the look in his gray eyes bored as he takes me in. My heart skips a beat as his eyes connect with mine, but just as quickly as he acknowledges me with his gaze, he dismisses me and returns his stare to the party.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, especially when I don’t look at all like I should, but his disregard tugs at me, and there’s no denying that I was hoping for some kind of recognition or, I don’t know, kindness maybe?
Instead of taking his wine glass, Delta drops my hand and places her hands on her hips. Taz’s head swings over, and a scowl crosses his face. No doubt the social slight would really irritate someone whose entire being is prideful.
“Get me a drink, servant,” he orders haughtily while Sloth—Ace—looks on, stretching out into his chair listlessly.
“Sorry, you’re going to have to get it yourself,” Delta tells him.
“Excuse me?” he snarls. “Have you fucking lost your mind?”
“Speaking of fucking,” Delta says without missing a beat. “You know, Taz, word on the street is that you fucked a pixie,” she says with a pointed look.
“What?” Tazreel snaps, his gray-gold eyes going fiery, while I watch on nervously.
But Delta doesn’t look worried. If anything, she seems to be enjoying herself. “Oh, right, my bad. She was one third pixie, wasn’t she?” Delta says with a smirk, but from the look on Tazreel’s face, he’s not getting the code phrase, because he doesn’t look relieved that his long-lost daughter is back. He looks pissed.
I force myself not to take a step back as he straightens up with anger and pushes up from the chair he’s currently perched in.
Doubt flashes in Delta’s eyes, and confusion pulses through me. “Did Rafferty and the others not tell you what was going on?” she asks with bewilderment, and then worry shutters over her features. “Did something happen to them?” she demands as Acedia stands up too, the look on his face just as outraged as Tazreel’s as they both bear down on her.
“How dare you insult a Sin, you petulant twerp,” Ace bites out, and for some reason the use of twerp makes me giggle. All eyes flash to me, and I immediately balk.
Shit.
Note to self: The Sins don’t take kindly to being laughed at.
“I think these two need to be strung up in the ballroom,” Taz growls, making Ace nod in agreement.
Well, that sounds awful.
I clear my throat and quickly raise my hands in front of me. “Wait!” I say desperately. “What she means is that we’re currently being disguised, but she’s Delta, and I’m Sable, and Medley is wandering around here somewhere, and you need to listen to us or we’re probably all going to die,” I stammer, gesturing to the party all around me. “The pixie fucking was supposed to help you know it’s really us in these bodies,” I add, in case the word vomit that just occurred didn’t quite compute the way I was hoping.
The two Sins just stare at me, and then Ace looks over at Taz. “Can we string them up now?”
Double shit.
“She speaks the truth, Pride,” a female declares, butting in on the conversation.
Taz’s eyes widen as he sweeps over Delta and me, like he’s trying to see past our disguise. “Delta…?” he asks warily.
“Yep. Don’t freak out though. There’s no fainting couch for you here,” she snarks.
Taz sighs. “Yep. It’s her.”
Delta snickers as the new female comes up to stop beside us. “As I said. She tells the truth.”
The female is draped in a gown that somehow still looks battle-ready. She has warm brown skin, black freckles dotted across her nose and cheeks, and her wings and pixie style hair are a coppery tone, both red and orange depending on the light.
“And how did you know this, Wrath?” Taz demands.
“My progeny just informed me of what’s going on. It seems one of your triplets beaconed him,” she answers, waving behind her where I look to find Ire, his hard stare aimed at me. “I’d be up for offering mutual congratulations, but since it seems Morax is in our midst, I’ll save that for after we’re standing over the Ophidian’s body, toasting our victory and drinking from his skull.”
My eyes widen a bit at that visual, and what surprises me even more is the desire that bolts through me to see that happen. I suddenly want to stand on his corpse and look out at all of Hell, a warning etched into every cell of