I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I stumbled away from the couch and towards the bathroom. We’d fallen asleep there last night, bottle of wine, box of Oreos and all. Bandit grumbled as I moved away from him and pulled his lazy ass off the couch to trail after me. His paws scratched at my bare legs as he mewled.

“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered. Scooping him up, I made my way to the bathroom and redeposited him on the bathroom counter. Taking a piss with him on my lap wasn’t happening, and it was too fucking early for me to deal with his crying if I left him in the hallway.

I made my way through my usual morning routine and started running a bath. Bandit decided that the shiny drawer knobs on the vanity were interesting enough to not wail about my ignoring him. I took care of my business while he spent two minutes opening and closing the drawer closest to him, absolutely fascinated by the way the light refracted off the metal knob. I was just rinsing my toothbrush when I saw something…

Why was there blue on my hand? I moved, turning my wrist to see a line of what looked like thin blue ivy-like vines running up my arm and disappearing under my shirt.

Holy Hell. What the fuck had happened to me?

I reached down and grasped the hem of the baggy white t-shirt. Did I want to see what was under this? I had been stabbed, after all. Well, it was there either way. May as well get it over with.

I lifted it over my head and flung it on the bathroom counter. Blue vines traveled up both my arms and across my chest, straight to where the pentagram sat snuggly between my breasts. It looked the same as before. Plain black. Unmoving. The vines swayed and crawled across my skin, down my belly and onto my legs. It was crazy that I hadn’t noticed them before now and I was absolutely sure they weren’t from the Horsemen.

A smoke-like skull was branded onto my belly. Its mouth was open at an odd angle. I squinted, moving closer to see. My fingers brushed over what looked like a textured edge and found it to be rough. The skin there was puckered with hardened scar tissue.

My stab wound, I realized. It was where I had been stabbed, and while I should have recognized that immediately, the scar was hardly noticeable between the brand and healing. Certainly, no longer a hole. Instead of something days or even weeks old, this could have been a scar from years ago. I wondered if that was my own natural healing now that I’d transitioned, or if Death’s brand had done something. Altered me somehow.

I suppose only time would tell.

I brushed my hair behind both my shoulders to get a better look at the ivy creeping across my chest. It was kind of eerie, but also kind of sexy. Maybe these were from Lola?

I’d never heard of a demon with two brands, but what did I know? Not a whole hill of beans, apparently.

My eyes skipped over the rune left by the Unseelie woman and settled on something else. A discoloration of sorts around the curve of my neck where it attached to my jaw. I turned sideways and pulled my hair out of the way. Rysten’s brand. It was white, so white that it actually stood out from my skin. His brand was a modified bio-hazard symbol with rings going through it. The whole thing couldn’t be more than six or seven inches long, but it was really obvious once you knew it was there. While I didn’t mind, I wondered if I should be having a talk with them about where I get branded. Otherwise Laran might try to brand his flaming Celtic knot on my forehead as a show of dominance.

If left to their own devices, they might start pissing on me to claim ownership, and the beast might come out and kick their asses again just to make it perfectly—and painfully—clear who was in charge.

Overall, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, and I didn’t see a mark from Sin that could indicate it was the cause of my silence. That unsettled me even more, the lack of a mark despite her magic clearly being at play. I wasn’t sure if it was better or worse that she hadn’t left one. It was certainly well planned.

I turned away from the mirror and dipped one foot in the scalding hot water. Groaning in pleasure, I settled in. Just as my back hit the curved porcelain of the tub, a furry tail wrapped around my neck. I glanced over to see that Bandit had moved himself to act as my pillow. I sighed happily, content to sit here for the next hour until my skin was wrinkled and pruned.

Unfortunately, once again, fate had other plans.

Just as I started shaving my obscenely hairy legs, a doorbell rang. I didn’t know we had a doorbell. Hell, I didn’t even know where the front door was. The Horsemen had a knack for transporting me in and out by means of shadow walking, Pyroporting, or mirror walking. It seemed the one gift my transition hadn’t given me was any form of teleporting, but if they had their way, they would carry me everywhere like I was some sort of invalid.

I continued shaving my legs, hoping, praying that whoever it was would go away, or that at the very least, I didn’t need to get it.

