Dark Kings (Feathers and Fate #1) - Sadie Moss Page 0,40

were really serious.

She lets out a soft breath, like she’s trying to calm herself, trying to believe what I say. But she glances over my shoulder again, still apparently concerned.

The angel seems so wide-eyed about everything. It makes me want to corrupt her a little. To make her more… human. Less of a sheltered angel from Above and more like me. I want to show her the world and all of its possibilities. I want to feed her and taste her indulgence and have it not be a desire for home, but a desire to explore. A desire to discover. A desire to taste everything, feel everything. Including me.

That’s quite a dangerous line of thinking to go down though, and I try to stay away from that kind of thing. I like to have my fun, causing chaos as I indulge myself and others. It’s in my nature, and all my brothers like to do the same in their own way. Ford does it by fighting so viciously in the ring, getting everyone’s anger and bloodlust raging. There’s a part of him in every riot, whether it’s for good reasons like Stonewall or bad reasons like the massacre at Tiananmen Square.

I cause chaos subtly. I make people want to keep indulging so much that they give up everything else—namely reason and logic. Wars have been started that way. I take pride in my work, even though I don’t exactly like to cause suffering.

Does Trinity know that’s the kind of person that I am? That we all are?

I want her to explore the world that’s laid out before her, but I don’t want her to be callous or cruel. And I almost don’t want her to know the truth about us and all that we’ve done. She seems wary around us, but she’s willing to offer me and my brother favors in exchange for our help. That’s no small thing. It means she trusts us, at least a bit.

And oddly, I don’t want to break that trust.

“We have a winner!” Nix crows, breaking me from my thoughts. I look over my shoulder to see that Ford has Beckett pinned. That’s how these matches always end. Ford’s the only one who can beat Beckett in a fight, but I sometimes wonder if Beckett lets him win—because at the end of the day, Wrath still knows who the alpha is, and that’s our brother Greed.

Ford gets to his feet, teeth bared. He’s still practically growling, but the rage in him is dissipating, sated for now.

“What do you want?” he demands. “For real.”

Beckett stands and straightens out his suit, brushing the dust off, as if that’s going to salvage it after the savage beating Ford put it through. Seeing that the danger has passed, I step away from Trinity. It’s harder than I would’ve expected to leave the soft warmth of her body against mine.

“Come here, angel.” Beckett jerks his chin toward her, and I watch her body respond instantly.

Whether she wants to admit it or not, my brother affects her. And whether he wants to admit it or not, he’s got a soft spot for her.

Trinity walks over, a bit wary but standing close to Beckett like she thinks Ford might leap at her next.

“Go easy on her,” I say. I can’t help it; it’s my instinct to make sure everyone gets along. Indulgence comes from pleasure and peace, after all, not from my siblings all beating the shit out of one another.

“Yeah? Why would I do that?” Ford snorts.

“Ford,” Beckett says, his voice calm and controlled once again. “This is Trinity. She needs our help closing the demonic portal that you might have noticed opened recently. Or not. You may have been a bit too busy here.”

Ford bares his teeth again like a wolf. “Yeah, been a bit busy. Who the fuck cares if demons come crawling around here? Ain’t my fucking problem.”

“Trinity is graciously offering a favor to each of us in exchange for our help in the matter,” Beckett goes on.

He does know how to make a deal, our Beck. But Ford doesn’t look like he’s buying it.

He scowls. “Why would I want a favor from her?”

“I don’t know,” Trinity says honestly. “But there must be something you want that I can help you with.”

Ford’s eyes flash with pain, and I feel sympathy for him. He wasn’t always like this, after all. Yes, he’s always been Wrath—it’s who he is. But the anger he feels now comes from a deep