Page 111 of Wrath

Make it so it was all the nightmare could focus on.

Was she doing it to my soldiers?

But not everyone is under the influence,I reasoned to myself, trying to calm my pounding heart.Most of the nightmares are fighting, not giving in to their sin. They are?—

Then I realized that everyone still fighting were of the sins that hadn’t completed the trials.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Shadows. Mermaids. Shifters. They still had yet to complete Lilith’s stupid trials, and they were the only ones who seemed to be affected by whatever Aaliyah was doing to them.

But did that mean…?

A flash of red out of my peripheral captured my attention. I spun, my heart racing, only to see a figure dash through the forest away from me.

Aaliyah didn’t just send an army.

She was here too.

THIRTY-SIX

KILLIAN

Iabsently scratched at one of my horns as I waited behind a tree near the back of the camp. All I could see was a huge, towering wall cutting through the ground and slicing at the sky.

Deep breaths, Kill. You got this.

I shoved my shaking hand into my pocket, mainly because I didn’t know what else to do with it. I wasn’t even on the front lines fighting, and I was scared shitless.

My job was simple. As soon as the fighting began, I would sneak through the back entrance, which was only guarded by a handful of soldiers, and guide the humans to freedom. My appearance might have been…monstrous, but I was still an incubus. One word from me could calm even the most terrified of souls. I didn’t like using my gifts, but some situations called for it.

Now all I had to do was wait.

I pressed my forehead against the nearest tree, relishing the sting of rough bark against my skin.

All I could think about was Z. I missed her constantly, but today her absence seemed especially pronounced. Maybe it was because I hadn’t yet been in a battle that didn’t have her leading it.

The only comfort was knowing I would reunite with her soon. And not only that, but I’d be able to tell her I’d freed thousands of humans. This was only one camp of many, but Lupe told me this was the biggest. If we could liberate these humans, we could do anything.

Hope left a surprisingly bitter taste in my mouth. I wouldn’t expect that from an emotion like that, but there it was. Maybe it was because hope was closely tied to failure.

Nebulous fear moved in riotous swirls in my stomach. I squeezed my eyelids shut and counted to ten.

Sounds erupted from just beyond the wall, and I instantly perked up, my eyes flying open, homing in on the door that would lead me inside. Shouts. Cries. Screams.

And there. A high-pitched whistle.

My cue.

I hurried towards the back door, my heart racing, and threw it open.

As we’d hoped, all of the guards manning this entrance had left to join the fray near the front.

The reason why this door was barely guarded became more apparent as I scanned my surroundings. It was on the opposite side of the camp from the humans, surrounded by wooden huts I believed belonged to guards.

They didn’t need defenses because the location alone was the most adequate one. Nobody would be stupid enough to plan anything here with dozens of guards resting only a few feet away. Fortunately, all of those guards were currently occupied, and I was able to venture forward with no interference.

But that didn’t stop the icy fear from trickling down my spine as I thought of all the ways this could go wrong. Very, very wrong.

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