Chapter 5

5

E nvy was loath to admit her memory stuck with him after that night at the bathhouse. It was more than Orphe's mutterings at leaving someone so powerful just out of their reach. That woman had stared into his soul as though she wanted him to save her.

Which was ridiculous. Envy didn't save anyone in this kingdom. He dealt in power and power alone. That was the only way that he knew how to function. If she was looking at him to save her, then she would be sorely disappointed quickly. He was the villain in everyone's story, but a necessary evil to keep their kingdom functioning as it was.

He could bestow power onto others. And sometimes did. That was the reason all his people stayed here. Because if they were lucky, their king would enchant armor or a blade or jewelry that would give them incredible powers.

It was unlikely, but he had done it many times before.

But that woman. Lilith. The oracle who had been living right under his nose, she had looked at him with the slightest bit of hope in her eyes. Almost like she wanted to see what would happen if she pushed. Like she wanted to know what would happen if he took her away from that world, and what he would show her.

"You shouldn't be here," Orphe squawked, her wings flapping behind his head and stirring his hair in the breeze she made.

"No, I shouldn't."

"Yet, we are here."

"We are here, Ambition." He only used her real name when he was upset with her. She quieted down and tucked her wings tightly against her back.

At least now he knew she wouldn't interrupt him while he walked into the circus full of people who likely wished to kill him.

Even the thought made him snort. They wouldn't succeed anymore than an arrow would. They had no idea what monster walked amongst them, but some primal part of their brain made them flinch away in fear. They didn't want to know what he could do.

He slipped his mask back on, walking through the crowd in the bath house like he had never been here before. The fire eater was right where she'd been before. The billowing light of her fire consumed so much of the shadows in this place. Tonight the two shapeshifters were out as well, each of them corralled into a corner where it looked like they might fight later.

What he did not see was a crowd around the pool. Instead, there were just people milling around. Doing nothing. They weren't even talking about the oracle, which already made him suspicious.

"Is she not here?" Orphe asked, her croaking crow voice sounding at least a little intrigued. "I thought she was their main attraction."

As did he.

So Envy waited. And waited. He stayed until there were fewer people than usual and he waited until the very last moment. There was still a crowd here, although they seemed to be switching over from the fire breathers to those priestesses. The women wearing the pale garments were wearing a lot less now than they had been before.

Frowning, he caught the fire breathing woman before she ducked through one of those hidden walls.

"Where is she?" he asked, keeping his voice pitched low.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you."

"I just want to know if she's still alive."

He'd learned a long time ago that people were more likely to give him information if he pretended to be a good person. He could see it working. She softened around the eyes, that expression of suspicion turning into something like regret. If he pushed a little harder, just said the right few words, she'd tell him everything he wanted to know.

Until the man who had lifted boulders stepped between them. "Let her be on her way."

"I'm not bothering the lady," Envy replied.

"I'm afraid you are, friend. You're not supposed to even be here."

He wasn't entirely without his tricks. He could see the fire breather's eyes darting around them, afraid she was about to be in the middle of a fight. But that wasn't who he needed her to think he was. So instead of getting angry, as he very much wanted to do, Envy took a step back and lifted his hands.

"Like I said, I just want to make sure the oracle is all right. She suffered quite the attack last night, and was obviously upset after I healed her. It's my job to make sure everyone in this kingdom remains safe." He glanced over at the fire breather one more time. She was staring at him with wide eyes, but a spark of interest flared in them.

A romantic, perhaps? She seemed to soften every time he was kind about the oracle.

Sighing, he let his hands drop to his sides. "I'd be lying if I didn't admit she wasn't the strongest woman I've ever met. I've never seen someone be cut across their face and remain so deep under the spell of her own power. I only wish to offer my help, perhaps in tutelage, to help control her power, and make sure she is well."

There it was.

A flick of her eyes and the slightest twitch of her hands. She was pointing at the opposite end of the bath house, far away from where he had seen her rooms last night. Not that he could barge in there without all the circus trying to attack him.

And still, her master had taken the precaution of moving her. Just in case.

Smart move, if Envy wasn't capable of finding anyone he wanted in this kingdom. Besides, he could read people better than most. The fire eater, for example, had fallen into his ploy so easily. He almost questioned how much control their master had over his people.

