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What had I done?
The sparkle of triumph in ice-gray eyes taught me a new definition of fear. I couldn’t move, paralyzed in shock, as he drew closer with slow, deliberate steps, sliding through the mist like a serpent.
“Wrath is an awfully deadly sin, my sweet.”
“What do you”—my breath was coming out in quick white puffs, the temperature having plummeted in minutes—“mean by that?”
I knew the answer, but still, I thought, hoped that maybe I was in a nightmare, that this wasn’t real. When you talk to the monsters in your dreams, they sometimes go away. The beautiful monster crouched right in front of me, his golden hair glinting silver under the moonlight.
“But I-I was defending myself, my friend,” I protested, trying to justify what I’d done.
Danté shook his head back and forth as if to chastise a naughty child.
“Tsk, tsk, Genevieve. You cannot lie to a supreme liar. I felt it,” he cooed, eyes shining darkly, “I can still feel it now. Pure unbridled loathing pumping through your lovely veins. You didn’t want him to simply stop. You wanted him dead for what he would do to you and to her. So the savage beast called Revenge seduced you to do her bidding. And, oh, my sweet, you did it so well.”
Untainted heart, hands, and body.Oh God. I could feel the malevolent sin of hatred and murder wrapping around my heart, clouding my Vessel power to a dim glow.
This was what it meant to be tainted, to let the darkness in. It crawled into the very corners of my being, whispering. The trembling in my hands spread to the rest of my body.
“Thanks, friend. Much obliged.” Danté spoke to the corpse off to my right.
I refused to look at those sightless, accusing eyes. Something in the prince’s voice spread a chill straight through me.
“You knew him,” I whispered, tears stinging my eyes.
“Oh, yes. Nathaniel and I made a little deal, and I must say he kept up his end of the bargain.”
“What bargain?” My voice came out in a hushed whisper, the truth dawning slowly in a cold, sickening wave. I’d been tricked, trapped.
“Nathaniel, being the lusty fellow that he is”—he paused, laughing—“was—had a predilection for petite women. I promised him a most succulent peach and that he’d never go to prison for it. In return, he only had to be sure you would find them together. He didn’t mind voyeurism, rascal that Nathaniel was and so you see, he kept his end of the bargain, and so have I. He’s certainly not going to prison.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. I thought I was going to vomit. Then I heard Danté’s voice much closer.
“You are the most stunning creature, Genevieve.” My eyes snapped open. He had edged much closer, lifting the braid along the left side of my face, and smoothed it along his smiling lips. After a second of gazing, he dropped it lightly. “So unbelievably beautiful with fresh sin painted thick on your hands.”
I gazed down at them, quivering in my lap, covered in Nathaniel’s blood. Danté picked up my wrist delicately. Truly, I was in shock, for I could do nothing but watch as he elevated my hand and drew my bloodiest finger into his mouth, sucking it clean in one long motion and staring into my soul.
“Your sin tastes so good, my sweet. Like a decadent dessert.” His mouth quirked into a wicked smile. “Or perhaps an aphrodisiac.”
That got me moving. I fell back, scrambling on my backside closer to Mindy.
What was I thinking? I couldn’t get away. Before I could even think what to do next, Danté lunged forward, grabbed my ankle, and yanked me hard. The friction with the ground hiked my gown up as he pulled me toward him.
Frantically, I clawed at the grass and pushed my dress down at the same time, cold blades of fear spiking through my veins. He had both ankles now, hauling me back bodily, then pressed his full weight on top, pinning me facedown to the cold earth. He grabbed my forearms, keeping them still, and laughed in my ear.
“Hmm, this seems pleasantly familiar.” He ground his hips against me and nuzzled my neck. I struggled to no avail, nearly choking on my own fear.
“You’re right, my sweet. This is no place for an amorous encounter. We don’t want Nathaniel over there watching. Let us go where we can have some privacy.”
Then we were sifting. Clutched tightly from behind around the waist, I felt the suction and weightlessness of the Void. The roiling nausea gripped me at once as we descended. Gray shapes blurred around us. I closed my eyes to quell the nausea, but nothing would help. It wasn’t the Void that had my body revolting; it was being once again in the arms of sadistic Danté. I murmured a prayer the second before I felt my feet on solid ground.
Spinning away from him, I backed against a wall. I didn’t recognize this room but knew from the heavy air and slate-gray walls that I was in Danté’s castle.
The room was carpeted in plush burgundy. The furnishings were sparse—a four-poster bed covered in red silk sheets, an ornate vanity with brushes and hair combs displayed, and a standing wardrobe near a changing screen.
I stared wide-eyed at the bed, my heart sinking at the metal chains and cuffs linked to each post, heart pounding painfully. I skimmed over the wardrobe, trying not to see the abundance of sheer nightgowns in varying lengths. A fire crackled in a black-manteled fireplace. I shuddered at the sight of the white fur rug, identical to the one in his bedroom. I swallowed hard.
“Here we are, darling. This is your suite. Shall we get you into something more comfortable?”