The doorbell rang a second time.

“Ruby,” Moira called. “Someone’s at the door.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” I muttered as I finished my right leg. “Can’t you get it?” I called back. A loud groan sounded from the living room.

“I can’t move,” Moira said. “I’m in a diabetic coma after all those Oreos.” I rolled my eyes.

“It was only one bag,” I griped. I’d seen her plow through two and a half before admitting defeat.

“But they were double stuffed,” Moira mumbled, barely loud enough for me to hear.

“Oh, for Devil’s sake.” I set the razor aside and stood up, sloshing water all around the tub. Bandit leapt down and shook himself free of the water that doused him. I dried myself with a towel and pulled on the only bathrobe I saw. It was much slinkier than my own, and I grinned to myself in amusement. It was too large to be Moira’s, and there was a price tag still on it. One of my mates had gone shopping and thought to buy me one. Judging by the slick, expensive material, I would guess Allistair.

I leaned down and scooped Bandit up, opening the bathroom door to wander back into the living room. The doorbell went off a third time.

In another room, I couldn’t pinpoint which, someone rumbled a string of curses. A door opened and Laran appeared around the corner, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants. His golden skin shone in the morning light, and the fiery Celtic knot on his hip stood out against the black band of the sweats. His dark hair was pulled back to the base of his neck, the red tints flashing only briefly as he came to stand before me and angled his head.

“You don’t usually wake until late morning,” Laran said. His eyes roved to the “V” of my bathrobe where my brand sat. Those creeping blue vines moved beneath my skin, as if they sensed his presence and wanted to entangle him.

“Can you stop ogling each other and answer the fucking door,” Moira grunted. She had one hand thrown across the back of the sofa haphazardly and her massive wings were spread at odd angles behind her.

“The others have it,” Laran replied.

“What?”

Laran placed a hand on my lower back and led me around the kitchen to another hallway I hadn’t noticed before. A stairway descended to a single entrance where I could only just make out a red bald head through the window above the door. The other three Horsemen crowded around the door as Julian pulled the knob to answer.

“Eugene?”

My rubrum friend looked up at me with a pained smile. He felt awkward. As usual, the guys were being assholes and didn’t want him around because he had a dick. I rolled my eyes as I made my way down the stairs and weaved between them, accidentally brushing up against each of them as I went. I felt stares on my back as I stepped in front and looked up at Eugene.

“Hi Ruby,” he mumbled as he blushed purple. “You’re looking…well.” His eyes purposely stayed on my face even though we both knew he wasn’t interested in the lady bits beneath the robe. Finding some underwear beforehand might have been a better idea.

“Thanks, you too,” I said kind of awkwardly.

Don’t get me wrong. It was nice to see he made it out alive and all, but I wasn’t sure why he’d shown up on my doorstep knowing how the Horsemen felt. I also couldn’t figure out how much of our ‘friendship’ was real, and how much had been him playing into Donnach’s hand. Did he know what his lover was capable of? Was he aware of how we’d been played? Maybe, this too, was a ruse.

Suddenly, I didn’t feel quite as welcoming. That same paranoia that ate at Moira was beginning to wrap around me.

“Is there a reason for you being here?” Laran asked behind me, his thick arm wrapped around my waist and I knew he was glowering at him over my head. Eugene swallowed hard and thrust out the box he was holding.

“Donnach wanted to send his thanks.” He lowered his eyes and Laran took the box since I was occupied holding Bandit.

“For the deal he emotionally manipulated me into?” I asked dryly.

“I—I don’t know what to say.” Me neither. “He created a weapon to help you…in Hell. It will only work for you.”

That got my attention.

“We can take this from here,” Allistair said coldly, cozying up to my other side. I was going to die of testosterone poisoning long before someone stabbed me again. That was for damn sure.

“Of course.” Eugene turned to back away and fuck me if I didn’t feel bad because he was sorry. I stepped forward begrudgingly.

“Wait—” I stood there, kind of awkwardly holding my hand out for him. I wasn’t the hugging type, but after saving his soul and him sticking with me for five days, planted or not, I felt like that warranted more than a snide comment and dirty look. “Thank you, Eugene. For everything.”

