Throne of the Fallen

ENVY STARED AT the bottom of another empty glass, wondering what had possessed him to share that story with Camilla.

No one knew the whole truth.

Not even Alexei. And one of the main reasons Envy had taken the vampire on as his second-in-command was to rally certain members of the vampire court to his cause, should a battle between House Envy and the Unseelie King ever happen.

It had been nearly two hundred years since Alexei had come to House Envy, and he’d been present for a handful of previous games throughout that time. All had been frivolous back then. But Lennox had also been less sadistic, more interested in Fae trickery than true torment.

Envy had slowly seen the change in Lennox, sensed trouble simmering in the Wild Court. If he were to actually win this game, he wanted to prepare for any outcome.

He’d been less cunning back then. He would not make the same mistakes now.

Envy had spent the years since then becoming someone new, someone who could not be defeated. Now every move he made had a purpose, a strategy.

He planned for all possible outcomes, slowly moving pieces into place, waiting for the chance to make his ultimate move.

Envy fixed himself another Dark and Sinful and sat on the overstuffed sofa of his sitting room, where Lo’s staff had laid a crackling fire.

He’d lied once again; he knew exactly why he’d told Camilla about the Unseelie King. He needed to ensure that the artist would not be tempted by Lennox. Envy had little doubt that their paths would inevitably cross as the game drew closer to an end.

If Camilla knew how dangerous the Fae were, she stood half a chance of surviving an encounter with them.

The knock was quiet but drew his thoughts into the present.

“Enter.”

Sloth shut the door behind him, his gaze slowly sweeping the room.

The scheming bastard had placed Envy and Camilla in a shared suite connected by a bathing chamber and this sitting room. He’d claimed it was to keep them close together for their comfort.

Envy had taken one look at the rumpled bed she must have napped in earlier and headed straight into the communal room, needing distance from her scent and his swirling thoughts about those sheets.

“Miss Antonius isn’t here,” he said, jerking his chin toward her room.

Sloth nodded as if he didn’t already know that.

“Good. I wanted to discuss something with you privately.”

Envy motioned for him to get on with it.

“I used my sin on her.”

“And she resisted it.”

“It happened with you as well,” Sloth surmised.

“No, Lust attempted to seduce her in Waverly Green. At first, I assumed it was because that realm dampened his power somehow. I believe she succumbed in the Sin Corridor, but barely.”

Sloth nodded again, taking it all in.

Envy knew he was sorting and compiling facts, taking his time.

Finally, Sloth spoke. “An amulet warding against dark magic is the simplest explanation. Or perhaps she has an enchantment inked onto her person?”

He looked Envy over clinically.

“Have you noticed any tattoos hidden on her yet? Maybe a symbol or initial?”

“You know my rule.”

“And I suppose she’s still here, so perhaps you don’t know.”

“I thought you’d interrogated Camilla?”

Envy suddenly wished to know what else his brother had talked with her about. Camilla had mentioned a tour but had changed topics quickly. Now he wanted to know why. What had his damned brother tried?

“Easy, your sin is infringing on my circle.”

Though his words were light, Sloth’s tone held a warning.

He was especially testy, making Envy wonder what he was preoccupied with. Hopefully some secret lover was driving him as mad. Sloth didn’t feed his passions often or as widely as the rest of them, but he’d had a few serious relationships over the centuries. First Liam, then Ivy.

No tragedy or heartbreak was involved—the relationships simply ran their course, ending amicably each time. Sloth avoided drama. The bore.

“I’m simply suggesting you get on with it and pay attention to any marks on her body,” he said, as if exhausted by Envy’s antics.

“I’m not going to bed her for information.”

Sloth grinned at him, slowly, immensely amused.

“What?” Envy snarled.

“Morals look interesting on you, brother. Did you ever stop to wonder if she might be your next clue? She’d make for an interesting riddle, and you know how cunning Lennox is.”

Envy was silent. Of course he had. The moment he’d deciphered the last clue, he’d considered that Camilla was a larger part of the puzzle, but he’d since dismissed it.

Mostly because he didn’t want her to be part of the game. That Sloth had also landed on the possibility indicated that it was something he needed to explore.

Envy had said time and again that the game was all that mattered.

It was time to prove that. He didn’t think she was a player, but something was driving her, something more than simple curiosity. He’d almost sensed it before he took her to the void between realms, then she’d walled that emotion off.

