Page 10 of Courting Envy
I stepped forward, but she raised her hand, shaking her head.
“Don’t come near me,” she hissed.
I laughed, the sound flooding the room, rolling in waves. “I will do as I please, and if I remember rightly, you wanted me as close to you as possible the night we met.” I let desire curl through those words, wanting her to remember. It would be so much easier if she did.
“I said no!” The force of her words slammed me in the chest and pushed me back a few steps. We both stood there for a moment, trying to comprehend what had just happened.
Had she used the magic of this place against me?
No. It couldn’t be.
She was meant to unlock it forme.It was mine, not hers.
Oh, Sons of Satan, you’re in for a treat…
That fucking bastard. He’d duped me, and he’d no doubt duped my brothers too.
I curled my hands into fists, letting my nails extend to dig into the flesh of my palm, using that sliver of pain to stop me from pushing Rava again. I had to remain composed. In power. I was a Prince of fucking Hell.
And the last thing I needed to do right now was scare my queen more than I already had.
“Reon will be your personal bodyguard,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “He will be with you shortly. I hope in time, we can move past this.” I gave her a curt nod, turned on my heel, and stormed from the room.
Chapter six
Rava
Lucienwasgone,butI stood there looking at my hands. Not because of the way they appeared, but because of the way they had felt when I’d told him no. Power had flooded through me, out of me, something I’d never felt before. My fingers still tingled with it, and the gem in my chest felt warm.
The power of Envy runs through your veins now.
I was the queen here. With or without him. I was queen and I could see now that the changes weren’t only skin deep. What he had done to me, killing me, feeding me with his blood, had tweaked every cell in my body, transformed and transported me.
A shudder rippled through my body at the thought. Who was I now? Who would I become? The future was unknown to me, but at least I knew one thing: Lucien could not touch me unless I wanted him to.
And as much as I’d enjoyed our time together – had felt a connection to him like no other – he hadn’t asked if I wanted this. Never asked if I would be okay with being ripped from my life and subjected to Hell. Well, if he wanted us to work together, then he was damn well going to have to work to repair the trust. I wasn’t going to go along with whatever he wanted just because he was the prince here.
Just because I wanted him to touch me again…
No. I had to be careful. Had to learn everything I could about this place. To find a way out? Was there a way back after you had died?
A tremor ran through my body, thinking about those I’d left behind: Stefanie would be so freaking happy to step into my place, and Darren would be pacing the halls, wondering where the heck I was. Marco would miss me, and Marie. Fuck. Marie. There was something going on with her and I wasn’t there to give her the support she needed. Had she felt it when I died, the way I felt it when she was in trouble?
The pang in my heart was more than I could bear right now, so I forced my thoughts away from her and back to this place, scanning the room again.
They’d said this was the circle of Envy, and the colors made me think that on Earth we got something right: green really was the color of Envy, and apparently, gold as well.
I wrapped my arms around my body, trying to hold myself together. I had to at least act like I was okay. This place would not get the better of me, and if a guard was going to be here soon then I couldn’t be seen like this.
I dragged my hands through my hair, gathering it at my nape. For now, it still seemed to be the deep brown of the human world, but no doubt that would change too. I inched my fingers up my head, seeking the horns growing from my scalp. They emerged seamlessly from my skin and felt smooth and cool to the touch. I traced the slight curve of them, wondering if they would grow more or if this was it.
No wonder I’d woken with a fucking headache.
Never in my life had I thought this was a possibility. Not that I was alive, technically. I guessed.
With that thought, I slumped back down onto the bed.
Technically, I was dead.
