I raised a brow and continued without answering, “Unless we amplify our power to replace the loss of his. Something we were already attempting as a failsafe when we captured Sunday and Pan.”
“Sounds like we’re back to square one,” Sloth said.
“Not exactly.”
“How do you figure?” he pressed.
“Well, before we had to rely on others to hunt down their locations and bring them to us.”
“And now?” Wrath all but growled, clearly annoyed with me.
“And now we have a way to grab all of them at once, regardless of where they are hiding.”
“So what are you waiting for?”
War stalked over to my side. “Funny you should ask, actually.”
“How do you figure?”
“Because as of this morning, we have everything we need,” I answered for her, my smile causing Wrath to lift his brows in delight.
“Sounds like things are about to get interesting after all,” Sloth said with a smirk.
“Oh, darling, you have no idea,” Famine said, sliding her arm through his.
“Bring in the Siren coven,” I announced.
Pestilence looked around. “Who are you speaking to?”
“Oh, would you look at that, you just volunteered.”
Chapter
Thirty
MERRI
Shoes dangling from two fingers, I tiptoed toward the front door, not wanting to alert any of my mates to what I was doing. Malice, I knew, was out cold after a very active night. The others were more of a guess, but for the moment, they seemed to be in their rooms. Or at the very least, not between me and my goal.
I had to get to Lilith. There were answers I desperately needed, and she was the only one who could give them to me. The dream I had last night proved it. I couldn’t get the last echoes of it out of my mind. Me standing at the horsemen’s graves, all four of them, with Lucifer by my side.
At first, the idea of them giving up their mantles to be with me sounded romantic. But then reality crept in. If they were mortal, that meant they could die. Not just eventually, but possibly at my hand. What if I kill them one night in a desperate feeding session? It’s happened before, when I let myself get too hungry. Sure, I’d been better about managing my needs, but not around humans.
Humans were still off-limits.
Unless there was a screen separating us.
I let out a heavy sigh as I reached my aunt’s door. She opened it before I could knock.
“Merri? Is everything all right?” She peered down the hallway in either direction, as if she could discern the reason for my visit. “I could sense your anxiety from the other room.”
“The horsemen want to give up their mantles for me,” I blurted.
Lilith’s eyes widened, then she pulled her robe tighter around her and moved to let me inside her office. “This is a conversation best had behind closed doors.”
She gestured for me to take a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs while she padded her way over to an electric tea kettle I’d never noticed before. It was the most domesticated I could recall seeing her. Without a full face of makeup, her hair pulled up in a messy bun, and her usual dominatrix garb, she looked like she could be my college roommate. Not that I’d ever made it to college.
As soon as the tea was ready, she brought me a cup, then poured one for herself and settled across from me. “Now, tell me exactly what they said. Start from the beginning, chicken.”