There is, however, some really awesome wine of some kind in it, and I’ve decided it can be my “ice cream” the next time the guys hurt my feelings or whatever.

They’re the Four Horsemen—beings so evil they once had a maddening imbalance that apparently even haunts my nightmares. I suppose some hurt feelings isn’t so bad in the grand scheme of things for hell spawn.

The twins smirk in our direction, and a rumbling sounds underground when they get too close. Both of them laugh like they enjoy provoking me, and they take a seat across from us.

I’m wrath, so…why would anyone want to provoke me? Psychos. It’s like I’m surrounded by people who don’t have a lick of sanity.

Gage pulls me onto his lap, and Jude takes a seat on the ground in front of us, dragging my bare foot over his shoulder and resting his hand loosely on my ankle.

Kai sits on my right, his hand settling onto my thigh, and Ezekiel sits on my left, his hand also going to my thigh.

I’m still in my level-up outfit that I haven’t fully explored yet, but those wide slits go all the way up to the gold belt at my skirt’s waist. My top is really ornate, matching the red and gold trimming of the skirt to make it seem more like a two-piece dress.

The gold cuff on my neck reflects in the warped mirror far across from me, but I barely glimpse the golden crown full of red rubies before I’m distracted.

“I hardly think it’s fair that she’s immediately your favorite again, considering she disappeared without a word for five hundred years and had to be tricked into returning,” Lilith is saying to Lucifer as they walk in.

She barely even tosses a dismissive look in my direction, as Lucifer’s lips twitch.

Something sizzles inside me, and a visible spark ignites on her dress, erupting it into flames that have her hissing and shrieking as she manages to extinguish the flames with just her mind. At least, I assume that’s how…

Her gaze narrows on me, and she takes a threatening step forward as something dark and sinister rises to the surface once again.

She’s launched back suddenly, slamming into the wall so hard that it spider-veins all around the area of impact. Then…she drops in a heap to the ground with a grunted curse.

I feel genuinely badass, because I’m not even trying to do this stuff. Sibling rivalry is where all the wrath is really hiding.

Duly noted.

“What the hell was that for?” she snaps as she leaps to her feet and pushes her hair out of her murderous eyes. “You know you don’t deserve to be his favorite.”

“She has more envy in her than you,” Lamar tells me from the corner, working damn hard to keep a straight face.

“That’s why Paca’s the favorite when she’s home,” Manella drawls, like this is yet another rerun. “Lilith whines more when Paca is the favorite, and whining entertains Lucifer.”

To spice things up, I send her sailing through the wall this time, as her shrieks echo through the corridor. I arch an eyebrow at Manella, expecting a reaction, but he simply smirks at me like he knows exactly what I’m thinking, and he’s still unimpressed.

Drat.

Still a rerun.

She rushes back in, hand in the air like she’s about to strike, when Jude is off the ground in a blur of motion, his scythe blade slinging out of his bo staff thingy and pressing right against her throat before she can budge another inch.

“That was for Kai,” I tell her, feeling Kai’s hand tighten on my thigh as a sideways grin forms on his lips. “You let him writhe in pain as you walked away, and if you know me, then you knew you’d be punished. I’m just getting started, I assure you.”

The words just flow from my mouth on autopilot, and she snaps an accusatory glare at Lucifer. “You said she didn’t remember us.”

“She wouldn’t have stepped in and saved the day if she had her memories. But she has echoes of memories,” he explains, studying me like he’s filing away every bit of information I unintentionally reveal.

I don’t like how our minds seem to work too close to the same. Sort of creepy, since, you know…he’s Lucifer.

“Why wouldn’t I have stepped in?” I ask, staring right at the manipulative asshole.

“Because clearly you’d have known it was a ruse to make you out yourself so I could keep my end of our deal,” he says with a careless shrug.

“But you still manipulated me,” I accuse.

“Of course I did. I always try, but you always used to see right through me. It’s nice having an edge on my favorite again,” he drones on, causing Lilith to groan as she backs away from Jude’s scythe like she never truly feared it.

“She really doesn’t remember,” Lilith sighs as she drops down next to Hera, and Hera pats her hand like she’s comforting her.

