Feathers and Blood (boyxboy)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Luke

I was ready to fight. My demons were prepared for battle, I had my two brothers' armies at my side, and my boyfriend was perfectly safe back in Timor.

Wait, was Jesse my boyfriend? I had never really asked him about it. I should probably ask him when I get back, I thought. It'd be really helpful to avoid all of that unnecessary drama. And maybe Jesse would then stop being jealous of Nyx if we made things official.

"Phobos!" It was Hamilton, shoving at my shoulder angrily. "Stop daydreaming!"

"Oh, right," I muttered. We had decided that all the armies should meet in Hybris and march from there, but somehow that never actually ended up happening and now here we were, 10's of thousands of demons lines up against the walls of Lyssios' fortress.

I thought about what everyone was saying, that my father would never forgive me for attacking two of my siblings. But it was no secret that I was his favorite son. He had to support me. I had to believe that he did.

I glanced behind me. Most of my soldiers were semi-crouching, preparing to disappear into black smoke and hurl themselves over the wall. Pride demons would be gold and Sloth demons would be a milky mist. Lyssios' would be a deep, unsettling orange. There would be no mistaking who was who.

Aaron was in crowd tonight. As a demon of Envy, he would be a green smoke. My heart twisted for him. What the hell was he playing at? And then Nikolai, Hamilton's son. The boy was only a half-demon. Surely he wouldn't survive.

But there was no time to worry about it now. I took a deep breath, then turned around completely and punched the air fiercely. Instantly the chattering of all demons died down.

"Demons of Fear!" I shouted. "And those of my brothers, Pride and Sloth! We have been wronged!"

There was cheering from the crowd. I wasn't known for long and eloquent speeches. This usually did the trick.

"Tonight, we shall avenge our honor!" More cheering. "Fight with me!"

I turned back around and offered one last glance to Hamilton. Much to my surprise, he offered me a small smile.

"I believe I must wish you good luck," he commented.

I grinned. "Thanks, Hammy, but I'll be fine."

He raised an eyebrow. "Arrogance will get you killed," he warned, and I scoffed in reply.

"You're one to talk. And besides, we'll both be fine, knowing the ones we love are safe back home."

Hamilton grunted. Morpheus had argued to the last minute, but in the end, he was set as the last resort defense of our home cities. At least he and Jesse could rage together.

Taking a deep breath, I deteriorated into shadow, hearing all of the demons around me doing the same.

The battle started immediately, as soon as my feet solidified on the ground on the opposite side of the wall. Demons rushed at me, sharp golden spears in their hands, and protected with armor crested with rare stones, and I realized with a start that these were not Wrath demons. They were Plutus', the King of Greed.

I waved my hand in their direction and they crumpled, screaming at things I was making them see. An arrow was shot from a tower above me and nearly hit my shoulder, but I sidestepped just in time. I looked up to see a lithe archer with minimal clothing - Lust.

I picked the arrow from the ground and threw it back with unnatural force, watching in satisfaction as it buried itself into the archer's neck.

Hamilton was at the scene too, and I figured he could take care of himself, so I turned into smoke again and solidified just inside the actual castle, where I was met by Wrath demons.