Chapter 7

7

W ith her in his arms, captured as she should have been long ago, Envy could feel the ache in him fading. Finally, he had what others did. He was the only one who had access to this oracle, and no one else could use her powers but him.

Not that he intended to use her. No, he would hoard these prophecies for himself. If she had to tell them, then he would document them just like her old master. But he would not tell a single soul.

Every prophecy would be for his eyes alone. Everything was his to keep and his to cherish and his to covet.

Soon enough, the entire kingdom would beg at his feet for their futures. And, if he was lucky, his brothers would as well. They, too, would wish to use her power as their own, and he would make them beg him for it.

The thought of Greed on his knees, gritting his teeth and asking for something from his brother, who had never been deemed equally powerful, brought so much pleasure that it nearly sent him to his own knees. Every one of the demon kings wished for power. Every one of them jostled for who was the next in line after Pride and Wrath.

Now it was his time to come into power. It was his turn to say that he had something the others did not.

Even though he had much, they did not. The magic and power he had claimed was infinite, and yet, he still wasn't the same as the others. He still wasn't worthy of their admiration or their dedication.

In this, he disappointed himself.

He'd already planned to allow her to live. This woman made something in him burn that he hadn't felt in a very long time, and it was important to him that he feel it again. He wanted to indulge himself in that emotion, even if he wondered why it was this woman who made him burn.

Envy decided he would let everyone believe he was going to keep her as a pet, just as her previous master did. That she was safe in his castle, nestled away in the lap of luxury. Eventually, though, he would consume her.

He would devour all of her magic and take it into himself. He would know what it was to have an oracle's power and he would take it for his own. Only then would he be more powerful than any of his siblings.

Perhaps even more powerful than Pride.

He scooped her up in his arms and strode out of the bathing house through the doorway he had made in the stone. He'd sung it into existence, like the dwarves of old had. He'd consumed so much of their power that it was practically second nature now to press his will upon the earth and watch as it changed.

The shadow creatures slithered after him, each of them racing forward to leap upon him, only to sink into his skin for later use. Of all the power he had stolen, this one was natural.

Like all of his brothers, there were parts of him that simply were not human. It didn't matter that he had taken his body centuries ago. Lust had his horns, Greed his tail, even Gluttony had his teeth and claws that just weren't right.

Envy had always leaned toward the magical. Thus, he had his tattoos. Anything that marked his body, he could use to his own advantage.

Black wings soared through the night, the aggressive sound of flapping a clear warning sign before Orphe landed on his shoulder. Her claws dug into his skin as she moved around, looking down at the woman limp in his arms.

"You are taking her?" she asked, her raspy voice echoing in the corridor.

"Indeed, I am."

"She won't like it."

"No, she won't."

Wings beat against the back of his head as she flapped a little harder against him. "She is dangerous."

"No, she's not." He looked down at Lilith, limp and unaware that she was being moved through the city to a place where she would first be terrified to find herself. He knew how hard this was going to be on her.

Envy had seen the fear in her eyes when he had first suggested that she come with him. That feeling had been genuine. Not fear of him—he had a feeling she wasn't all that scared of him—even though he was significantly larger than her. She was afraid of something else, and that made him want to know what it was.

He wanted to steal all of her worries and fears. He wanted to hoard the knowledge of what made her heart race. If only so someday he could look her old master in the eye and know that he was better than that dirty circus freak.

"My lord," Orphe tried again. "I have concerns."

"Yes, I am certain that you do." Once he had gotten beyond the bathing house, he conjured a portal into his own castle. There was no one on the streets tonight. Everyone from the circus itself was helping to pack all of their earthly possessions into what had looked like burlap sacks, which meant he had plenty of time to conjure.

The portal was larger than normal, but he didn't want her legs getting cut off while they traveled. So he made it a little wider, made it last a little longer, knowing that she was going to be very uncomfortable for this process.

It couldn't be helped.

If anyone saw him walk through the portal, they would do nothing. The circus dwellers were the only ones he had to worry about. They could likely feel that magic was being used right outside of their home. Soon enough, he would hear their shouts of anger and they would try to find Lilith.

But she would already be gone. Safe in his arms and hidden away in his castle, where they would never find her again.

Stealing someone really was sweet justice.

He stepped up to the portal and then looked down at her pale face. The poor thing was going to die with him, most likely. No one had ever survived his attentions for very long.

Even Orphe seemed to have a moment of pity for the girl. Because his bird flapped her wings a couple more times before wheezing out a long sigh. "Long time to be in the castle alone," she croaked.

"Not very long at all," he murmured. "Just till the end of her life."

The magic sizzled around them. Teleporting was always an uncomfortable experience. It was a bit like being burned alive, and then realizing one couldn't die.

He'd come to enjoy the feeling. It was magic taking its price, and he was more than willing to pay for the power this gave him. He was one of the few creatures, if not the only one, who could travel anywhere in any of the kingdoms without permission. He was limitless.

And yet, when she stirred in his arms and then keened out a cry that made his very soul ache, he wondered whether he should have just walked. A silly thought. He'd never cared about the discomfort of others.

It didn't matter what he should have done. She was in pain now, and he would have to learn what caused her immense pain. He so rarely dealt with humans, and when they were in his home, it was always so he could kill them for their power.

Strange, really. Having to keep one alive was going to be so much more difficult than he had thought.

