Текст книги "Throne of the Fallen"

Автор книги: Kerri Maniscalcol

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Текущая страница: 21 (всего у книги 35 страниц)

FORTY-TWO

ENVY HELD CAMILLA tightly to his chest, hoping she was too distracted to notice his lack of a pounding heart. He didn’t want his confrontation with the Goddess of Death known.

Zarus would use the information to his benefit.

Yet, even in his weakened state, Envy’s sin chilled the whole cursed dining room. Frost coated the chamber in thin sheets, the vampires hissing like the reptiles they secretly were as the temperature plummeted. His arms shook with the exertion of using his power, but he kept on.

He’d almost been too late. If the vampire had turned Camilla…

Zarus recovered almost instantly, flashing his fangs as he brushed imaginary lint from his suit. He plucked up the dagger Envy had thrown, sneering at it.

“You always know how to make an entrance.” His gaze was hard. “Though I’m a bit insulted you used this blade instead of your House dagger.”

That blade was mortal steel washed in holy water. It didn’t kill a vampire, but it stung like hell. Next time he’d coat his blade with rosary peas, which would do a lot more than sting.

Though, if all went as planned, there wouldn’t be a next time.

“Apologies, Zarus. I hate to stab and dash off, but you rudely interrupted us earlier. I’d like to get her back to my bed.”

Zarus arched a brow. Arrogant twat.

“The woman said my name, which makes her mine.”

The room chilled further. Envy had little power to spare but didn’t bother trying to hide his darkening mood. Camilla was his.

Zarus grinned. “Unless of course you’d like to offer up a challenge.”

Envy kept the smile from his lips. That was precisely what he’d come to do.

Camilla stared up at him as if she’d seen a ghost, her gold skin pale.

She hadn’t thought he would come for her.

It was a wise deduction. One that should please him. He’d told her the game was his only focus. She wasn’t entirely wrong. He was here because of it.

A twinge of something twisted deep inside him, though. Something not at all pleasant.

He would have come for her sooner if he hadn’t run into trouble. But to admit that…

He flicked his attention around the room. Envy would prefer to have Camilla tucked safely into the guest cottage on his estate while he tended to this situation on his own.

There were at least twenty vampires, three of which were royal.

Zarus warded the castle using blood magic, so Envy couldn’t just magic Camilla away to his House of Sin. Even not fully recovered, Envy could almost take down the vampires on his own, but Camilla complicated matters. He couldn’t guard her and fight them all, at least not without posing a great risk to her. If he’d been uninjured, it would still have been too risky.

“Then I offer a challenge.” Envy’s voice was laced with boredom. “Your life for hers.”

They were sent back to what must have been Camilla’s chambers while preparations for the challenge were made. The entire journey down the hall, she’d clutched onto Envy’s hand so hard his bones ground together. If he’d been mortal, it would have bruised him or dislocated something.

Once in the room, she whirled.

“You cannot fight him,” she said.

Not Hello, wonderful to see you, thank you for stabbing my enemy.

“If he kills you…”

“Your confidence in my abilities is overwhelming, pet. Zarus may be strong, but he’s not more powerful than me.”

Camilla scrutinized him.

“Is that hubris speaking or truth?”

“Did anyone harm you?”

She pursed her lips at his blatant change of subject and refusal to answer her question. Aggravation was good. It meant she was scared but otherwise all right.

“No. Blade guarded me. For a while.”

Envy cocked his head, listening.

“Speaking of the crimson-eyed bastard.”

The vampire slipped into the room, eyeing Envy as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a far wall. Blade was wise to keep space between them.

With the image of Camilla sitting on Zarus’s lap, his tongue on her skin, fangs just shy of penetrating her, Envy wasn’t feeling very charitable.

His sin was still raging, searching for an outlet.

Blade knew that.

“You owe me,” the vampire said, voice low.

Blade kept his attention fixed to Envy.

“Not if you get everything you want out of the deal,” Envy said. “You spoke with Alexei about the details, I assume.”

“Yes. I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to. You’ve seen what he’s been like. What he did with Wrath. He tried to steal Wrath’s wife Emilia. A move that no sane creature would make. Is he still really fit to lead your court?”

Camilla glanced between them, a slow realization dawning.

“You’re one of his spies?”

“Associate, darling,” Envy said. “No one likes the term spy.”

“Mutual associate,” Blade added.

