Chapter 1

1

E nvy stared out at his domain, proud and strong above them all. The kingdom that unfurled below him was one hardier than any of his brothers' kingdoms. He had carved into the very rock and stone to create a home for his people. The foundation they walked upon was the bedrock at the base of their floating isle. Their home was nestled in the heart of the land that kept them alive.

He could feel it. The beating thrum never left this place and always echoed in his mind.

Like the magic that flowed through his veins, this kingdom was alive. He had given it life the first time he'd taken flesh, imbuing every part of this realm with his own magic that had flowed through every stone.

When he'd first come to this kingdom, he'd met the dwarves who could sing the stones. Earth bent to their will, and they were the first he'd stolen power from. Now, he alone could take the gemstones that glimmered in the light and give them powers that another could wield. All the magic in this kingdom was his to call upon and his to abuse if he so wished.

He was the most powerful creature now. Stealing magic had been so easy, and so addictive. He wanted all of it, because someone else had it.

Dragging the body in his grip to the edge of his white marble balcony, Envy stared down at all he'd made. The kingdom had swiftly become a hollow interior of a mountain. Vast and endless, the white and gray homes blinked with light far beneath his feet, so far away that they looked like stars. Just pinpricks of light in the distance.

Bare chested, he felt the wind play against the tattoos that covered him from neck to wrist to ankles. Each one of those tattoos was alive, and they all screamed for him to finish the job.

He lifted the man in his grip. The limp form was barely alive. If Envy had left him alone, perhaps the man would have gathered more power on his own. He would have become strong again, capable of magical spells that captivated the audiences around his kingdom. But Envy couldn't stand knowing that he was still alive.

"Your magic will not go to waste," he said, his voice a little too loud. "But I thank you for the gift of your illusions. They were ever so much more detailed than the ones I could conjure."

A weak whine was his only response. A shame, really. One of these days, someone would lose their power to him and still be able to fight after he'd drained them.

Tossing the man's body over the balcony's edge, he walked back into his office with a sigh. It used to be fun. He used to feel satisfied every time he gained more power by draining someone else. But these days, it was just another chore. Something else to do in the endless madness of his kingdom.

Did he need more power? No, of course not. He was infinitely more powerful than anyone else in this kingdom. More power only glutted him, and was rarely used after.

But knowing someone else had something he didn't have? That other people marveled over what another could conjure? That was an ache in his stomach that never went away. He needed to take. He needed to be the only person who could conjure magic because other people were looking.

So he took. And it left him still unsatisfied.

The fluttering sound of wings followed him as he approached his desk. This office was made of stone, like everything in his kingdom. His desk was a pristine marble with the faintest striations of grey that made this room feel colder than it was. But the icy sensation against his bare feet reminded him that he was alive.

His desk had been carved where it stood, impossible to move as it was connected to the floor. He let his hands trail along the carved walls as he made his way to his desk. He had commissioned talented artists to depict scenes of sorcerers and dragons on the walls. There were men and women in long white robes underneath his fingers now, and those gave way to the whirling illustrations of magic. Soon, he would feel the tiny scales of the massive dragon that took up most of his wall.

Sighing, he let his hand drop from the beauty of the artwork as he slumped on one of the few pieces in his quarters that wasn't stone. The wood of his emerald velvet chair groaned underneath his weight. He propped his head on his fist, staring at the balcony where he knew his oldest friend would soon arrive.

Wings shifted, and a black raven soared through the window to land on her stone perch on his desk. The creature preened a few of her feathers before looking at him with a narrow-eyed gaze.

"Well?" Envy asked.

Orphe blinked one big eye and opened her mouth. The eerie human voice that came out of the beak had once disturbed him. He'd wondered what he had created when he'd poured a spirit of an emotion, like himself, into this bird. She was the embodiment of Ambition, and he loved that about his favorite magical beast.

"The rumors are true. There is another with more power than is acceptable."

"Is that so?" He leaned back, abs flexing as he drummed his fingers on his bare stomach. "So the rumors of an oracle in this kingdom aren't just a myth, then. Did you see this oracle for yourself?"

Another single, beady eyed blink. "I saw her for myself."

"Her?"

"Oracles are only women, Envy. You have seen them before."

Indeed, he had. But he hadn't thought there was one still alive. Oracles were rare, and he had consumed the last one years ago. But she had been weak and old. Her magic was like trying to swallow a spiderweb. He'd never even gotten a taste of it. It had just leaked out of him the moment he'd swallowed it, seeping out of his pores before it disappeared.

Shoving up from his desk, he held out his arm for Orphe to stand on. "All right, let's go see this oracle, then."

"In that?"

He blinked. "In what?"

The raven looked him up and down, unimpressed with what she saw. "You are only wearing pants, Envy."

Right. He couldn't leave this castle without putting clothing on. Or at the very least, looking the part. He was meant to be the terrifying king who would steal their magic if they looked at him wrong.

But then he had the thought that maybe he shouldn't be that person. If he really wanted to see if this oracle was the real thing, then he needed to go into her home with no one recognizing him.

He chose a black shirt and a long black cloak that would fit over his broad shoulders. Then he covered his face with a smooth porcelain mask. It had been glazed a dark grey with waves of black across it. He thought maybe he'd worn it to a masquerade once before, back when he'd cared to mingle with his people more than now.

Gesturing for Orphe to join him, he strode out of his office with his raven on his shoulder. They would find this oracle, and he was going to enjoy every second of the hunt.

The streets were quiet this time of night, although he could hear a small crowd the moment he hit the bottom of the long stairwell that led up to his castle. Right, the body. He'd forgotten he'd thrown a man down here.

Envy was surprised there was anything left of his latest victim. After all, the body must have hit many rocks on the way down. There had to be only pieces for other people to find. And yet, they were still trying to find all the missing parts.

