Page 74 of Wrath's Call

“You come home with me.”

“Like a pet dog?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He’d also loosened his grip on my legs, but I didn’t roll away. “What happened to choices?”

Marik ran his hand down my right arm, stopping where the bracelet met my flesh. He rubbed his fingers back and forth across it, the metal warming beneath his touch.

“This bracelet took your choice from you, I’m afraid.”

“My bracelet?” I tried to roll away, but Marik gripped my hips, pulling me back into place. So much for the illusion of freedom.

“This bracelet means you’re connected to me permanently and have been since you were born as my Emissary of Pride.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I asked. I wanted to be mad at his controlling, stubborn ass, but the way his eyes crinkled at the corner when he smiled at me made my stomach flutter more than butterflies doing a conga line.

“Emissaries are the direct representatives of the Kings of Hell on this plain, one for each of the sins. We represent them, and control all those who are a part of each line. As the only archdemonic prince on this plain, I am in charge of all the emissaries while keeping tabs on my own demons of wrath.”

“I don’t understand how my bracelet has anything to do with this,” I said, cutting him off mid-explanation.

“Relax, I’m getting to that.”

“Hard to relax when you have me pinned.”

“You’re above me so I wouldn’t say pinned.” He grinned. “Trapped is a better word for it.”

I went to smack him but he grabbed my hand and tugged it down to hold between our chests.

“Ah ah ah my Little Thief. You know what violence does to me.” His eyes smoldered as he looked me up and down. I snorted to cover my sudden burst of virginal shyness.

“But to return to your question, each emissary has a copper marker on them somewhere that helps me locate them. Felix has a ring on his right pinky for instance.”

“Felix is an emissary as well?” I asked, raising a brow.

“Yes, of greed,” Marik confirmed.

“So, he’s essentially the most powerful greed demon on Earth?” I mused, the implications sinking in.

“Yes,” Marik replied, “But don’t remind him of that. It tends to go to his head.”

I laughed from my belly, a feeling I didn’t realize I had truly needed up until that moment. “And what do Emissaries do exactly?”

“Whatever I need them to,” he answered, his words carrying a sense of authority.

“So, you’ll control me,” I stated, raising a skeptical brow.

“In some ways,” he replied warily. “Until you prove worthy of your mantle of emissary and our bonds have fully formed, you will be under a tighter leash.”

“And what if I decide not to be controlled? Will you break me?” I asked. I had a feeling this question could make or break our connection – a wrong answer forever tainting any feelings I may have for this archdemon beneath me.

“Break you? Oh, but my Little Thief, there is no gain in breaking you. Worthiness, you see, is not just in power, but in attitude. And you, my sweet conundrum, have that in spades.”

I was stunned, tears pooling at the corners of my eyes. In some screwed-up way, that was one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to me. The world around me had never valued me for me before - only my gifts. And while none of this fully explained my connections to the sins and the virtues, and how I was able to fully control and utilize skills that didn’t make sense, I knew somehow deep down that Marik would help me understand it all. He would help me come to terms with what I was, because of me.

But fear still coated my insides, the hole in my chest still wreaking havoc in my mind. I couldn’t shake the fear that I could hurt someone else, especially now that I understood that I was not always in full control of my own mind. That something else - my demon - could control me and make decisions that could get others hurt.

Seeing the uneasiness in my eyes Marik raised his hand, brushing away the tears that pooled at the corners of my eyes.

“Come back with me. I’ll protect you.”

I shook my head. “Will you protect others from me?”

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