Moving through the crowd, he made sure his mask was settled over his features one last time before ducking through the wall at the first opportunity that someone wasn't looking.

This room was very different from the others. At first, all he noticed was the smell of damp hay and the strange musk of animals he didn't think should be in his kingdom. Then his gaze took in all the myriad of creatures that were somehow housed within these walls. Birds that radiated light from their feathers. Cats that looked like they were blinking in and out of existence as they walked. A dog made entirely of shadows, but its ears pricked straight up the moment he looked at it. This was more than just a circus, it seemed. It was a zoo.

Stepping deeper into the room, he let his eyes wander to see the woman made of marble and all her lovely features. She stood in the back of the room, her back to him and a bag in her grip. She had to carry it with both arms, comically leaning back as though it was quite heavy to hold.

And in front of her was a horse that he'd only seen in Greed's kingdom. A leathery creature with sharp teeth, it barely looked like a horse and more like a monster from a child's nightmare. And yet, she held that bag underneath its mouth, bracing herself too far back—enough that he worried for the state of her spine—to make sure that the creature had an easier time eating.

He leaned against one of the stalls, crossing his arms as he watched her. Low murmurs filed the room, a soothing sound that he wasn't sure had any real meaning other than making sure the creature was calm while it ate.

She wasn't in her performance clothing, something he was grateful for. If she had been in that gauzy white fabric, he wasn't sure he'd be able to control himself. Instead, she was much more real in brown pants and a white shirt that was open tantalizingly low over her breasts. She'd tied all that lovely near white hair back in a braid that swayed down her back. So pretty. So innocent.

So unaware that he was standing right behind her, watching every single move. His gaze caught the tiny flexing of muscles in her arms. The way her neck braced as the nuckelavee bucked its head and nearly knocked her over. Every time she moved, it was like she called out to something inside him. Something that wanted him to bite that long neck, to see what would happen if he left bruises on her skin that only he could see.

Bruises that she might also like.

One of those glowing birds pecked at Orphe, and she spread her wings wide in an angry squawk that echoed through the strange stable. Lilith flinched at the sound, which told him that she was used to the noises in here. She knew Orphe's sound wasn't the same as what should be in that stable.

"Who—" She turned toward him, and he watched as all the color in her cheeks drained. She went even paler than she had been before, and he hadn't thought that was possible.

She took a single deep breath, her chest rising and falling before she was suddenly falling. Swaying just slightly toward the nuckelavee that bared its sharp teeth and he could already see the beast intended to bite her.

Lunging forward, he used a little of his power as well to make sure he got to her in time. The feed bag fell onto the floor and splattered its meaty contents everywhere, the nuckelavee shrieking in protest, but he had her in his arms.

One of her hands came up to press against his chest, and he could see the breath catch in her throat as she stared up at him.

His fingers slotted around her tiny waist so naturally. He bent her back, taking all of her weight with ease as he stared into her shocked gaze and grinned.

"Got you," he said with that shit-eating grin on his face.

She didn't seem to know what to say. Lilith seemed frozen with that shocked expression, her hand still flexed on his chest, and all he wanted was to reel her in even closer. He wanted to press her tighter against his skin, maybe kiss down the same track where that woman had torn into her lovely face. Just to ensure himself that it had actually knit back together the way she deserved.

Not a single scar should mar her perfect, milky skin.

"You're not supposed to be here," she finally whispered. And oh, that voice. It was so different from when she spoke as the oracle.

What he had heard so far was the deep tones of a hundred women all warped together. The oracles always had an intimidating voice, one that was born of power and deep magic that saw through every single person they came in contact with. In contrast, Lilith's actual voice was the light birdsong on the first day of spring. Joyous and bright, it filled some hollow in him that he hadn't realized was empty and aching.

"I'm not supposed to be here, no," he repeated, shaking his head and trying to plaster a sad expression on his face. "But I couldn't stay away."

"Why?"

"Your master has you captured here, does he not? He wouldn't sell you to me, so I wanted to see if I could convince you to come away with me instead." For some reason, there was truth in these words.

He wanted her to choose to come with him, and that was strange on its own. He hadn't ever cared before.

Perhaps it was because she'd so clearly chosen her master over him in their last interaction. He wanted her to choose him. Just to hear the words from those lovely pink lips.