Maybe he was wrong. Maybe she was a player, and he was just a pawn on her board.

“If you don’t want to seduce her for information,” Sloth continued, “simply pay attention when you make love to her. Knowing you, you’ll make your one chance quite… thorough.”

“I will not take her to some borrowed, subpar bed here.”

Mischief glittered in Sloth’s eyes.

“This wing is warded for privacy. No one will hear her, if that’s your concern. I know modesty is a consideration for most of her species.”

“Humans.”

“Mm. I assume you haven’t felt any power in her either.”

“No.” Envy debated the merits of keeping the next bit of information to himself. “She does possess a rare talent with art, but other than that, I haven’t sensed anything.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“It doesn’t concern you.”

“Interesting.”

Envy truly despised it when he said that.

Sloth studied him very carefully again, like Envy was nothing more than an insect for him to pin down and dissect.

“Did you see the latest gossip?” Sloth asked at last, far too casually. Envy stared until his brother elaborated. “Gluttony’s reporter printed this just today.”

He pulled a newspaper from his pocket and slapped it against Envy’s chest.

Envy glanced at the headline, then scanned the article.

RUMORS ABOUND!

A mysterious game seems to be afoot, drawing players to the Seven Circles from across the realms. Some insiders claim the Unseelie King is up to his wicked ways, pulling the strings of our very own Prince Envy.

The prize is rumored to be something worth killing for, tailored to each player and tempting enough for them to sell their souls. Though it’s unclear if murder is or is not permitted this time around. We’ll hope to find out.

A few more farfetched theories speculate as to whether this game is a darker, more nefarious plot by the Unseelie King to take advantage of how distracted the demon courts have been of late by the Goddesses Fury and Death of House Vengeance.

With the Seven Circles in peril, might Lennox slip his leash and sneak into the mortal land again?

The Unseelie King’s obsession with mortals is well known, giving credence to this theory. What we know is that two strangers were spotted here in the past week. Both players?

Before this article was submitted to print, the ever-lacking Prince Gluttony was questioned about a guest he’d hosted the previous night, but he refused to comment or confirm any part in the game. This same guest was seen heading toward Bloodwood Forest in the predawn hours.

He hasn’t been seen since.

Some have posited that the unidentified male was heading there to find the Crone who’s believed to frequent the magical forest. When asked directly, Gluttony remained mum, hinting only that it was likely a lover sneaking out after overindulging in sin.

That the prince would attempt to play coy and fail spectacularly is unsurprising. Gluttony is the least clever of his brothers.

Multiple witnesses have spoken in anonymity about a certain white-haired solitary Fae who’s been seen lingering near the woods in different circles. Should this prove to be true, it begs the question why. Is Lennox spying on his players or is there another mystery in need of solving? Or perhaps this Fae is hunting his true love.

If you have any information, do contact us at once.

Lastly, it has been noted that the usually boastful House Envy has gone silent. It leads one to believe the stakes might be higher than the prince may admit. Why else would Envy lock his circle down at the same time as the game’s rumored start? Others are wondering why he hasn’t been seen taking flight in the wake of the curse’s end. Where are his wings? And could the two be related?

Envy crumpled the paper in his fist. “Tell me you’re not believing gossips now.”

“Is it true?” Sloth asked, watching as Envy tossed the paper into the fireplace. “Did you lock your circle down?”

“Would it matter if I did?”

Sloth was silent for a long moment. They stood, watching the flames devour the page, each lost in their own thoughts.

“Summon your wings,” Sloth said, finally, lifting his icy gaze to Envy’s face.

“Shall I roll over or fetch next?”

“Levi—”

“Where are your wings, brother?” Envy shot back. “I don’t recall seeing them recently. Should I write in to the paper? Give them something else to speculate over?”

Envy needed this line of questioning to cease at once.

Who gave the reporter her cursed information? One fact Envy had gleaned was that there were at least two players who had also made it to this realm. Gods damn it all.

Hopefully they were the only other players left.

“She could be Fae,” Sloth said casually, changing the subject so abruptly Envy almost missed who he meant. “Seelie Court, perhaps. Maybe even half Fae.”

“Camilla isn’t Fae.” Envy gave him a hard look. “Shifters also resist most influence and have talents. And they appear human for the most part. She sometimes…”

“She sometimes,” Sloth prompted, goading.

“She sometimes has their temperament,” Envy said.

Sloth didn’t press the issue. It was as plausible as his guess. If anything, Camilla’s being a shifter made the most sense.

