I’m bound to an incompetent fledgling until the end of time. Do us both a favor and don’t accept my offer. I’d prefer to not be your lapdog anyway.”

I cocked my head to the side. “You’d have to come whenever I called for you?”

“Not exactly, but like I said before, I would know when you needed me.”

“Why do you care about protecting me?”

“I don’t. But thanks to your spell I’m forced to, or I’ll risk having my powers diminished. Therefore, I am adhering to the terms. Some of us graciously accept our duty.”

Sure. When we were magically required to. “How exactly does the protection work?”

“Demons will sense the bond and reconsider harming you. It might not persuade all of them not to kill you, but it would give them pause. They’d know they’d incur my wrath as punishment for interfering in House matters.”

Much as I was loath to admit it, having the demon of war as a guardian angel wasn’t the worst luck. I didn’t have to trust or even like him—I only needed to have faith in my own instincts. Right now they were telling me he wasn’t responsible for murdering my sister. I was fairly certain this bargain was more beneficial to him, but I’d eventually find a way to bend it in my favor. And even if I couldn’t, it didn’t matter. Wrath didn’t seem to want me dead, and I needed to be very much alive to discover what happened to Vittoria.

“Fine. I accept your offer of a blood trade.”

“Willingly?” he asked. I nodded. “Hand me my dagger.”

I hesitated for only a second, recalling the protection charm I’d cast on him. For the first time since he appeared in the cave, he looked elated as I slid the blade into his waiting grasp. Before I changed my mind, he cut his finger and enticed a few blood drops to bead up. The wound sealed almost immediately after.

“I won’t have to . . . drink it, will I?”

He cast a quick glance my way. “What sort of stories have you been told about us?”

I mumbled “wicked blood-drinking deviants,” and he must have heard me because he didn’t bother asking for clarification.

“Unless you enjoy drinking blood, mixing mine with yours will do.”

Challenge rose in my steady gaze as I lifted my still-bleeding arm and he pressed his finger to my wound. He seemed just as repulsed by it as I was. I gritted my teeth, trading blood with a demon wasn’t my ideal evening, either, but here we were.

“Repeat after me, I . . . whatever your full name is, willingly accept this blood trade with House Wrath for the term of six months.”

“Six months?” I yanked free of his grasp and bunched my hands into fists. “That’s absurd! What if I don’t want your protection for that long?”

He rubbed his temples. “What is it that you want, witch? Why did you summon me?”

“To find out who murdered my sister.”

“And?”

I hesitated. I originally wanted to summon a demon to break the spell on my sister’s diary. I definitely didn’t want Wrath knowing about it now. At least not until I knew why Carolina said they’d come looking for it. “That’s it.”

“You’re lying.”

“And you haven’t?”

He shook his head. “Being bound to you prevents me from lying. It would be . . . discourteous to do so.”

“Of course. One must always have good manners while ripping the hearts from their enemies.” I looked him over, appraising. I wasn’t simply going to accept his word without proof. “If your magic wasn’t tethered by the protection spell, would you harm me?”

“If I had to, yes.”

And he didn’t sound all too put off by the idea. At least I knew he was telling the truth about being unable to lie. Instead of responding, like he seemed primed for, I waited. Nonna said a lot could be gained from reading the silence. He was a demon of war, but I understood strategy, too. It didn’t take long for him to fill the quietness.

“Believe what you will, but we’re aligned in the common goal of finding your sister’s murderer.”

He and I weren’t aligned in anything and never would be. Fury whipped around the cave, faster and mightier than the wind now howling outside. He gave me a bored look that made me seethe more. “Why do you care about finding justice for my sister?”

“I don’t,” he said. “Do not confuse me with a human with noble intentions.”

“If you want me to trust you enough for a blood bargain, or whatever it’s called, I need to know why you want to solve her murder.”

He was quiet a minute, seeming to consider what information to share. “I want to stop the murderer before he strikes again. Aligning myself with you isn’t ideal, but it’s the hand I’ve been dealt and I’m playing it to my advantage. Not only are you a witch, like each victim before your sister, you’re also connected to the most recent victim. At some point, I believe you may prove valuable in drawing out the killer; therefore, I’d like to sense when you’re in danger so I can remove the threat.”

I opened my mouth, but he held up a hand to stall me.

“I will not give you any more details unless you agree to the blood bond.”

Wrath wasn’t lying—he wouldn’t tell me anything else unless I agreed. I might be willingly choosing his offer, but it didn’t really seem like I had any other options. I thought about my sister—I knew exactly what she would do. I inhaled deeply. “You’ll tell me more about my sister’s involvement with your brother?”

“I’ll exchange all necessary information.”

Tricky demon. All “necessary” information didn’t equal all information. I stared at him, trying to work out the uneasy feeling growing inside me. He claimed the blood bond was part of the protection spell I used, but I wasn’t sure that was all. I thought about him having a link to me. He said he could tell when I was in danger, but I didn’t like the idea of him knowing where I was. Demons might have rules and etiquette, but I knew nothing of them.

Maybe he considered dragging someone to Hell to reign there for eternity a high honor.

“Answer one more question for me,” I said. “Aside from not being able to lie, what else are demons forbidden from doing?”

He waited a beat before responding.

“We also cannot enter a human home without an invitation. We’re permitted to use our powers, but not to cause direct physical harm. And, once summoned, we are forced to remain in this realm until our invitation is withdrawn.”

“If I withdrew your invitation now, would you have to leave right away?”

“Yes. Do we have a bargain?” He looked relaxed, casual. But his eyes were focused, sharp. He very much wanted me to agree to his offer. I thought about the stories Nonna told us as children, about how the Wicked could never be trusted. Wrath had been specifically named.

I wanted very much to be more like my twin. But I couldn’t help being me.

“No, Prince Wrath. I do not accept your blood trade.”