Page 154 of Devil's Doom

Her sensuous mouth twists into a moue of disapproval. “No, I didn’t. They kept their secrets well. I only knew you were a desperate peasant girl who’d owe me her life, so I saved you. It took just a little spell. Not much effort.”

I stare at her, desperately trying to remember everything about Mokosz. She’s vain. Unfaithful. She likes to play with the lives of others. She’s the one who created the poroniec. Her goal is to be admired by all men and worshipped, and for everyone to say she’s the most beautiful woman in the world.

None of it helps me. I think Mokosz will try to kill me, because she knows I’m instrumental in defeating Perun. That’s all Woland told the rebels, so I suspect she knows nothing about the prophecy. Maybe I can tempt her by offering my allegiance, but then what?

“I see that panicked mind working so hard,” Mokosz says, laughing playfully. “Come with me, little witch. Let’s sit in the grass and talk about some gossip I heard.”

She takes my hand in her soft, feminine one, and I follow helplessly, knowing the dragons will stop me if I try to run. Mokosz sits down right in the grass, looking at home among the herbs, and when I hesitate, she grabs my hand impatiently and drags me to sit by her side.

“Now, little witch. I hear you seduced Chors. Tell me all about it.”

Her smile is friendly, eyes sparkling, but my skin crawls. I was convinced she’d want to know about my power to defeat her husband. Is it truly more important to her who I’ve fucked?

Then I understand it, and a cold, horrible fear settles in my chest.

I was his first. It means he never lay with her, and her goal is to be the one all male gods desire. It must have rankled when he refused her, and I’m suddenly certain she must have tried to get him in bed. That I succeeded when she didn’t must make her furious.

“I’m waiting,” she says pleasantly when I don’t speak.

“No,” I say, keeping my voice as even as I can, looking straight into her eyes. “I didn’t. He refused me.”

Mokosz tilts her head to the side, studying me. I don’t know whether she believes my lie. Her voice is still calm when soft, summery darkness falls around us, the sky above purple with first stars peeking through.

“One would think he must have,” she muses. “You’re not particularly pretty, are you? Striking, yes, certainly. The hair. The eyes. Some men prefer that kind of thing. But Chors? He’s innocent, and he never had any sort of type, let alone a sophisticated one like you. So why did he let you fuck him?”

Her voice is still light, but her eyes are cold. I flinch from the directness of her words. So she’s not fooled. Lying won’t work.

“You’re right. I’m certainly far less beautiful than you,” I say, and it doesn’t hurt to admit it. I know what I look like. It’s the truth.

Mokosz gives me a hard smile. “I called you here for gossip, not empty flattery.”

That won’t work then, either. Behind me, the whip cracks in a threat. I exhale and level her with a measured look, knowing I’m doomed either way.

“He simply wanted me, because he liked me. We’re friends. That’s a good enough reason. Sometimes, you don’t need to seduce people. You just need to be the right person.”

Her eyes flicker higher with a faint nod. The whip cracks down on my back with no warning, and I cry out, my body arching from the searing pain. When I try to fall to the side and curl up to protect myself, I realize I can’t. Some sort of plant has wound around my legs like shackles, and I didn’t even notice. It keeps me seated.

“Now, now.” Mokosz leans in, carefully wiping my tears away. “Have you never gossiped with anyone before? It’s supposed to be a light, fun conversation. No need for being so judgmental. So. Let’s try that again: how did you seduce Chors?”

My eyes fill with tears, even though I desperately try to blink them back and be strong. And yet, my despair is impossible to thwart. I know with complete certainty I will die here, and there is no way out.

“Please,” I say, knowing it’s pointless, yet begging anyway. “Let me go.”

Mokosz smiles and kisses my cheek, her breath carrying the scent of ripe pears.

“Gossip with me like girls do. We’ll have a grand time together. And when we’re done, I’ll build you a beautiful grave. That’s a promise.”

Chapter fifty-two

Grave

I shake so hard, it’s almost impossible to speak. No matter how hard I try to free my legs from the flexible, green stalks wrapped around them, I cannot move from my spot. When the whip cracks behind me again, I whine helplessly. Mokosz leans in and cups my cheek with a comforting smile.

“Chin up, girl. Maybe you’ll give me such good gossip, I’ll spare you.”

No, she won’t. That’s an empty promise designed to make me talk, and I still clutch at it, unable to let go of hope.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” I manage to say through my tight throat. “I didn’t seduce him. I didn’t even mean for it to happen! I just called him because I needed a favor, and he came. He said he watched me for a long time.”

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