Page 78 of Death and Desire

She woke with a start, pulled from the dark recesses of a dreamless sleep.

Her body ached and her temples throbbed. She shifted, ignoring coarse, rough fabric beneath her. She sat up, scratching her bare arms, and looked around.

Gone was the hotel, replaced with something vaguely familiar. Candlelight flickered, casting deep shadows across the ceiling. Black marble lined the walls and floors, covered with plush carpets and gilded furniture. A sitting room, from the looks of it. Ostentatious, even judged by her own experience in a wealthy family. Shelves along the far wall held jars, gems, and baubles, displayed for the curiosity of those in the chamber.

Where was she?

Turning, Violet spied doors to her right and wrenched herself to her feet. Memories rushed back to her. Anubis. Bast. Her brother. The garden.Him.

A soft gasp tore from her throat, followed by a low curse. It echoed through the room.

Seth had found her...takenher. She closed her eyes, attempting to reach out for Anubis, but she found only sturdy walls of marble and suffocating silence. Violet was Seth’s prisoner.

Indignation flooded her. She’d been foolish to allow him to charm her, to sway her with his silver tongue. But walking directly into this trap left her drowning in fury and shame.

Seizing the opportunity, she rushed to the doors, flipped the latch, and pulled them open. Moonlight bathed her in a familiar blood-red glow as it shone down from the star-dappled sky. Mountains covered in sand and snow glittered beneath the strange heavens.

Violet gripped the banister, her fingers hot against the cool marble. He’d brought her to the land between, the Netherworld, the land of gods and monsters. Anubis’s realm.

“It is beautiful, is it not?”

She turned at the silken sound of his voice, surprised by the dulcet tones that wooed her in the club and persuaded her to let down her guard on the dance floor.

He stood under the arched doorframe, his dark hair gleaming beneath the blood moon. How she’d even thought to compare him to Khalid made her ill. He radiated confidence and charm, but his handsome face could not hide the intent in his gaze. She should have seen it. Sensed it. And yet, how could she have done so when her thoughts were clouded, her heart broken?

Now she saw through the veneer to the devil.

He took a step forward, and a plume of fire surrounded him. When he emerged from the smoldering inferno, she saw the golden-haired bastard who had cornered her in the catacombs beneath Cairo. Regardless of these attractive forms, she knew the beast beneath his many facades carried only chaos and destruction.

“You hide your true face from me.” Violet retreated, circling away from him as he approached. “Coward.”

Seth paused, inclining his head before embers again cloaked him from view. This time, the fire faded slowly, evaporating like a candle flame engulfed in smoke.

Violet’s heart raced as his true form appeared. As tall as Anubis and equally as broad, Seth shared many physical features with Anubis, right down to his pitch-black skin. But when the air cleared, she sucked in a breath at the god before her.

Seth was nothing like Anubis. His muzzle sloped at an odd angle, like the anteater she’d seen in a book about exotic animals. His skin puckered, gnarled and rough, around his mouth. His grin revealed sharp, wolflike, yellow teeth. His green eyes were now a vibrant hot-iron red, shifting over her as though taking full measure of his prey.

“Is this what you desired?” His voice hummed with a dangerous undercurrent. “Does this form not terrify you?”

“No more so than your heinous actions.” Defiant, she held his unblinking, bloody gaze.

“I see why he chose you.”

Seth reached out a clawed hand.

Violet jerked away from his touch.

“Such passion.” He licked his teeth. “If I had half a mind, I would keep you for myself.”

“I would rather die,” Violet hissed, darting back into the room.

She drew up short when she realized there was no exit. No escape.

His deep chuckle echoed behind her. “Give me what I desire, and I will ensure your safe return to Cairo.” He lifted his hand, and a gold chain glittered between his black fingers. “Along with this.”

Her pendant. She bit her lip to avoid saying something too revealing. The last thing she needed was him knowing just how much the locket meant to her. Though the ache she felt wasn’t nearly as poignant as it had been when he’d first taken it.

“What do you want?” she asked cautiously, careful to conceal her nervousness.

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