Kindle Notes & Highlights
“Hello, no-longer-Queen of Wrath,” said the fresh-faced Witch of the Future. “I brought you the apple fritter you’re going to want in five seconds.” The words were barely out of her mouth when the delicious smell of fried sugary dough hit Bex’s nose. This was followed by a loud growl from her stomach, and the black-haired witch’s smile turned into a grin.
“He played me for a fool, and what’s worse is he made me spend my own money to do it! I don’t care how many gods he’s slain. No one makes a chump out of Felix the Fixer and gets away with it! That’s why I’m here. I don’t care about your damn crusade, but if you’re taking the fight to Heaven, I’m your goblin.” He shoved Solomon’s Amory across the table into Bex’s lap. “That’s all yours on two conditions. First, you gotta bring the bag back, and second, I want you to burn Gilgamesh’s precious Heaven to the ground. Just make sure you tell him Felix sends his regards before you rip his head off. I
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“Don’t worry,” Bex promised. “I’ll smash Heaven or die trying.” “That I believe,” Felix said, patting Bex on the head where her horns used to be. “Good luck, little underdog. Make me proud.”
Iggs started pulling out belts of the biggest bullets she’d ever seen. “But can those sorts of mundane weapons even hurt Gilgamesh’s constructs? I thought we needed sorcerous weapons for that.” “Enough kinetic force hurts anything,” Iggs insisted. “These are actual military weapons, not the low-powered civilian and militia stuff we were stuck with before. Each of these bullets can punch a hole through a fifty-millimeter armor plate, and the heavy machine gun fires fifteen hundred of them per minute.” He gazed at the giant gun lovingly. “I bet I could Swiss-cheese a prince with this baby.”
did you say ‘lick it off him’?” “It’s a very specific sort of paint,” the witch replied, looking at Kirok’s towering, muscular, four-armed body with a wicked gleam in her blue eyes. “Please make sure he survives to come back for his cleaning. I’m quite looking forward to it.”
Adrian didn’t see how any place you weren’t allowed to have sex, grow flowers, take a bath, or pet a cat could be possibly called Heaven, but such were the sacrifices required by an empire whose entire existence revolved around keeping the undying gods dead.
His plan for today was his most out-of-the-box solution yet. Also the riskiest, but prisoners who played it safe were prisoners who stayed caught.
Adrian couldn’t imagine wearing something that enormous on his own head, but the daughters of Ishtar were famously strong, and if any queen was going to have an iron-stiff neck, it would be Pride.
He hadn’t realized the teleport ban extended to all the princes. Maybe Gilgamesh didn’t have as much fine control over the sorcery here as he’d thought. His mind was spinning over what that could mean when he realized his brother was still scowling at him. “Your disobedience has caused everyone a great deal of inconvenience,” the Crown Prince growled. “Be grateful that you are in Father’s favor, because the rest of us are already tired of having a younger brother.
“They’re easy to kill,” Streya bragged, spreading her little wings proudly. “Stupid old men never think to look down.” “That’s my little murder machine,”
“No one belongs here,” Bex said adamantly. “So you’ve always said,” Desh agreed as he straightened back up. “But it’s amazing how stupid a man can be when he’s feeling sorry for himself.
By the time he finished, Lys was in shock. They stood there, speechless, for almost thirty seconds, before their lips curved back into a smile. “Grovel accepted,” they said, reaching down to pat Desh’s lowered head.
It was hard enough being crownless around demons who already knew her. Having to introduce herself to a bunch of desperate, starving slaves as the Savior Queen Who Couldn’t Actually Do Anything Yet might have broken her.
“It’s my call,” Bex insisted. “I’m the one who wanted to come to the Hells in the first place, but so far I’ve done nothing but follow behind everyone else. I’m tired of being the weakest link in my own team. I’m tired of being helpless while my people suffer.
They moved surprisingly quietly, their hoofed feet falling as soft as leaves on the worn stone. The prince, by contrast, went down the stairs like a dropped metal cup, his armor clattering offensively loudly down the long, curved tunnel.
“You’re helping?” Adrian asked, shocked. “Does this mean you’re not mad at me?” “I’m furious with you,” Boston snarled, lashing his tail. “Gilgamesh kidnapped you out of your forest to do a task and you did it!
“it’s time to move to Plan B.” “Don’t say that like you actually have a Plan B,” Leander snapped.
“You idiot!” the prince roared, his pulverized hand hanging limply beside him while he pummeled Iggs’s face with the other. “Now we’re both going to crash!” “That’s the plan, asshole,” Iggs growled, hugging the prince even tighter. “I’m taking you to hell.”
“You put them back on for me?” “I make all of my stupid decisions for you,” the queen said in an irritated voice, but her lips were smiling. “I told you before, Bexa. You’re the one I chose to keep. I hated being queen and thought the war was pointless. I knew we were all doomed to be slaves forever no matter which side won, so I didn’t care if Gilgamesh caught us or not. You cared, though, and I care about you.
“Suffering is inevitable, but the fact that you refuse to accept that is why I love you. If no one pushes back, all we’ll do is sink.”
So long as they both got credit for success, but only Alexander took the blame for failure, she’d execute his orders to the letter.
I left Adrian to his own devices precisely because I knew he’d work harder if he thought he was getting away with something. I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting a full resurrection, but Adrian’s uncanny knack for pulling miracles out of his pointy hat is precisely why I picked him for this job in the first place.” “I see,” said Alexander, even though he didn’t.
“She’s never had a warm personality, and that Medusa hairdo doesn’t exactly scream ‘compassionate ruler.’
She smiled. “Maybe you’ll actually laugh at my jokes now.” “If you say something funny, I’ll let you know.” Bex gave her an astonished look. “Was that a joke?” Nemini answered with a silent shrug, proof that a crown didn’t change everything.
“You shouldn’t be here!” Bex yelled at him. “The sin’s still too strong! I can take it, but you—” “If you’re here, I’m here,” Iggs said,
“Am I still queen or not?” “Of course you’re our queen,” Lys said angrily. “But that doesn’t mean—” “This is exactly what it means,” Bex snapped, raising her hornless head.
He locked his useless legs and forced himself upright to stand in front of her once more, and even though the princess was still physically above him on the stairs, the expression on Kirok’s face made it clear that he was the one looking down.
“I wish he could have had a kinder ending,” she said. “But I disagree that this wasn’t what he deserved. Kirok died bravely fighting for what he believed in. He said what no one else was able, and without his sacrifice, we wouldn’t be standing here right now.” Her face split into a smile. “I think he’d be proud to see what his death accomplished, so please don’t say it wasn’t deserved. He’s the reason I was able to stand against the Queen of War, and he deserves all the credit I can give.”
I wanted to make sure you knew what you were walking into.” “I’ve always known,” Bex said, flashing him a smile. “But if I was the sort who quit just because something was impossible, I would’ve died for good a hundred lifetimes ago.”