They were reluctant allies when circumstances forced them to be. Other than that, neither he nor the vampire had much use for the other.

If it hadn’t been for Alexei, Blade wouldn’t have dealt with Envy at all. The vampires were brothers in a sense, each turned by the same sire. For some reason Blade’s eyes were crimson instead of blue, but he was still royal. Not many knew of the connection between Envy’s court and Blade.

And Envy kept it that way.

Camilla stalked over and slapped Envy’s face. She knew it wouldn’t harm him, so it was more a show of temper than anything else.

He raised his brows.

“To what do I owe that honor?”

“You work together?” she asked.

“Occasionally. I fail to see the issue.”

“Did you have me kidnapped?”

His eyes narrowed.

“When, exactly, would I have had time to arrange a kidnapping? Before you shoved that memory into my mind, or while we were rolling around like fiends in the dirt? Surely I would have chosen a much more convenient time to have you abducted.”

“You deserved the slap. If only for that memory you shoved into my mind first.”

She turned those flashing silver eyes on Blade. He didn’t hide his grin. The scourge of Malice Isle was amused. Blade liked her.

“You could have mentioned this association instead of saying he wasn’t coming,” Camilla said. “Or were you hoping to bite me?”

Blade’s smile turned as sharp as the weapon he was named for.

“I’d even bite him, foul-tasting demon blood and all, if it suited my interests, lamb.”

“If we’re through with the pet names,” Envy drawled, growing more annoyed as his sin ignited, “what information do you have?”

Blade’s attention zeroed in on him, a knowing look flaring in his eyes as he glanced between Camilla and Envy. The vampire would be wise to keep his observations to himself.

“The challenge will begin an hour or so before sunrise in the arena. Gladiator-style in front of the entire court. Zarus wants to stir as much drama as possible. With a ticking clock, the tension thickens. He plans to use poison.”

As if that would kill Envy. Though weakened as he was, it wouldn’t be pleasant.

He kept his face a mask of nonchalance. No one could guess there was a chance he’d lose. He couldn’t even think it himself.

“And?”

“The poison will act only to slow you, dull your senses and power. Much like his venom does. Once it takes effect, he’ll remove your head and limbs and burn the pieces on a pyre.”

Envy rolled his eyes.

“Pyres are so dull. Leave it to your prince to be so uninspired. Though I suppose he is still stuck in the Middle Ages.”

Camilla looked stricken.

“Can’t we escape through that cave?”

“We could.” Envy reached over, tucking a silver lock behind her ear. “But that doesn’t solve the problem. Zarus would just send someone else to collect you. And next time he’d strengthen his borders. Best to end this now.”

Blade pushed himself off the wall and headed for the door.

“I’ll return if there’s any news.”

Envy nodded, turning his attention back to Camilla. He waited until the vampire could no longer be heard in the corridor before speaking.

“Should anything go awry, Alexei will take you to House Wrath. Don’t fight him. My brother will see to your safety, and his presence will make Zarus think twice before attacking.”

“You just said you are more powerful.”

He hesitated for a beat.

“Winning is not always about power. It’s about who wants it more. Zarus will not fight fairly or lay down his sword easily. He will make me earn that victory.”

“It would be easier if you just left me here.”

“You know I’d never do that.”

Envy’s hand curled around her chin, his touch gentle as he tipped her face up. She’d romanticized him again. Giving him a golden halo while ignoring the fact that his had broken long ago.

Because he’d shattered it.

“But you haven’t asked the all-important question, my darling Camilla.”

She scanned his face, knowing he was leading her into a trap, unable to see where it lay.

“Why?”

“You are much more than you seem, aren’t you, Miss Antonius? Not human. But what? I have a feeling that if I knew that, I’d know why you’re part of the game. Care to enlighten me?”

She held his gaze, offering a slight negation as her answer.

Whether she was admitting to not being human, or answering his question about enlightening him, it didn’t matter.

“Why wouldn’t I ever leave you here?” he asked again, bringing his mouth close to hers.

She’d wanted to taste the seam of his lips, and he wished to taste her lies. He brushed his lips against hers, the kiss barely anything at all.

Camilla’s breath hitched.

He drew back.

“It appears you’ve forgotten the game, Miss Antonius. You are a requirement for me to win. Were you listening to the Fear Collector? I am exactly where I need to be.”