Envy just wasn’t sure. He didn’t get wolf, but there were other rare shifters that weren’t pack creatures.

It would explain why her mother had left, at least. That innate need to roam, to keep moving. Most shifters who weren’t pack creatures found living in one place extremely difficult. It also lined up with when her mother left. Camilla had just come into adulthood, no longer requiring her mother’s guidance. If only the gods-damned woman could be found.

“Of course, if you simply do not wish to sleep with her, there are other ways of obtaining that information,” Sloth said. “I have taken the liberty to set something up, in the event you weren’t amenable. Technically, one only needs to see her nude form to look for any suspicious marks.”

“What have—”

“Oh!” Camilla burst into the room, then stopped short, her smile faltering as she took in the princes. “I didn’t expect you to be here. Is this… should I come back?”

Envy had taken his dagger out before he realized it. Clearly, his need to protect was heightened.

Envy stepped away from Sloth but didn’t put his weapon away.

“Is everything all right, Miss Antonius?”

Camilla bit her lower lip, the move signaling her hesitation. A flash of when she’d done that same thing in bed crossed his mind.

“I was hoping to find Lo here, actually.”

Sloth shot Envy a smug look over Camilla’s head.

“Why, exactly, were you hoping to find him in your bedchamber?” Envy asked, sharply.

Camilla’s expression darkened.

“Do not take that tone with me.” She glared at him for another moment, driving home the point that she was not his to be ordered around, then looked at Sloth. “Perhaps we should postpone my visit to the steam room. I find the idea of relaxing impossible now.”

“I’m sure my brother doesn’t truly mind. Do you?” Sloth asked, the picture of gods-damned innocence.

Envy was too riled up to respond right away.

This was what his cursed brother had meant about setting something up. Bringing her to his steam room? Envy had to mentally restrain himself from throttling his brother.

Sloth crossed his arms over his chest, his obnoxious smile growing as Envy’s sin chilled the room. The conniving sadist. His brother had played a dirty game, but Envy needed to leash his sin, lest he be thrown out of this circle. Again.

“Shall we?” Sloth asked, offering Camilla his arm, ever the perfect gentleman. “Unless you’d prefer some time alone with Miss Antonius, brother? Remind me… was there something important you wanted to ask her? Maybe you should escort her to the steam room in my place. You are looking like you could do with a bit of the treatment.”

Envy was sure he did look that way, thanks to his vicious brother.

Camilla did not make this easy on him. She raised a brow, waiting to see what his next move would be.

Envy positively loathed their teaming up.

“Get the fuck out, Sloth.”

His brother flashed him another victorious look before slowly swiveling to Camilla. “Alas, my brother is feeling testy. I’ll send some refreshments up. You’ll need them.”

“Thank you.” Camilla smiled warmly. “That will be lovely. Another time?”

A beat after Sloth left, an enthusiastic knock sounded at the door. Envy attempted to pull himself together, adopt his mask of indolence.

He drew in a deep breath and opened the door. Sloth had indeed played filthy yet again. The demon standing with a tray of refreshments was classically handsome and far too intrigued with Camilla as he craned his neck into the room, smiling brilliantly at her.

He gave her an appreciative look as he held up a robe.

His arousal hit Envy like a hammer.

“Hello, miss, I brought this for you and some—”

Envy hauled off and hit him, his fist landing squarely in the demon’s mouth, his jaw cracking like thunder as it dislocated.

The demon clutched his face and darted back into the corridor, his covered tray and plush robe clattering to the floor.

It was probably the fastest anyone from House Sloth had ever moved.

Without turning, Envy said, “You and I need to discuss some things, Miss Antonius.”

Like what secrets she was keeping and why.

Envy finally pivoted to face her, his expression void of warmth. He would no longer play the game of flirtation with her.

None of this was about passion or seduction.

This was about winning.

This was about his court.

And Camilla needed to understand that whatever had passed between them would remain in the past. His brothers were getting the wrong idea about their arrangement.

Others would likely follow suit. Namely, the Unseelie King.

Camilla’s expression was impossible to read. Perhaps she’d just remembered what he truly was. Or maybe she was unwilling to part with her secrets. She might even already sense what he was about to try to uncover.

“Sit.” Envy closed the door to their shared suite and jerked his chin toward the sofa. “Better yet, take off your clothes and put on the robe. We’re going to test a theory.”