Her eyes darted between his, and he was so startled by how light blue they were. Pretty. Almost white on their own, let alone with the creature inside her who saw the future.

"No," she whispered, but then repeated it again as she started to struggle. "Let go of me. No! My answer will always be no."

No? That didn't make sense.

He was the only right decision. So when she struggled, he didn't let her go. He walked her backward, forcing her to dip even more into his arms as he drew her deeper into the shadows.

"I will treat you like a queen. You will come to my castle at the highest peak of this kingdom, and you will want for nothing."

"I want for nothing here!"

"You want for everything," he snarled. Envy brought her up so quickly her braid lashed out at his arm. Cupping the back of her neck, he pressed her against the door of a stall and loomed over her. "You live in a hovel. Your bed is on stone. Don't think I didn't see the nest there. You are here while everyone else is performing, in clothing that does not befit your station. Convince me that you have everything you want, oracle, and I will eat my own tongue."

She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again.

But no sound came out. Because she had no words that would convince him.

A dark grin spread across his face, and he gentled his touch on her again. "There it is. Do you see how easy it is to not lie to me?"

"I'm not lying," she whispered. "Everything I need is here."

"What you need is not what you want," he murmured, leaning so close that their lips nearly touched. "Tell me, oracle. What is it that you most desire?"

He could see the thoughts playing behind those pretty eyes. She had so much that she desired, and nothing that she felt comfortable telling him. She was going to tell him that she wanted adventure, like all women did. Or perhaps love. He'd heard that a million times as well.

Instead, she shook her head and turned her face away from him. "I want for nothing here, and you should not be in this room."

"In this room or in the bath house?"

"You shouldn't be anywhere near me ." Finally she looked at him again, and this time it was fear. Not for herself, he didn't think, but for him.

What a strange development.

Envy brought his hand from the back of her neck to trace his fingers along her lower lip, feeling the soft plush velvet give underneath his touch. "Are you worried about me, oracle? Surely you should be able to see my future and tell me if I'm in any danger here."

She shook her head. "I cannot see your future, demon. There is nothing there but darkness."

"Ah. All the better for me then."

He couldn't stop staring at the blush pink of her lips. They were so much paler than he'd expected, but full and lush. He wanted to press his own lips to her mouth, to suck on that bottom lip that was just begging for his touch. He wanted to know what she tasted like.

Would she taste like berries? He was certain of it. She was too sweet of a person to not taste just like how she looked.

Had he drawn closer to her? Or had she been the one to lean closer to him? He wasn't certain, but he now knew that her breath smelled like mint and it was warm as it puffed across his face.

"You have to go," she whispered again, her eyes searching his even as he drew closer to her.

Heat blossomed between the two of them, rising until he could feel it burning his own cheeks as well. He had to taste her. Had to have her. He didn't care that their first time would be in a veritable barn, or that there were squawking magical creatures surrounding them. Envy had no reasoning in his mind other than he desperately needed her.

"Give me your lips, oracle, and I will leave."

A blush burned her cheeks so vividly that he knew she had felt the burning between them as well.

"I can't."

"You can if you wish to."

She took a deep breath, her exhale filling his lungs. "They're going to hurt you if you stay here too long. Or we'll move, and you'll never find us again."

Envy knew she was right. There were footsteps already coming toward them and an echoing call of laughter. Someone was about to find them and the circus would likely move. He'd lose her before this game had even started.

He wouldn't steal a kiss like this, but he intended to have one soon enough. Instead, he rubbed his thumb against those lovely lips, moving into her mouth as she gasped, and pressed down on her tongue. Big blue eyes blinked up at him, framed by dark lashes that could send a man to his knees.

"Suck," he growled.

And fuck, she did exactly what he told her to do. She wrapped those pretty lips around his thick thumb and sucked hard.

Groaning, he waited a few moments to pull his finger out of her mouth, leaving a wet streak of her own saliva down her chin. "Who's the demon now, oracle?"

With a grunted spell, he teleported back to his office. He'd left her there alone, but he would be back. She knew it. He knew it.

Everything in him heated too much, his power too strong, his heart beating too rapidly. With a rough curse, he unbuttoned his pants. The oracle would be his undoing, perhaps, but even as he fisted himself, he knew it would be an undoing that they'd both enjoy.