Camilla winced, tried to jerk away, but he held on, forcing her gaze to remain locked on his, even as it turned hateful. He thought of the book she’d been reading at Sloth’s. Knew there was more to the choice in her fairy-tale romance than she’d let on.

Better for her to despise him now.

Envy wasn’t incapable of change. He simply didn’t wish to change.

“I will never be your Prince Charming, Camilla. For now, you hold immense value to me. When your value runs out…”

He stroked her jaw, watching her eyes turn hard as steel.

She wanted to hurt him. It was written all over her pretty face.

“Best hope that doesn’t happen until the game ends, pet. Or else you might see how wicked I truly am.”

FORTY-THREE

A FEW TENSE hours later, Camilla sat beside Blade in the royal box overlooking the arena, her knuckles bone-white from gripping her fists tightly in her lap.

Far below them a circular patch of white sand stretched wide, surrounded by matching high, smooth walls designed to keep fighters on the ground.

Unlike the black-sand beach they’d arrived on, the snow-colored grains and stone were clearly chosen to show off spilled blood, something that could prove dangerous in an arena filled with vampires.

Camilla didn’t want to think about what might happen if blood lust took over. Given how high up she was, there would be no way out but down through the thick of it.

Dawn was still a ways off, the strange double moons of Malice Isle casting an eerie red haze along the sand. Torches burned—the acrid scent of smoke rising on the thick, humid air.

Camilla’s gown clung to her like a second skin from the oppressive heat, adding to her discomfort. That was the reason she couldn’t sit still or take more than a few shallow breaths at a time. It was a necessary lie she kept silently repeating to herself.

Vampires poured into the tower from several entrances, filling the seats beyond capacity, their cheers creating a terrible cacophony as they pounded their fists and stomped their feet, waiting for the battle of princes to begin.

She glanced around, looking for Vexley, but he was either seated in the raging throng below or had decided to spend his time with his mistresses from hell.

Soon the metallic scent of blood mixed with the smoke. Tray after tray of blood cocktails was served and the crowd, already dangerous, was now drunk and raging.

“One thing is certain,” Blade said, gaze locked on the pit below. “It will be interesting.”

She was grateful he hadn’t lied and said it would be all right.

Even with Envy’s confidence, there was no telling how the fight would end. Immeasurable ass that he was, Camilla didn’t want any harm to come to the demon prince.

Alexei entered the royal box, nodding to Blade as they silently exchanged places.

Camilla slanted a look in his direction. He was already watching her.

“His Highness said to wear these.”

He held up two beautiful cuffs: wide silver bands fitted with what looked to be a hundred ruby shards.

“He said, and I quote, put them on and pretend he’s cuffed you to his bed.”

She rolled her eyes. Even now the demon was trying to distract her. He could say whatever he liked about only keeping her safe for the game. His actions said otherwise.

Alexei handed her one cuff at a time.

She noticed he only touched the silver.

“Aversion to rubies?”

“Not quite.” A smile ghosted across his face. “Rosary peas mixed with rubies. Highly lethal to vampires.”

“He expects I’ll need them?”

“A precaution, Miss Antonius.”

She gingerly took the cuffs and put them on. They fit as if they’d been forged for her.

“They were,” Alexei said.

“Why is it that everyone in this realm can read my mind?”

“Your expression tells your thoughts. It’s minute,” he added, “nothing a mortal would notice. But you’re no longer surrounded by mortals. Creatures here pay attention to everything; no detail is too small. You need to constantly wear a mask.”

“I suppose being surrounded by other predators keeps one sharp.”

He inclined his head in agreement but didn’t comment further.

Instead, he handed her a matching necklace he pulled from a satchel she hadn’t noticed, his cool fingers accidentally brushing hers before he quickly drew back.

She searched his blue eyes for answers. She hadn’t felt any loss of her senses, and his eyes identified him as royal.

“Your touch doesn’t impair me the way Zarus’s does. Why is that?”

His attention sharpened.

Bollocks, she cursed silently. She remembered too late that she was supposed to be human. Alexei looked at her for a long minute, then finally answered.

“Zarus is a blight.” Alexei’s icy gaze hardened. “He needs adoration almost more than he needs blood. In his mind he is a god, and he wants to be worshipped as such, even if he manufactures it through abuse of power. He rarely listens to advisors, and his hubris damages his court. He recently provoked Prince Wrath, which resulted in…” He shook his head. “Zarus’s reign ended when he made that move. It’s only been a matter of when he is deposed.”

