Page 117 of The Rose in the Shadows

“How-” Camilla bit her lip to stop herself from speaking out of turn.

She was in the presence of aGoddess.An actual Goddess. It had been a millennium since a God had walked the Mortal Realm. And standing before Pasnia made one thing abundantly clear, Camilla may be descended from a God but her magic was so miniscule in comparison. No Descendant could ever think to compare themselves to the being in front of her.

Pasnia’s pale skin was positively incandescent, shining so brightly that Camilla had to avert her gaze. Her green eyes sparkled with flashes of unchecked power. And that power was… overwhelming. Camilla could feel it all around her. It pressed down on her like the force of standing directly next to the sun. With her body already so weak, Camilla was sure Pasnia could simply disintegrate her with one look.

“None of you pray as often as you used to,” Pasnia claimed, running her fingers across the cell’s glass. “You abuseourpower as it runs through your veins. You use it to accomplish your silly goals and rule your ridiculous little countries. All the while, you forget it isours.Thatweare the Gods!”

Pasnia laughed suddenly, pitching over and clutching her side. Just as quickly, she righted herself, staring deep into Camilla’s eyes without levity. The speed of her mood changes left Camilla’s thoughts spinning.

“Alina never prayed a day in her life until the old bat started worshipping at Mama’s temple,” the Goddess explained. “She was so desperate for a baby in your womb. I don’t understand why she cared so much, a baby would hardly have solved your problems.”

Camilla swallowed thickly. Pasnia may not have understood her grandmother’s motivations, but Camilla did. It was the same reason Alina had urged her to stop taking the fertility suppressant while luring Clay to her bed as hormone-overrun teenagers. Alina had wanted power. A royal child was a way of guaranteeing that.

Camilla hadn’t known she’d started praying to the Goddess Delia, Pasnia’s mother, for that pregnancy to be granted.

That’s why Camilla never prayed lightly.

Sometimes the Gods answer.

“Your lives are so meaningless to us,” Pasnia growled. “Mama didn’t even bother to answer her. But I could always see the beauty in things Mama ignored. Mama can’t see how beautifuldesperationis. Alina was so incredibly desperate. She would doanything.In the end, it didn’t even take much to convince her. All I had to do was say I would advocate on your behalf to Mama, and the old crone slit her wrists right open.”

Camilla gasped. “She sacrificed herself to you?”

Human sacrifices to the Gods were forbidden… for obvious reasons.

Pasnia grinned. “Shegaveme this mortal body to borrow. How sweet, don’t you think? It’s been a millennium since Zion and the others raised the veil. An entire millennium that I’ve been trapped in that torturous darkness of the Underworld. But because of you, I was finally able to escape! And my, your Mortal Realm has grown since I was last here. It really is something to see.”

Pasnia clapped her hands gleefully as she spun to face Camilla. Her wide emerald eyes flashed wickedly. Slowly, the goddess tilted her head as her lips opened into a toothy smile. In that moment, there was no doubt that Camilla bowed before the Goddess of Madness.

How could she have spentyearsinteracting with Pasnia without realizing it?

“Anyway, you were just magnificent in all of this!” Pasnia complimented. “Hyrax wasn’t sure it would work at first. He so hates to put his trust in you creatures. I’m sure you can imagine why. But I always knew it was a good plan. I scribbled down one fake prophecy, and you just ran with it! It hardly took any convincing to get you to dip your toe in black magic. And that party! I mean, it’s just magnificent. Truly impressive work. Bravo.”

The shakes were starting again. Camilla’s body was trembling with enough force that she could no longer hold herself up. Her mind raged with questions and fears until it was all she could do to gasp in air. She couldn’t tell if she was suffering from the withdrawals or the effects of Pasnia’s insane magic.

The Goddess was pacing once more, hardly even looking at her.

“Hyrax is so pleased with you, child. Did you know the shadow magic is his? Hypatia abandoned you the second you killed that cat. The irony of it! You tried to destroy the daughter of Hyrax usinghispower! I hope you know you have been truly instrumental in our plan to lower the veil once and for all.”

Camilla retreated away, cowering against the wall as Pasnia’s insane eyes perused over her.

“You’ve been an absolute doll, but I still have some work to do, so I best be going. Good luck to you with the execution and all. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon in the Underworld.”

She was gone in an instant. One moment, she stood outside the cell with her laughter echoing around Camilla, and the next, there was nothing. She was alone once again. Alone with nothing but her regrets.

The prophecy was never real.

All of this had been for nothing.

Theadora Moore would not release the King of the Underworld. She was never destined to release Hyrax, and yet it would still happen because theQueenof the Underworld had found a way to walk the Mortal Realm and wouldn’t rest until her husband joined her.

“I need to speak to Theadora Moore!” Camilla was screaming before she even knew what to say.

She only knew that she needed to warn them. She needed to warn them all.

“Please! Someone! I need to speak to Thea.”

If anyone heard her, they ignored her. She screamed until her voice ran out, and her body collapsed onto the floor in exhaustion. When her voice finally returned, she cried for the guards again.

But no one ever came.

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