As if they weren’t far beyond modesty with each other.
As if they hadn’t been inside each other’s skin.
Each time he tried so hard to put up a wall between them, it made her want to batter into it, remind him that they did share more than a casual encounter. Even if it wasn’t for more than a few hours, it was still something worth appreciating.
“Almost.”
Camilla tugged her boots on, then finished with her ring and necklace. She wasn’t sure what had made her take the ring earlier—it was only meant to be used in Waverly Green, to convince society they were betrothed. It certainly didn’t symbolize that here.
They’d slept together. And while it was an incredible night of passion, that was in the past now. It would never happen again. He’d made it clear his rule still stood. And Camilla was all right with that, more than all right. She wanted uncomplicated, and Envy was anything but.
Yet the ring… Camilla liked it. That was all. When their time together ended, she’d give it back.
Fully dressed, she strode to where he waited, leaving their moment of tenderness behind with the Crescent Shallows.
He looked her over. “Stay behind me. If Abyssus takes an interest, you’re to return to the Shallows immediately. Do not let it touch you.”
Camilla opened her mouth to respond, then shut it.
“Touching is half the fun, Prince.”
Envy hadn’t been the one to speak.
The male voice was not nightmarish. It didn’t sound demonic. Or rough. There weren’t many layers screeching together, no clicking of tongues or smacking of teeth.
No growls or roars.
It spoke in a silken purr, a low murmur that curled around your senses, rubbed against them like a house cat seeking affection. And was far more dangerous for it.
Envy pressed her behind him.
“I have a gift from the queen,” he said, holding up the vial.
“What care do I have for kings or queens?” Abyssus asked. “Perhaps I seek company. Conversation. A taste of emotion, a kiss of skin. Perhaps I crave oblivion.”
Camilla did not like any of those options, least especially the last few.
If Envy responded, she would never know.
The world suddenly vanished as if it had never been there at all. There was no cave, no ground or walls or ceiling, no tunnel. No Envy. No ancient, sweet-voiced creature.
Camilla was alone. Completely. It was solitude in a way she’d never experienced—there was always some form of life. Whether it was grass or clouds or sky. Birds chirping, bugs buzzing, wind blowing softly through leaves. She’d never realized how much life there was all around her, always.
Here was… empty.
No earth. No stone. Nothing. Vast, unending, nothingness, stretching in every direction, swallowing everything. Worse than the void outside realms, this was heavy and oppressive.
“Hello?” she called, voice echoing into nothing.
Nothing responded. She wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or more frightened at that.
She took a step forward, hands outstretched, searching. It was like walking through space, except there were no stars lighting the sky. No form beneath her feet.
Her heart pounded.
She could be falling or standing still, nothing registered.
Once, when her father had passed away and her mother was long gone, she’d thought she was all alone. Then Wolf came and reminded her there was another path, another choice laid out for her to take. Before that, there’d been a time she’d wished for solitude. A way to escape from the world. Had she ever truly grasped what that could be?
This place was fear. Infinite. Solitude beyond what any creature should have to know.
“This isn’t real,” she whispered. “I’m in a cavern. Below House Wrath.”
Camilla squeezed her eyes shut, knowing it had to be an illusion.
Some powerful magic or glamour. Closing her eyes or keeping them open made no difference, everything remained the same, unchanged, endless dark.
“This isn’t real,” she whispered again, hating the tremble in her voice.
“What is reality? If it feels real, looks real, is it not so?”
Abyssus suddenly was there, holding a ball of glowing light in his palm. She squinted at the blazing light, eyes stinging. Once she adjusted to the glow, she could see the being in all his glory. He certainly didn’t look like a monster. His skin was golden, his hair the same luminous shade as his skin. He wore a white toga, showing a powerful, sculpted body.
Abyssus looked like a sun god, bound to the Underworld. Wholly out of place.
Except for his eyes. They were fully black, fathomless, and hungry.
Camilla’s gaze darted around, searching for Envy.
He was nowhere to be seen.
“Do you not feel the darkness?” Abyssus asked. “Is it not real? The same as sky and earth and blood are real?”
Camilla began to shake her head, then stopped. She could feel the darkness. A feat that should not be possible, even with magic. It was many things—soft, cold, warm, terror and protection. Each essence flickered over her wildly, until she could scarcely draw breath.
“This isn’t real,” she repeated.
Fragments of emotions mixed with physical and mental truths. Breaking and shattering and melding together until she couldn’t breathe.
“Make it stop,” she gritted out.
Abyssus smiled faintly, amusement flickering in his dark eyes.
Just as quickly as the world had been stripped away, it was back. Envy was barking orders, like only a moment had passed for him. It felt like hours for Camilla.
“Don’t look him in the eye, Miss Antonius.”
Abyssus flicked his attention to Camilla again, a secret smile curving his lips.
She was immediately ensnared by those ancient, terrible eyes. They held her prisoner, drew her in, made her forget life and happiness and light. It was different from the first darkness he’d shown her; this suffocated, corrupted the soul. Made her wish for death.
Darkness. Cold, endless darkness swept in, chilling her.
There had never been any light, never anything except this endless dark. This—
“Enough.”
A voice shattered the hold over Camilla.
Abyssus lurched forward, and Envy shoved her back toward the lagoon.
“Run!”
Camilla didn’t hesitate. She turned, darted two steps, then halted.
A shadow peeled away from the cavern wall, chuckling darkly. At first, she thought Abyssus had managed to get past Envy; then the shadow spoke.
“Hello, Camilla, darling. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Crimson eyes glowed like dying embers in a fire as the vampire fully stepped out from where he’d been hiding. She could not believe it. Maybe he had made a deal with the devil. He certainly seemed to cheat death as much as he’d cheated half of Waverly Green’s elite.
“Vexley. How?”
His head canted to the side, more animal than human in movement.
“Foolish woman. You had no idea how much venom was running through my veins.”
He flashed his teeth. The incisors were gleaming, sharp instruments of death.
“It hurt like hell. The change. Took a while for me to come to. I wanted to find you, thank you personally. Repay the honor.”
Horror filled Camilla. She’d turned Vexley into an even worse demon.
He took a step closer, attention fixed to her neck.
“We were interrupted before, Camilla. Procreating might be… difficult. But we can certainly try. I still need an heir. Why not make an immortal legacy? Let me turn you.”