Camilla was surprised any predator felt a moral obligation to use their magic only when necessary.

“If Prince Envy defeats him, will you take the throne?”

“When His Highness defeats him,” Alexei corrected, “I will return to House Envy.”

“Is that what you want?”

“Yes.”

Alexei glanced at the billowing white sheer drapes separating the royal box from the chaos beyond, the chalices of alcohol-spiked blood, the mortals being seduced and bitten.

If he longed to indulge like his brethren, he didn’t let it show.

“I choose to be His Highness’s second-in-command. There is much to learn from the way he runs his court. One day I might decide to return here, but for now our arrangement is mutually beneficial.”

“Does Envy know you’re studying his court?”

Alexei’s smile broadened. “Of course. It was his idea.”

Trumpets blared near the fighting pit, three short blasts that made the hair along the back of Camilla’s neck rise.

Alexei shifted his attention to Blade, a silent conversation seeming to take place between them before the latter inclined his head and stepped into the shadows.

“Relax,” Alexei murmured, “Envy will not lose.”

Relaxing in a tower full of blood-drunk vampires while one of the only allies she had in this realm battled to the death wasn’t possible. If Envy didn’t make it…

Camilla wasn’t sure there was much hope that she’d find her way back to Waverly Green. Alexei might try to bring her to House Wrath, but what chance did he stand of getting them to safety if the demon prince fell?

She perched on the edge of her seat, staring down.

Camilla fixated on the white sand below, on the two gated caverns on opposite sides from which she imagined each prince would emerge.

A giant humanoid creature wearing a crudely made wolf head helmet that completely hid its face strode out, muscled chest bare, tattooed arms and thighs the size of an elephant. It had to be at least twelve feet tall and was built like a mountain.

Camilla couldn’t imagine anyone fighting it and walking away with their life.

Alexei scoffed.

“Canidae. Unoriginal as far as taunts go. But that’s Zarus.”

“How is it a taunt?”

It certainly didn’t seem like a taunt to her. It seemed like Death walking.

“Envy’s House symbol is a double-headed wolf. A green-eyed monster. Canidae, known as the Wolf of the Western Isles, was chosen to mock the prince.”

In one meaty hand it swung a flail that had two spiked balls attached via chain. It was positively medieval—a weapon made popular in ancient blood sports, of which she’d seen many gruesome paintings throughout the years.

Camilla supposed that was exactly what this was: blood sport.

The giant creature swung its weapon at the crowd, the cheers growing impossibly louder as it swaggered around the arena.

It thrust its unoccupied hand at the stands, taunting, daring someone to come and fight.

To her horror, she realized it wasn’t wearing a helmet—the creature had a wolf’s head with a man’s body; it was barking and growling as the crowd tossed someone over the wall, directly at the monster.

Without seeing its eyes, she couldn’t tell whether the victim was a human or a vampire, but she saw how terrified he was; a steady trickle of urine glistened down his leg, earning more jeers from the raging crowd.

Everything happened quickly after that.

In a blur of metal flashing and flesh shredding, the creature had beaten the male until he was an unidentifiable mass of raw meat, his dying screams bloodcurdling as they echoed up the tower.

Blood coated the male from head to toe; part of his arm hung off, severed at the wrist, dangling by a stubborn tendon. His left eye had been bashed out, oozing something foul-looking.

Camilla squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the overwhelming urge to vomit.

The creature had been aiming for the male’s skull, and she did not need to witness what happened when that killing blow connected with its target.

Silence fell, metal cracked bone, then the crowd went wild.

Vibrations from the seats below rattled her bones.

“It’s over,” Alexei said, leaning close. “The body is gone.”

Camilla’s stomach twisted violently as she stared down at the pool of blood that had just contained someone’s life. It was beyond horrifying.

Beyond a nightmare.

And it was only just beginning.

With blood still dripping down the smooth stone walls, Envy strode into the arena looking like an indolent royal out for a stroll among his adoring court, completely unconcerned with the giant storming toward him, flail swinging, gore from its last victim splattering the mixed crowd of vampires and their human pets in the nearest stand, its muzzle nearly black with entrails.

Camilla realized with sudden horror that the body of its last victim was gone because Canidae had eaten it. No bone, no flesh remained.

Still, Envy walked out, his body language bordering on bored.

