Chapter 20

20

L ilith lingered between dreaming and waking. Warm hands stroked up her back, a murmuring, deep voice telling her to wake because they had somewhere to be.

She'd been dreaming about him anyway, so it was hard to tell if this was real. His deep voice was so tantalizing to her senses, and she'd wanted him to touch her more. But she'd dreamt about him every single night since he made her come so hard on his lap that she'd seen stars.

It was hard to think of anything else. So it made sense that she was incapable of even escaping the thoughts in her sleep.

"Oh, little one," he murmured, his voice echoing throughout her barely awake mind. "I'd love to indulge both of our desires, but we have somewhere to be."

She must have rolled toward him, ready for whatever new feelings he would inspire throughout her form. Blinking her eyes open, she was surprised to find him leaning above her.

A lock of his dark hair had fallen in front of his gaze. That dark strand made her want to smooth it back from his face so badly that she stopped resisting her own urges. She just reached for it, tucking it behind his ear and lingering on the sharp edge of his jaw.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice raspy with sleep.

"We need to make you that tea. Don't we?"

"I don't need to be there for that." And suddenly she came out of the sleepiness. In its place, she was a little grumpy that he was trying to wake her up. She was so cozy in bed. So warm.

This was the deepest and most comfortable sleep she'd ever had in her life. She didn't want to get out of the warm bed and out into the frigid air where he stood.

Rolling over, she snuggled deeper into the softness and decided if she ignored him, then maybe he would let her sleep a little longer. She could slip back into that dream where he was here for much more entertaining desires than to just get her out of bed. Maybe if she dreamt hard enough, he would pull back the covers and get into the bed with her. His warm body would press against her from behind and he would?—

The blankets were all ripped off of her in one quick sweep that left her limbs exposed to the icy air.

With a tortured moan, she tucked her legs closer to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, trying to preserve what little heat she could.

"Come on," he said with a chuckle. "You can't stay in bed, Lilith. Up you get."

She didn't want to get up, though. She wasn't sure she would survive it, and damn him for saying that she had to!

Lifting her in his arms, he set her on her feet, still chuckling at the grumpy expression on her face. "You don't have to get dressed. I brought you a cloak. This won't take long. I've already done most of the work. You just have to be there for the last part."

Grumbling under her breath about stupid men who got her out of bed, she staggered after him toward the portal that she hadn't realized he'd already summoned. At least the cloak he had wrapped around her was already warm. Almost as though he'd cast a spell on it to heat it.

Lifting the soft rabbit interior to her cheek, she rubbed it against her skin and was delighted to feel that it was actually staying warm. So he had used some of his endless magic just to make sure she was cozy.

That made her... feel odd. Something in her belly twisted and her heart thudded hard in her chest. He had gone out of his way to make sure she was comfortable and that was...

Well. She didn't know what to think about it. The demon king was supposed to be a terrifying creature who killed anyone and everyone who stood in his way. Not the kind man who had given her a warm bed, a warm coat, and an orgasm that made her cross-eyed.

She was losing her mind. Even more so when they stepped into a moonlight desert.

Her breath fogged in front of her face, the cold air turning everything to mist. For once, it wasn't her. Although, maybe it was. The mist on her skin rose at the opportunity to see an entirely new kingdom and all the people within it, with futures she could never exist in.

The sand was white. Not gold. Pure white, like someone had spread tiny grains of sugar across the world. The moon sparkled on each little chip of sugar, filling her gaze with diamonds and silver. Even her skin looked a little colorless in this world.

But then she saw that there was a small table on the sands. As she stepped toward it, she could see a small burner and a bowl with petals in it. Her petals. He had been preparing her tea, in the old way, the only way that mattered.

He'd taken the time to find out what the tea needed to be brewed in, and made sure that the moon was full, so the tea was strongest.

"My old master hasn't brewed the tea under a full moon in years," she whispered as the memory filtered through her mind. "I had forgotten that the full moon was even required. He had so much of it that I just assumed... It was so weak."

So weak that she had to drink more of it than she had ever wanted to. But she couldn't remember what that meant for her when there was so much power rioting in her mind that she only got small breaks from. Those breaks were when she was supposed to get her mind settled so she could do what needed to be done.

Wasn't that how it was supposed to be?

Envy stepped in front of her. There was a spoon inside of the bowl that had been stirring on its own, but it stopped as he waved a hand over it.

She watched in anticipation as he pulled out a teacup from his pocket. An honest to gods teacup with a tiny, breakable handle. She was a little surprised he hadn't brought the saucer with it.

He held it delicately in his hands as he poured the tea into it and then waved a hand over the entire thing.

She arched a brow in question while he handed the cup to her.

"To cool it. The directions say you have mere moments to drink it." His expression softened. "I didn't want you to burn your tongue."

This man.

He'd thought of everything and somehow that made it all the worse that he was here with her. She lifted the tea to her mouth, noting that it was the perfect temperature, and then swallowed it all.

She felt it moving throughout her body. There was a sudden sensation not of the blankness that she was used to, but clarity. The tea that her old master gave her had always made her feel odd. She was uncomfortable after drinking it. It made everything inside of her foggy, as though the world itself had dulled.

