Nearly a dozen heads snapped my way, the expressions varying between shock, relief, and, dare I say, irritation.
Death was the first to recover. She blinked wide, doe-like eyes at me. “Welcome back, my lord.” The honorific was gritted out and ringing of false sincerity.
Her tiny stride clacked on the stone floor in rapid succession as she scurried toward me. I smirked down at her, diminutive as she was, and barely resisted the urge to pluck at one of her bouncy blonde curls.
“Hel, darling, lovely as always to see you. Was that my throne you happened to be perched on?”
Her eyes tightened as she tried and failed to contain her reaction to my accusation. “I was simply keeping it warm for you. I’m sure you’d much rather it be me than one of these other chuckleclowns.”
I offered her a smile that was little more than a baring of teeth. “You know what they say when you assume, dearest.”
“My king, we are thrilled you’ve returned.” Famine sidled up to me, distracting me from the target her sister had made of herself. “You’ll be pleased to know we have kept operations running smoothly in your absence and the troops are ready for battle.”
Glancing around at the mess they’d made of my throne room, I huffed. “Yes, I can see that.”
Was that sarcasm? Absolutely.
Most of the Princes were still eyeing me warily, though a couple were bent over what appeared to be a map as they discussed what I could only assume was strategy with War. Hmm. Perhaps there was an opportunity here.
Initially I’d only intended to rescue those idiots, but maybe this visit could accomplish multiple things. Just because I’d taken a mate didn’t mean I had to give up my day job, did it? Times had changed. You could be a husbandanda self-made autocrat. What better time to prove it?
“Show me,” I demanded, catching her off guard. Her eyes widened, and a flash of fear she couldn’t hide quickly enough peeked through.
“Of course.” She shot a glare at Wrath, who was standing alongside Sloth, both of them staring down at a slowly spinning, glowing orb. Sloth chuckled as he pointed at a particular spot.
“Oh, it’s Earth. How clever,” I crooned.
“Yes. Wrath and Sloth will bring you up to speed on our armies.”
Wrath shot her an annoyed glance but muttered something under his breath before heading my way. Sloth was slow to look over his shoulder and made an entire production out of rolling his eyes and following along behind him.
Petty little bitch.
As if doing my will was such a fucking inconvenience. Have they forgotten who I am? That theychoseto follow me. I didn’task anyone to fall from heaven and join me. That was all them. The least they could do was show some damned gratitude now that they’d been released from their prisons.
Yes, technically that was thanks to Death’s cute little game, but fuck if I was about to publicly give that upstart any credit. There’d be no living with her if I acknowledged her win.Shewas an agent ofme. Therefore, I was to thank. Not her.
“Show me what you’ve been up to, Wrath. Something... terrible, I hope.”
Wrath grunted and dipped his chin once. “Terrible is the only choice. It’s what I was created for.”
I couldn’t resist taking a shot at his brother. “And you? What were you created for?”
Sloth blinked at me, as if it was the stupidest question I could have possibly posed. “Annihilation.”
“Ah. Yes.” I clapped my hands and rubbed them together. “Delightful.”
The next few minutes consisted of Wrath and Sloth pointing to locales on the globe and showing me a bird’s-eye view of the carnage they’d wrought over the course of this apocalyptic venture of ours.
“You’ve been busy,” I murmured.
“Making up for lost time,” Wrath agreed.
“If by lost time you mean time spent in your prison, I agree. However, it would appear that you spent a good amount of those years plotting. I appreciate the efficiency.”
Sloth inspected a piece of invisible dirt on his sleeve as he mused, “Is there any other way to be?”
“Some would argue efficiency isn’t the default setting for most. After all, it took this long for the horsewomen to successfully bring about an apocalypse. We’re how many years into the existence of this godforsaken world?” I really needed to shift the topic away from their external victories and focuson wins closer to home. Specifically, the prisoners of war they’d taken.