Page 28 of Death and Desire

Chapter Seven

Something isn’t right.Violet struggled to put a finger on it.

The last thing she remembered, she’d fallen overboard, plunged headfirst into the cool waters of the Nile River.

The next...nothing.

There was no struggle. No panic. Just the weightless embrace of water, then sleep. Staring up at the dark canopy over her, she blinked twice.

What had happened, exactly?

Violet sat up. Slowly, her eyes acclimated to the darkness. Shapeless forms in the room slowly materialized, and the calm that had settled around her morphed into something quite the opposite. Not panic, but something deeper, more primal. She sucked in a desperate breath, filling her lungs with cool night air.

Air drifted in from open doors to her right. The arched entrance stood illuminated by an oversized blood-red moon.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

“Am I dead?” Violet asked the eerie silence, praying it would not respond.

She pressed her hands to her chest, chasing the rapid flutter of her heart beneath her ribs, and breathed a sigh of relief at the gentle rhythm beneath her fingertips. They smoothed the white silken garment she wore.

Pinching the fabric, she admired the delicate, unfamiliar weave. This was certainlynothers. Where had such a fine gown come from? Her hands smoothed the silk, molding it to her curves as she stretched and kicked off the thin sheet covering her.

A soft growl echoed through the chamber.

“Hello? Is someone there?”

Violet pushed herself to the edge of the bed and scoured the dark room for any sign of life.

When her feet touched the floor, the room illuminated. Not by lamp. It just...glowed, as though every surface had been touched by sunlight. She blinked against the abrupt onslaught, shielding her face from the brilliance.

“Where am I?” she asked, knowing an answer would never come.

Violet paced the room, admiring the pale marble floors beneath her feet, warm to the touch, not cold as expected. White walls held the light, highlighting gold trim along the floors and woven through the arched doorways.

Turning, she gasped.

A massive bed took up much of the room. Four black pillars stood at each corner with thin curtains of fine black gauze draped across the top where the pillars were joined by carved wood. A gentle light glowed from the pinnacle, like a candle in a stormy night, casting inviting light across the lush pillows and soft linens. The bed lay mussed in invitation.

Violet resisted the urge to curl up and resume her slumber. Where in the devil was she?

As she took in the details of the ornate chamber once more, she noticed something else. Something strange.

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