Eugene laced his hand in mine and shook it kindly, his eyes crinkling at the corners when he smiled. “And thank you, Ruby. If you ever need me—”

And apparently that was where the end of the Horsemen’s patience fell. Laran yanked me inside and slammed the door on him.

“You guys are assholes!”

But I wasn’t the least bit upset by it.

Allistair just shrugged, wrapping his long fingers around my elbow to steer me back up the stairs. I shook my head and chuckled.

“What was that?” Moira asked at the top of the stairs. We gathered around the kitchen island and Allistair handed me a cup of black coffee while Laran set the box down in front of me.

“I’m not sure…”

Taking a sip of my coffee, I tapped on my shoulder to motion for Bandit to move and he readjusted himself around me, slumping around my shoulders like a scarf. I gripped the edge of the box and opened it up.

“What is that?” Moira asked, letting out a kind of squeak.

“A gift,” I replied as a smile started to spread across my face. Donnach had made me something special. I wondered if it was asking for forgiveness after manipulating me, or if it truly was a sign of thanks.

I hoped I’d never find out.

It was a crossbow of some sort, but small with a leather harness to strap it onto my arm. The contraption itself was made of a dark metal that was speckled yellow. Bright red runes adorned the crossbow and a small white card sat on top.

To new beginnings, it read.

New beginnings, indeed.

I pulled it out and the beast smirked for the first time that day. She liked shiny things. She liked things that hurt. This was both, and it held all her attention.

“Do you even know how to use a crossbow?” Moira asked, raising a skeptically amused eyebrow. There were still shadows in her eyes, but not as pronounced. Last night had softened her some and hardened her in other ways.

We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy journey.

“Nope, but I’m going to find out.” My answer was met with several groans as I started to fidget with the small contraption. A large hand settled over mine and I looked up at Laran.

“We need to check this out before you can use it,” he said in complete seriousness. Part of me wanted to be a child and ask why, but the adult in me told that bitch to shut up.

Yes, it was a cool toy. No, I could not afford to drop my guard just because Donnach hadn’t tried to kill me directly. He was still responsible for some unforgivable shit, whether he knew I realized it or not.

I relinquished my hold on the crossbow to Laran, so he and Allistair could examine it.

“There’s a card at the bottom,” Moira said. She reached into the empty box to pull out a white envelope. “To Ruby Morningstar, you have returned. We look forward to meeting you,” Moira read aloud.

Laran froze beside me and the rest of the Horsemen narrowed in on the letter in her hand. This didn’t sound like it was from Donnach.

Ummmm… “Does it say who it’s signed by?” I asked.

Moira turned the slip of paper over and her face paled. Fingers slightly twitching, she reached out and showed me the card.

The Six Sins.

Laran peered at it over my shoulder and let out a string of curses. “Damnit, Julian—they know—the Sins know.” As soon as Laran said it, Julian went quiet and Allistair let out a deep, semi-dramatic sigh.

“We knew this was coming, Death. We can’t hide her here forever. It was only a matter of time once word reached Hell and we had a deal,” Allistair said.

“What are you talking about?” Moira asked, her voice rising with tension. She reached out for my hand, and I couldn’t tell if she realized the glass wall had just warbled.

“The Six Sins have summoned her, and as the heir, she has to answer their call,” Julian answered.

He had fallen into a resigned state over this like the flip of a switch, and with us no longer blood bound, he masked his features carefully. Not that his attempts kept it all from me. His emotions were bleeding out. Worry. Anxiety. Nothing so close as to make me think I was a dead woman, but certainly enough to know this wasn’t great.

“Well, I guess that answers my next question. Looks like we’re going to Hell,” I said with a grim realization. It was true. This was actually happening. I would go to Hell and meet the Sins, even if they were members of my father’s former harem. That wouldn’t stop me from doing what I had to do.

Sure, I still had a lot to learn and not a lot of time. My enemies were out there, and if Moira and I were right—some were closer to us than anyone realized.

But. I was alive. I was breathing. I had both my familiars safe and sound, and the strength of my four mates behind me. I was about as close to ready as this heir to Hell was ever going to get.

And this time, I was playing for keeps.

This time…I was going for my crown, and no one, not even the Six Sins, would stop me.