“What I do doesn’t concern you,” Lux said flatly. “I don’t have anything you want. You have no reason to be here.”

“Oh, I know you don’t have anything! That’s why I’m here!” Avaritia gestured to the mess and laughed, but it was a joyless sound. “I’ve been hearing all about your terrible fall from grace, as it were, and I had to see it for myself. Disasters are so much better up close.”

“What have you heard?” Lux narrowed his eyes at him.

“That you’ve completely lost your mind. You’ve forsaken our master in exchange for the castimonia, although Gula thinks she might have put a spell on you so it’s not your fault.” He picked absently at his manicured nails.

“You know she’s the castimonia?” Lux sounded shocked, and Wick looked over at him. It was starting to seem less and less like he’d lied to her.

“You didn’t?” Avaritia smirked at him. “Oh my. You’re even dumber than I thought. What on Earth did you possibly want with that wretched girl?”

“Nothing you would understand.” Lux lowered his voice, and before Avaritia could comment on that, he rushed to continue. “Have you come to escort me back to Valefor?”

“No. I’ve never been much of an errand boy, though I certainly did a better job than you,” Avaritia winked at him. “Valefor is much too busy with the girl to worry about you. But don’t worry. He has plans for you at a later time.”

“Of course,” Lux sighed. “So what are you doing here?”

“I already told you.” Picking up a rag, Avaritia wiped at a spot on the counter. Once he was convinced it was clean, he leaned back against it. “I’m here to poke at you when you’re down.”

“You’ve always been so thoughtful,” Lux sneered at him.

Wick gripped a vial in her hand. So far, Avaritia didn’t seem threatening. Lux didn’t appear concerned, only annoyed. Just the same, she didn’t want to take chances with either of them. The cottage smelled too much of brimstone, and Wick sneezed.

“You’re allergic to clean then?” Avaritia asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Are you two old friends?” Wick ignored him and wiped at her nose with her sleeve, making him wrinkle his face in disgust.

“We go way back,” Lux said carefully. He didn’t want to alienate Avaritia, not yet anyway, but he wouldn’t call him a friend. It was hard for peccati to be friends, especially when they’re as conniving and sniveling as Avaritia.

“Yes, I suppose we do,” Avaritia mused, picking at his nails again.

“What does Valefor want with Lily?” Lux asked. He’d yet to have deciphered that himself, and if Avaritia had been hearing things, he’d probably heard that, too.

“Who?” Avaritia asked, being willfully dumb.

“Lily. The castimonia,” Lux clarified, even though he knew he didn’t need to.

“Oh. I wasn’t aware that it had a name,” Avaritia shrugged, and Lux clenched his teeth to keep from hitting him. “Valefor wants her because she is the castimonia, of course.”

“She’s not yet, not really,” Wick was quick to amend. “She hasn’t taken her vows yet.”

“Precisely!” Avaritia pointed at her, as if she’d won something. “See! I knew you were smart.”

“I don’t understand.” Lux shook his head. “If she’s not a true virtu, why does he want her?”

“He wants her to take her vows to him,” Avaritia explained as if they were both small children. “If she serves him, a daemon, and not an irin, he’s won. We’ve won.”

“What?” Lux furrowed his eyebrows, but Wick’s jaw dropped as she started piecing it together.

“The most epic battle of all time!” Avaritia said gleefully. “Good versus evil! The whole reason we’re here! The daemons and irins were put here to see who would have the most, and if Valefor steals a virtu from the irin, we have more!”

“I thought they meant human souls. She’s not human,” Lux said, but the room already felt like it was spinning a bit.

“Technically, she still is, until she takes the vows and accepts the gifts, but she’s in such a unique position,” Avaritia went on. “Daniel can’t make any more virtus. Once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. It’s always seemed like a horrible idea to me. Valefor can go on replacing us until the end of time. But that seems to be approaching rather quickly.”

“You think the whole world will end if she serves him?” Lux asked.

“The world as we know it, yes. That’s what Valefor thinks, and he’s never wrong,” Avaritia smiled. Valefor was many things, but he was rarely wrong. “Then this will all be ours! Well, mine, since I’m certain you’ve been disinherited after this stunt you’ve pulled.”

“She won’t serve him,” Wick said quietly. “Lily would never serve someone like him.”

“Maybe not,” Avaritia shrugged, as if he didn’t care one way or the other. “But she is in a perfect position. She doesn’t even know what she is. Nobody’s bothered to tell her or train her, and she’s so trusting.” Lux swallowed hard, trying not to throw up.

“What happens if she says no?” Lux asked numbly.

“He’ll kill her,” Avaritia said. “Valefor has been feeling tired lately, and since she’s a virtu, she has a stronger lifeforce. He plans on taking that, getting a bit of rejuvenation.”

Valefor was immortal, but overtime, he’d weaken. In order maintain immortality, the daemon and the irin had to make sacrifices. Irins sacrificed all earthly pleasures. Daemons sacrificed lives.

“What happens if she does serve him?” Lux asked, and Wick glared at him. She wanted to argue that Lily would never succumb to Valefor, but when she saw his ashen face, she realized he was only trying to think of a way to save Lily.

“He plans to wed her. He wants a bride to rule by his side, helping him take over the Earth.” Avaritia stopped picking at his nails and looked up at them. “You’re really concerning yourself too much with her, Lux. I don’t understand what’s gotten into you, but this should be a very joyous time for us. This is everything we’ve worked for, and you’re getting yourself tangled up with some girl.”