Page 35 of Courting Envy
And I wasn't in Envy anymore.
Chapter twenty
Lucien
Ijoltedforwardinmy chair. The ground itself hadn't shaken, just the tether that bound me to Rava. She might not want to acknowledge it, but it was most definitely there. Something was wrong. She was...
Missing.
Fuck.
I followed that thread through the castle, across the city, and down into the swamp. My muscles tensed as I crossed the room.
Rava had somehow managed to find her way to the portal without detection and then go through it. I should have known that her desire to see her sister wouldn't be deterred, not even by the knowledge that she literally couldn't get to earth. Maybe she hadn't trusted that I’d been telling the truth, or maybe something else was at play – all I knew was that if I didn't get to her soon, she would be in trouble.
The moment she'd stepped foot outside of Envy, her magic would have disappeared.
Flinging the window open, I leapt from it, my wings arcing out to carry me.Come on come on!Not having full access to the magic of this circle grated on me something wicked at times like this. I could be there in an instant if I was truly the ruler in this place.
Curse you, Father. You and your fucking curse.
What had Lucifer been thinking? Limiting my brothers and I, forcing us to share our thrones with a queen in order to become king. Truthfully, I didn't much care to become the ruler of Hell, though everyone expected it of me most due to my sin. All I wanted now was Rava, ever since I'd first laid eyes on her. Something in me had shattered; probably the iced exterior of my heart. I'd had lovers before, but none of them had mattered. I hadn't cared for them, and sometimes I wished I didn't care for Rava either. The way my core shook at the thought of her in trouble terrified me.
I didn't even bother to land before I plunged through the portal, just flew straight through, changing position as I went so that I could land at least semi-gracefully on the other side. My feet thudded down on the stone floor and I scanned the room, my awareness of Rava strong now that we were in the same realm.
There. A small shape, cowering against a wall while four demons crowded around her. This was everything I had feared.
Blood roared in my ears as I charged forward. I extended my claws and swiped at the nearest one, digging into his back and tossing him away. The others turned toward me, taken by surprise, and I glimpsed Rava between their bodies, relief washing over her face.
She looked unharmed and something loosened in me.
I couldn't take the time to speak to her though, these cretins needed to die. The biggest one lunged toward me, but his gait was off kilter, and I dragged my claws easily across his neck, blue blood oozing out as he grabbed for the wound and tried not to die. One of the others had ducked towards my leg, trying to trip me, but I kicked at him, and then wrapped my tail around his throat, increasing the pressure until I felt the crunch of his spinal column.
"I didn't do anything!" the last one said, voice high pitched and terrified as he backed away from me. A small crowd had gathered now, but no one else dared to get too close least they face my wrath.
"You looked at her wrong," I growled as I stalked toward him. "Parasite." I spat the word at him, then leapt, driving him to the ground and choking him with my bare hands. I forced my fingers into his eyeballs, relishing the way they popped, the way he screamed.
I’d needed this release for my pent-up feelings and I wanted to punish anyone who ever treated this woman with even the slightest disrespect.
"Lucien?"
Rava's voice cut through the fog of anger. I shoved away the lifeless body and wiped by hands on my pants, retracting my claws, forcing my visage into something less hellish.
"Rava," I said, rushing to her side. "Did they hurt you?"
"No, you got here before they could," she said. She tried to push herself to standing but her legs wobbled. She looked so frail. The color had drained from her skin and the scales adorning her body had lost their shimmer. I scooped her up in my arms, needing to feel for myself that she was unharmed.
"What were you thinking?" I hissed, unable to keep the traces of anger from my voice.
"I need to see my sister, Lucien.” Her words broke on a sob. “And you weren't going to let that happen. What was I supposed to do?"
I froze, realizing that she was right. I hadn't heard her need before. Hadn't been listening because I was too concerned with having her in Envy and trying to get her to focus on her new life.
"I wasn't lying when I said that you can't leave Hell until the curse is broken," I said softly. "I'm sorry," I added, because that was the biggest feeling welling in my chest. It was an unusual one for me. Uncomfortable. One I had been feeling a whole lot more since I’d brought her here.
I'd had no idea that she was so connected to her family, no idea that her drive to see her sister would be this strong. My brothers and I went eons without interacting, and if I never saw them again, I'd be quite content. Envy was all I wanted.
And Rava.
