Page 73 of Queens

I jolt awake, locking eyes with the man standing at the foot of my bed. Aziel.

I groan. “What the fuck?”

“Get up.” He tugs my comforter, destroying my warm cocoon of sleep. “Prince Nolic has taken over Greed, and he’s marching an army toward our borders.”

I’m out of bed in a heartbeat. Aziel is already gone, but I know where to find him. He’ll be at home, holding meetings out of his private office. He loves forcing people to cram inside the small space during times of trouble.

It’s because he’s scared to leave his mates unprotected.

Once, after a particularly nasty argument with the King of Envy, Aziel refused to let me, David, and Valeria out of his sight for almost three days. He even brought our beds into his bedroom. It was complete overkill, but Mom has confided in me that Aziel is different after Luca’s death.

He’s paranoid, terrified of losing another child, so I don’t hold it against him.

I take five minutes to dress, shove food into my mouth, and teleport to my childhood home.

As predicted, Aziel’s office is already filled with Wraths. Mom and Gray are nowhere to be seen, probably banished upstairs, where it’s safe, and Silas is in his office holding a meeting of his own. His door is closed, and I hear faint chattering from inside.

“Cassia,” Aziel greets me as I step into his office. Three generals look over. The others pay me no mind. “Come sit with me.”

A chair has been pulled up beside Aziel.

I’ve never been invited to sit behind his desk, and I bite my tongue to prevent myself from smiling as I accept the seat. Aziel is marking up a map, furiously dotting coordinates as the general across from him shares them.

He’s marking Prince Nolic’s army.

“How large is Greed’s military?” Aziel’s sharp question cuts through the room.

I follow his line of sight. Rexton is standing in the doorway. He’s disheveled, his clothing wrinkled and hair mused. He’s wearing all black, and he adjusts his shirt as he moves forward to peer at the map.

“It’s hard to say,” he admits. “I wasn’t involved in Mammon’s military efforts.”

Aziel frowns. “You’ve spent the past twenty years by her side. You have the most insight. Give your best estimate.”

Rexton visibly hesitates, blowing out a long sigh. “I’d say she has about a hundred thousand active members, but I’m not certain. She grew exceedingly paranoid in the years after Luca’s death, and she was selective with whom she shared information. I was never invited to join those conversations.”

A hundred thousand active members? That’s a large army. Larger than expected.

Mammon historically maintained an active military of about fifty thousand, with an additional twenty thousand or so trained men who could be called in during emergencies. A hundred thousand active members is significantly more than we planned for.

It rivals Wrath’s numbers.

“Are they trained?” Aziel asks.

“I believe so.”

“Fuck.”

I eye the map, my lips pursed. They’re heading toward the mountain range, which is to be expected, but they’re taking an unfamiliar route. They’re traveling south, where the terrain is roughest.

Why are they going this way? It doesn’t make sense.

“Raum.” Aziel shifts his attention to the tattooed general. “Can you cover this pass?” He points to one of the valleys on the mountain’s south side. I’m assuming that’s where Prince Nolic is guiding his army. It’s a dangerous location, and Raum is best equipped to handle it.

He’s experienced, and he’s sharp.

Raum nods. “Of course. I’ll gather my troops and leave immediately.”

“I’ll come with you,” I say.