Page 171 of Their Lethal Pet

“The Day of the Choosing is just an opportunity for the Village Viscount to assert authority and inspire fear,” King Cain adds. “One of the former Nightingale Dukes believed fear was an excellent motivator to ensure the villagers cooperated and remained obedient.”

“Again, it works,” Queen Helia says. “Whether we agree or not?—”

“Is irrelevant,” Orcus finishes for her. “Yes, I’ve gathered that you don’t actually care how the humans treateach other in this realm. It’s an excellent way to disregard your responsibility as the higher species.”

Queen Helia frowns. “We choose not to interfere with fate.”

“Yet you profit from that same fate and reward the humans responsible for providing said fate,” Orcus drawls. “But I’m not here for a moral lesson on right and wrong. We’re here for our mate and her sister. You’ve mentioned Serapina is in the Nightingale Compound. I know that’s near here. Where exactly is it?”

King Cain and Queen Helia say nothing.

“If you tell me we can’t interfere with the Nightingale breeding process, then I suppose we will begin a conversation on moral ethics,” Orcus says. “And as a God, I will win that discussion.”

His mind tells me thatconversationanddiscussiondon’t meantalking. He meanspower. He will fight for my sister’s freedom because it’s the right thing to do.

And he’ll destroy a lot of infrastructure in place to make way for that battle.

For me,I marvel.He’s saying he’ll destroy this world… for me.

It’s… a heady realization, one that has my heart skipping several beats in response. Because Orcus could follow through on his threat, and he will if Queen Helia and King Cain don’t start speaking soon.

Reaper’s mind tells me he’s more than ready to watch Orcus in action, and he’s prepared to fight alongside him.

While Flame has already decided he’ll shift to protect me while the other two go to work.

These fae… they’re everything.Myeverything.

King Cain’s jaw ticks, his gaze meeting Queen Helia’s on the screen. Then he pulls up another image with my sister’s name scrawled across the top.

Serapina Everheart.

Nightingale Compound.

Second Floor.

Room 37.

Genetic Markers…

My mind skims over a series of codes, none of them making any sense, and lands on the photo beneath it.

I blink.

Then frown at the redhead with hazel eyes on the screen.

“That’s not my sister,” I blurt out, interrupting whatever King Cain was just saying—something about needing to go with Orcus to find out more about the letter.

But I don’t even care about what that means or what he’s implying.

Nor do I care about conversational etiquette.

Because that woman isn’t my sister. “That’s her name. But if that’s supposed to be a photo of her, then that’s not Sera’s file because that isn’t my sister.”

I picture my sister in my mind, trying to show my mates what she looks like. Because I need them to hear me, to understand that this woman is not Serapina.

“She’s… she’s not my sister,” I say again, even dizzier than before.

The world seems to be blurring before my eyes as I picture Sera. Her blonde hair. Bright blue eyes. Gentle smile. Petite physique that rivals my own.