It’s just one more weird thing to add to the weird list.

Hera rakes her eyes over my guys, causing me to shift my interest in which sister to fling through walls.

“They look a lot better like this. Why haven’t I noticed sooner?” she asks more to herself than anything, as a very pungent sense of seduction palpates the room.

After all, as one of the seven deadly sins, her dark influence is lust.

I’m a little unnerved when I realize that growling noise is coming from me. Jude is currently my favorite, since he’s the only one of the guys who doesn’t have to resist laughing.

Dicks.

“Some things never change,” she mutters, rolling her eyes as the heady, seductive air dissipates. “She’s still as selfish as always, and they may as well be impotent.”

“I growled a lot at you back in the good ol’ days, did I?” I ask with a slight edge.

Hera gives me a bored look. “So what do you remember, Paca?”

Everyone looks at me like they’re expecting something major, and I’m apprehensive to tell them that there are zero memories, since these idiots keep trying to provoke me.

I don’t like this. At all. No one has even bothered to formally introduce themselves, so I’m assuming they don’t know that I don’t really know them anymore.

“Who killed me?” I ask instead.

Everyone’s gaze shifts to Lucifer, and I zap in front of Jude to stop him from stupidly turning that scythe on the Devil.

Lucifer’s lips curl in a sneer. “My brother,” he answers.

It’s like hearing a lot of suspenseful music that has been building in tempo and volume, and then having the balloon burst somewhere else in the background. I can actually feel this incredibly important moment losing the climactic construct when the big reveal finally comes.

I look at all the guys, and they all look at me, confusion undoubtedly going around.

Clearing my throat as Lucifer’s eyes seem to go wild with rage from whatever memories he’s currently lost in, I ask, “Who’s your brother? Like one of your wings-and-halos brothers, or are we talking about a manifested-evil brother?”

His eyes bounce to mine as his forehead creases, and two feminine snorts sound from the right. Damn evil sisters.

“She really doesn’t know a fucking thing,” Cain states dryly as he lies back and closes his eyes. “We’re all officially fucking dead.”

My brothers aren’t any more useful than my sisters.

But as his words sink in, that has the tension ratcheting back up.

“What?” I ask in unison with all my guys, who seem to catch on at the same slowed speed.

“His brother killed you, and now we’re all dead,” Cain repeats, still sounding serious and not sarcastic.

Lamar looks as confused as all of us, so now I believe he had no clue who killed me. But Manella refuses to meet my eyes, so I’m assuming he kept this from Lamar.

I have to do a lot of assuming, because these crazy motherfuckers are a bunch of unapologetic liars. It’s not like I can trust the words out of their mouths. I have to pay attention to their body language.

“Rafael,” Lucifer tells me, watching for…some spark of recognition, I’m sure.

“The only Rafael I know is green, wears a pointless red mask on his eyes, and is a hero in a half shell,” I ramble, feeling a little on-the-spot as more groans sound out.

Jude’s arm snakes around my middle, pulling me closer to him. It’s not an overly affectionate maneuver, but coming from him, I feel like this is PDA. It’s terribly inconvenient, because now I’m hella distracted. He’s more important than whoever killed me, since my killer didn’t kill him.

My brother did.

Families really are a cluster fuck…

“She’s even more delusional than usual if she’s randomly bringing turtles into this,” Cain groans like I’m the annoying little sister he never wanted back.

To clear up the point I was making, I add, “The mask is pointless on those turtles. What other mutant turtles are out there doing karate under the tutelage of a giant sewer rat? It’s one case where a superhero’s secret identity is—”

“My brother, Rafael, is an archangel born of unbiased purities with the power to deliver swift and harsh judgment,” Lucifer bites out, interrupting my ramble.

I take a second to process that.

“Okay. So that would make him an angel, right? One of the good guys? I gotta say, I’m not too bent out of shape if one of the good guys struck me down. Whew. That could have been bad, because I think Lamar lied when he said I couldn’t get angry enough to accidentally level the world,” I prattle on, drawing a series of confused expressions from absolutely everyone—well, not my guys.