Fate

Chapter Sixty Seven

Word Count: 1328

​Wrath was growing angry with Lucy's silence.
​"I asked you a question," she snapped. "Did the Moon send you to kill me, Lucy?"

​Lucky narrowed her eyes. "Only Millicent calls me by my name." She drew herself up. "You may call me by the name the ancients gave me—Athena."

​Wrath rolled her eyes. "Why are you here? What does the moon want with me now?"

​"Millicent does not know I am here," Athena said, and, for the first time, looked slightly ruffled. Her eyes darted around, checking the room. "I am hopeful we can keep this between us."

​Wrath raised her eyebrows. "You want me to keep a secret from the Moon?"

​Athena nodded, once.

​Wrath shrugged. "Why don't you tell me your dirty little secret before I pinky-swear?"

​A look of confusion passed across Athena's eyes, but she nodded and the light in the room dimmed, slightly. "I owe you a debt of gratitude, Wrath," she said, her voice solemn.
​This surprised Wrath. No Immortal had ever thanked her for anything. None of them had ever done anything but tediously lecture to her.

​"For what?"

​"Sinful."

​Wrath raised her eyebrows. "I killed him."

​Athena met her gaze. "And I owe you thanks. As you know, he was Millicent's mate. She cared very deeply for him, though he—especially in his manifestation of Lust—was never faithful to her. It broke her heart." Athena shook her head, her gaze far away.

"And it broke mine to see Millicent in so much pain. She would never have been free of Sinful had you not killed him. But now—" her mouth pressed into a thin line.

​Wrath was confused. "Now what?"

​"Millicent is going to ask Death to bring him back," she spat. "No matter how much he hurt her, she is still loyal to him."

​"That's what love does. Even to the powerful," Wrath said in disgust. She sat back down on her bed. "What does any of this have to do with me?"

​"You are the only other Immortal with power over death. You have killed Immortals. That is a rare gift." Athena stepped closer and her voice dropped as though she were telling a secret. "You need to stop Death from bringing Sinful back. He must have the final death."

​Wrath thought about this for a moment. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Seems like a great deal of work for me, and I got quite a scolding from Millicent. What would motivate me to act in her best interest now?"

​Athena's stare was cool. She had something Wrath wanted, and she knew it. "Fate."
"What?" Wrath asked, surprised.

​"I will give you the information you're looking for on Fate." Her smile was tight. "I will help you destroy him."

***

​"Want another bite of this?" Seff asked, offering Nico a foil-wrapped breakfast burrito.
​Nico shook her head, squinting into the sunlight at Lucky, who was seated across the street from them at an outdoor café.

​"Okay," Seff sang. "Last chance. It's really good. You sure you don't want it?" he asked again, dancing the burrito in front of her face.

​"I don't want it," Nico snapped, slapping it away.

​Seff lost his hold on it and it fell to the sunbaked sidewalk, bursting open.

​"Goddammit, Nico! That's five bucks down the drain. I wanted to finish that," Seff shouted, glaring between her and his wasted breakfast.