The demon prince wore a crisp suit, a stylish waistcoat, and a pair of freshly pressed trousers tailored to him exceptionally well. Not ideal fighting clothing.

Camilla wasn’t sure whether he was brilliant or mad. Perhaps a little of both.

“What’s happening?” she asked, searching for the vampire prince. “Why is he fighting that creature?”

“Zarus will strike as soon as Envy is focused on Canidae.”

“Isn’t that against the rules?”

Alexei flashed her a grim look.

“There are no rules.”

The wolf-headed creature, Canidae, descended like a storm. The way it had been fighting earlier… it had been only halfheartedly.

Canidae focused on Envy with singular brutality.

Its footsteps shook the arena, its war cry the most terrifying thing Camilla had ever heard. It sounded like all hope had been lost, like blood and death had been its only friends for millennia. And Envy threatened to take them away.

The demon prince didn’t move, didn’t tense as Canidae thundered closer, its snarls making her recoil almost a hundred feet above it.

Camilla’s heart nearly broke out of her chest, it was pounding so furiously. She stared, her attention fixed on the prince as if it had been magically stuck to the scene.

“Run,” she urged quietly, “please. Run.”

Impossibly, as if he’d heard her whisper from the pit far below, Envy raised his gaze, finding her in the crowd instantly.

He stared into her eyes, mouth curved, as his hair ruffled in the breeze of the flail sailing near his head. He’d stepped out of its path only at the last second, sending Canidae into a seething rage as it barreled past him, whirling and wild-eyed.

Its size worked against it. The creature wasn’t agile; any sudden movement from its opponent worked against it.

Camilla’s knees knocked together, her hands bouncing from where they rested on her lap. She wanted to run and scream and wake up from this horrible nightmare.

Then she realized what Alexei had said. There were no rules.

Envy could use magic.

But why doesn’t he?

Canidae had charged again, mere feet from Envy, when the prince suddenly unleashed himself. Whatever animal, whatever that uncivilized creature was that she’d sensed lived beneath his skin, it was no longer caged by propriety.

Envy was no longer a prince. He was every inch the demon.

And he was magnificent.

From one breath to the next he’d ripped his jacket and waistcoat off. The sound of his fist connecting with Canidae was audible all the way up to where she sat. The crowd, the jeers, the pounding fists and stomping feet, nothing drowned out the sound of that punch.

The creature flew backward, crashing into the wall, a crack shooting halfway up the tower from the impact. The demon had tossed the giant as if it had been nothing at all.

Camilla recalled when he’d hit Harrington—Envy must have been holding back. A lot.

Envy whirled, his House dagger drawn, as the vampire prince leapt from behind, fangs bared.

Zarus had taken the coward’s move, trying to attack from behind.

Envy was faster, more powerful, more ruthless.

The demon thrilled at violence.

Camilla watched, rapt, as he fought with the sort of brutal grace that was hauntingly beautiful despite how horrible it was.

If she could paint him now, she’d focus on the harsh lines of his face cast by shadows, the glittering promise of death in his eyes, and the violent slash of his mouth as it twisted into a vow of pain and torment.

Suddenly, it all took a terrible turn.

Canidae removed a barbed whip from its belt, cracking it more loudly than thunder.

Another great beast, this one with the head of a lion, charged into the arena while the vampire prince stalked closer, still aiming for Envy’s back.

Camilla was out of her seat, leaning over the edge, shouting for Envy to look.

Alexei grabbed her, hauling her back. She nearly turned and punched him.

“Do something! He cannot fight against three.”

Alexei’s gaze sparkled. “Zarus is attempting to make it a fair fight.”

“How is three on one…” Camilla’s voice trailed off as the answer came to her. “Envy is that much more powerful.”

“Not quite.”

Alexei nodded to the arena, where another two giant creatures emerged. One had a bull’s head with the body of a man, and the other had the head of a bird of prey. Five. It took one vampire prince and four giant beasts to even the fighting field.

“Exactly how strong is Envy?”

“The Kiadara each possess the strength of two hundred men. They are rumored to be the by-blows of the old gods. Because of their taste for blood, they’ve aligned themselves with the vampires.”

Camilla’s mouth went dry.

Envy was fighting the equivalent of eight hundred mortal men and a vampire with immortal strength of his own.

The demon prince turned, saw the raging beasts descending, lifted his dagger, and smiled.