Humans would never stop surprising him. They were a tenacious species, and they always liked to gather their dead. Even when there was little more than a husk left.

Sighing, he turned down the opposite direction. "They're still in the old bath houses?"

"Yes," Orphe breathed in his ear, opening her wings and spreading them wide. "The bath houses."

"Why there, I wonder?"

Such a place wasn't private. And they had to know it was best to hide from him. Envy had made it very clear what he thought about those with power. He would feed upon them all the moment someone else spoke of their power, so they hid. Magic was a curse in his kingdom.

Yet there were always people born with magic, seemingly more and more every year. Still a small percentage of those who lived in his kingdom, but enough that he was constantly fed these days. Even he was surprised at some of their powers. They were... impressive.

But that of an oracle? She would be magnificent. He'd never been successful in taking that power. He could cast illusions with the best of them, levitate any object, even bring beings to life from mud or water. But he could not see the future.

Tonight would be a good night.

They approached the old bath house, and he was surprised to see a small crowd in front of it. There were so many of his people that he wondered how widely known this oracle was, and why he hadn't heard of her until now. If she'd been practicing long enough for so many to know her name, surely someone would be foolish enough to tell the wrong person.

Until he saw the sign as he stepped inside the bath house with the crowd.

A great and magnificent spectacle! Come see the fabled oracle of legend and a menagerie of magical sights.

"A circus?" he muttered, glancing at Orphe on his shoulder. "Since when does a circus travel through my kingdom?"

His raven gave a rather human like shrug. "I have not heard of it until now."

"You are meant to be my eyes and ears."

"I cannot be everywhere at once." Feathers ruffled, she turned her attention to the crowd around them. "There are many magical people here, though."

So there were. He could see a young woman breathing fire in the corner with a crowd around her. They oo-ed and ah-ed at the display of power, before turning their attention to a young man who was twisting himself into a snake. Shapeshifters were also rare to find, although their powers were ones he had glutted on before. Another man in the corner lifted a stone that was four times the size of his body. His strength would have been tempting if Envy hadn't already consumed that as well.

These were all... freak shows. They were magical people who could not live in his kingdom for a very long time. So those without power were curious to see what these performers were like, and just how real they were.

He watched the faces of the surrounding crowd. Every man, woman, and child wore expressions of awe that he wanted to keep for himself. He hated that other people were getting this attention, and the demon in his chest rolled at the realization that they weren't paying attention to him.

This should be all his. He should be the one who casting spells and showing them just how powerful and wonderful he was. These people owed him every ounce of their attention and he resented they were giving it to anyone else in this moment.

"My king," Orphe rasped in his ear. "The show is about to start."

Twitching, he forced himself to follow the crowd yet again. There were so many people here, he couldn't make a scene. Besides, what would he do with more power? He already had more of it than he would ever use in a lifetime.

Murmurs started up around him, and for once, he paid attention to what people were saying around him.

"Is the oracle performing tonight?"

"I've heard she's one of the most beautiful women to ever grace this kingdom."

"Did you hear the rumor? She wasn't born here. No one knows where she's from, though. Only that she came here because she sensed so many with prophecies that needed to be told."

He almost snorted at the last one. Oracles were rarely helpful. In fact, he'd seen more of them in his lifetime than not. If they were actually oracles, their prophecies weren't easy to decipher. Your cat was going to die. There was a flood coming that would make mold grow on your walls. All silly things that could happen to anyone.

The crowd gathered around the largest pool in the bathing house. He wasn't sure why, but he sank down with them on the pillows that were strewn about. There were maybe fifty people gathered around the still grey pool. Stalactites grew down from the ceiling. They weren't carved away because no one used these rooms. A faint light banished the shadows, but he still couldn't see much in this cave.

Everyone suddenly went silent, and women appeared from the back rooms. Each of them carried a torch, their glimmering lights illuminating the features of everyone in the room and casting harsh shadows everywhere they went. Each woman wore a pale white robe, their faces covered by the nearly sheer fabric that revealed only the vague shape of their features underneath.

In the silence of the room, all he could hear were the wet drips from the stalactites above their heads. Single water droplets that fell, each one gleaming like a diamond falling into a pond. And then someone gasped. Their voice echoed across the water that was so still, it was like looking at the surface of a mirror.

He leaned forward, captured in the sensation that something remarkable was about to happen. He felt the vibrations in the air until every hair on his arms stood up.

Something moved underneath that water. Something beautiful and lithe. A woman rising to the surface, clothed only in sheer white fabric, just like the other priestesses who now surrounded the pool.

They all knelt, each and every one of them holding their burning torches over the water as though they guided their sister to the surface. This oracle, the woman that all of his people spoke of, rose to the top.

The water barely rippled around her as she appeared. First, her lovely pale features were revealed, water cascading down her cheeks as she stood. Pretty pink lips and eyelashes were so pale that they were hard to see at all. Her hair fell around her, tangled and coiled in the water, before sticking to her pale shoulders. Even from here, he could see how the firelight clung to her skin.

White marble, he thought. That was what she must be made of. She was so lovely, without a single blemish on her features. And as the oracle stood, he could only focus on the way that white fabric revealed every inch of her body. The lovely peaks of her breasts, so rosy and beading for his tongue. The hollow of her belly and the shadows between her legs.

They hadn't exaggerated. She was the most beautiful woman who had ever graced his kingdom. But she might not be an oracle, at least not yet.

He had hope she wasn't until she opened her eyes and all he could see was white. Like she was actually a marble statue, with eyes that had never been carved to give her sight.

Then she opened her mouth and exhaled a white mist that extended toward the edges of the pool.

He sank back into the pillows, watching her with a suspicious gaze.

Apparently, he did have an oracle in his kingdom. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.