But this tea, the tea that was made for her and followed the correct rules, it focused everything. Suddenly, she could see every single grain of sand around them. She knew where every breathing thing was within a mile around them, and she could sense even his heart throbbing in his chest as he watched her drink.

Her heart had always felt sluggish in her chest, and now that slow, awkward beat steadied. Her back muscles stopped aching and every part of her felt infinitely better. She wasn't just a shell that hosted an oracle. She was a living, breathing woman with so much more inside of her than just... emptiness.

A deep sigh echoed from her core, and she tilted her head back in relief. This was how it was supposed to feel to be alive.

"Better?" he asked. Those green eyes saw more than she wanted him to see.

It all started to come back to her. Slowly, in a trickle of memories of her teachings from the oracular order. She was meant to drink the tea at full strength because her power would eat her from the inside out if she wasn't careful. She had to make sure that her caretaker was doing his job, and if he wasn't, then she was to contact the order and get another.

So many lies had been fed into her mind by the man who had her call him master.

Anger bloomed with that. Mist rose off of her skin, as though she could do anything with it. But she was limited to futures and who she touched. She couldn't find the thread of his future that would lead to his death the fastest, even if that was what she wished to do.

"That man," she hissed. "He took everything from me."

Envy's brows rose. "Your master, I take it?"

"Master!" Lilith spat the word with more venom than she'd ever felt in her body. "He does not get to call himself my master. He took a young oracle, and he destroyed her. From the inside out, he unmade me until I was little more than a puppet for his disgusting circus."

"I take it the tea has brought back some of your old memories as well."

"More memories than he ever wanted me to remember." And still not enough. She wanted him to be tortured. She wanted him to know and feel all the things she had felt in the beginning. Tormented while knowing that she was losing so much and there was nothing she could do to get it back. She wanted him to suffer, and she wanted to be the one who held the knife.

Envy watched all these expressions changing across her features and a slow, feral smile spread his lips. "Oh, I think I'm going to like this version of you, oracle. What a delicious surprise."

"You don't know what I'm thinking."

"I do. You want to hurt him. You want him underneath your heel screaming and then you want to know what his suffering will bring him. You want to choose which path I take as you peer into his future and see the hundreds of ways I plan for him to die."

And then he did something that shocked her.

Envy dropped to his knees at her feet, sneaking one hand underneath the cloak and skating under her nightgown. His warm palm against her inner thigh, he stopped just before where she really wanted him to touch.

"I will make him worship at your feet while he begs for my mercy," he rasped. "Make me your weapon, oracle, and point me where you want them to bleed."

Her heart stopped.

He had no idea what he offered her, and yet, she had a feeling he knew where the words came from. This man had been a killer his entire life. He had killed for power, and likely would continue to kill for that exact reason.

She couldn't see his future, but she could predict what it was. The killings wouldn't stop, but if she wanted to take this moment in her grasp, she could be the one who chose where the death happened. She could pick and choose those that deserved to live or die based on their futures. It was her choice.

Hands shaking, she framed his face with her palms and gently squeezed. "If I had the ability to choose, I would use you. Demon king, you are far too tempting of a future for me."

"Then pick that path for yourself."

"I do not know if that is the path that allows me to live the longest." That was why her hands shook. That was why this terrified her so much.

Would she choose a shorter life where she made more of an impact? Or a longer one where life was simpler, but perhaps harder?

Breathing out a long sigh, she shook her head and stepped back from him. "We should return to your castle. I imagine it's not very safe out here for two strangers."

"We're safe enough."

"Where even are we?" she asked as he stood and dusted the sand off his knees.

"Sloth's kingdom."

He didn't give her any more of an explanation as he summoned another portal, not even looking at her as he held out his hand for her to take.

She'd insulted him. Lilith should have guessed that denying him on his knees would do that. But he had to understand what he was asking of her. This was dangerous. Far too dangerous for either of them. He had to understand it was a risk. All of this was a risk.

But then they stepped through the portal into his office and she was struck with a sense of foreboding. It was so strong that she actually staggered.

Catching herself against the wall, she pressed her hand to her chest and tried to understand where this was coming from. How could she feel so terrible? What had happened?

The power in her swelled, and mist poured in wave after wave off of her body. It soared out of the room like an ocean had erupted from her skin.

"I thought the tea was supposed to make this better," Envy snarled, catching her by the elbows and holding her up. "What is happening, Lilith?"

She didn't know what was happening. This had never happened before. Or at least, not that she could remember. But the power that was erupting from her skin didn't feel like it was taking from her, either. It was almost as though that tea hadn't dulled her magic or given her a chance to breathe.

It was like the tea had made her even more powerful.

Wide eyed, she shook her head and looked up at him. "I don't know. I don't?—"

The mist struck something, or someone, she supposed. A future barreled toward her and there was nothing she could do to stop herself from peering into it. What she saw there terrified her.

"They released a chimera in the castle," she wheezed, the mist barreling back toward her with so much intent it knocked her back into the wall. "There's a chimera here, Envy."