Stepping into the room he'd created for her, he let her slip out of his arms. She fell a little roughly onto the floor, dragging herself on her hands and knees away from him. He wasn't sure where she was planning to go. There were no exits or entrances. He'd built it on the other side of the wall from his own bedroom, just so that he could get to her if he needed to. But no one else was walking in here.

He had taken the time to make sure it was beautiful. He'd sung the walls into carvings of roses, like she now lived in the very center of an immaculate garden. A four-poster bed was attached to the ceiling, pretty white marble ivy crawling up the edges of the pillars. There was a tub in the corner, right next to a window with fake sunlight on the other side, streaming pretty beams that he had designed himself. It was a room fit for a queen, or a pretty little pet, as it were.

Finally, she stopped crawling about and spun. Her back struck the edge of the bed so hard it made even him wince, and then she glared at him through the tangle of pale hair that had fallen in front of her eyes.

She looked like a trapped animal. And he'd be lying if he said that didn't please him to know he was the hunter who had caught her.

But she was frightened of him now, and that wasn't how he wanted her to feel. She needed to be back under his spell. Back to the woman who had trembled beneath his touch with something that was more than just fear.

"Where did you take me?" she asked, her voice warbling.

No, he hated that sound. She sounded afraid, and it put him on edge. "To the castle, where I have invited you many times."

"And I have said that I did not want to leave my home."

"That place was hardly a home. You had a stone bed to sleep on and a nest of blankets that were more suitable for a rat than one of your stature."

She gave him a scoffed sound and then slapped the bed with her hand. "This seems like it's made of stone as well."

There was the wit he'd been so interested in. Envy even felt his lips quirk in a half smile before he got ahold of himself. "Yes, that is also stone. But you'll find atop it is a mattress filled with the finest goose down and rabbit fur coverings. The blankets are the finest silk, or if you find yourself in need of warmth, there are sheepskins at the ready for you. I have servants who will arrive every morning and night to heat your bed so your feet will never be cold again. They will wait on you hand and foot, any whim or desire you have, shall be fulfilled immediately."

Her eyes grew wider and wider with every word. Icy blue orbs stared straight into his soul as she whispered, "Why would you ever do that for me?"

"I want you to be comfortable. I want to you wish to stay here."

"And if I want to go home?"

Envy ground his teeth together before hissing out through a clenched jaw, "That is not possible."

"So I'm a prisoner here."

"If that is how you wish to see it, then yes. But you could see this as the opportunity it is, and the blessing I am providing you."

"Blessing?" She stood, anger turning those pale cheeks a lovely shade of deep scarlet. "It is not a blessing to be kidnapped. There is no blessing in fear or wondering when I'm going to see my family again. You have taken me because you wanted me. Not because I want to be here."

"Yes, good. You understand." He strode up to her, not giving her a chance to squeeze away from the bed or farther from him. Envy caught her by the back of the neck, forcing her to look at him. "You are mine, oracle. Mine and mine alone."

"I am no one's possession."

"You are." Envy tightened his grip, trying to remind himself that he couldn't be too rough with her. That was always his problem.

He couldn't be rough with humans because they were fragile little beasties who did not know how to take care of themselves. They could not fight him. There was no armor to protect them from his desires to harm and maim. She needed to be treated as though she was made of glass.

This one was not a passing fancy or a strange need that arose from deep within his belly. This one had purpose. This one could give him so much more than just a night of pleasure.

So he loosened his grip and smiled down at her. "I only wish to give you your every desire."

"Freedom is what I dream of."

"Is that all?" He leaned down, taking a deep breath of her ice cold minty scent, and then felt the shudder that ran through her body. A good kind of shudder. The kind he wanted to entertain. "I think you dream of wicked things. I think you wish to feel my lips against you, and to know what it is to be a woman. Truly and utterly and so deeply that we are not two people, but one. Oracle, allow me to take care of you."

How far would she let him push her? How far would she entertain her own need?

He caught her eyes in his and then slowly let go of her. Without a thought, he sank to knees before her.

She watched him. Those ice blue eyes darkening with some need that only he could answer. She liked this. She enjoyed having a powerful man on his knees before her, and he was only too happy to give that to her. If this was what it took for her to be under his power entirely, then he would do so.

Envy lifted a hand, watching her eyes as he slid his palm up her thigh, curving around the sensitive skin that was so warm. Leaning forward, he pressed his cheek against her inner thigh, looking up at her through heavy-lidded eyes.

He knew she could feel his breath as he spoke, whispering against her skin. "I am the demon king, and yet you are the one who has me on my knees. Begging for an ounce of your attention."

His beard rasped against her pants, and she drew in a sharp breath, so he had to wonder if she could feel the scrape against her thighs as well. She was trembling now. Shaking in his arms like she already knew what she desired, and she was so close to telling him what she wanted.

But then she heaved a long sigh. "You have no future, demon. There is only darkness in your touch and danger in the whisper of your venomous words."

"Yes, they are venomous, aren't they?" He turned his head and sank his teeth into her thigh, enjoying the unbidden moan that echoed from her lips at the sensation. "And I desire to consume you, oracle. That is all I want."

She tilted her head back, eyes closed or staring at the ceiling. He did not know. But he couldn't stop himself from biting again, leaving little teeth marks just below where she needed him to touch her before he disappeared through a portal.

Let her think on that for a while. Soon enough, she would be eating out of his hand.