Throne of the Fallen

A FEW TENSE hours later, Camilla sat beside Blade in the royal box overlooking the arena, her knuckles bone-white from gripping her fists tightly in her lap.

Far below them a circular patch of white sand stretched wide, surrounded by matching high, smooth walls designed to keep fighters on the ground.

Unlike the black-sand beach they’d arrived on, the snow-colored grains and stone were clearly chosen to show off spilled blood, something that could prove dangerous in an arena filled with vampires.

Camilla didn’t want to think about what might happen if blood lust took over. Given how high up she was, there would be no way out but down through the thick of it.

Dawn was still a ways off, the strange double moons of Malice Isle casting an eerie red haze along the sand. Torches burned—the acrid scent of smoke rising on the thick, humid air.

Camilla’s gown clung to her like a second skin from the oppressive heat, adding to her discomfort. That was the reason she couldn’t sit still or take more than a few shallow breaths at a time. It was a necessary lie she kept silently repeating to herself.

Vampires poured into the tower from several entrances, filling the seats beyond capacity, their cheers creating a terrible cacophony as they pounded their fists and stomped their feet, waiting for the battle of princes to begin.

She glanced around, looking for Vexley, but he was either seated in the raging throng below or had decided to spend his time with his mistresses from hell.

Soon the metallic scent of blood mixed with the smoke. Tray after tray of blood cocktails was served and the crowd, already dangerous, was now drunk and raging.

“One thing is certain,” Blade said, gaze locked on the pit below. “It will be interesting.”

She was grateful he hadn’t lied and said it would be all right.

Even with Envy’s confidence, there was no telling how the fight would end. Immeasurable ass that he was, Camilla didn’t want any harm to come to the demon prince.

Alexei entered the royal box, nodding to Blade as they silently exchanged places.

Camilla slanted a look in his direction. He was already watching her.

“His Highness said to wear these.”

He held up two beautiful cuffs: wide silver bands fitted with what looked to be a hundred ruby shards.

“He said, and I quote, put them on and pretend he’s cuffed you to his bed.”

She rolled her eyes. Even now the demon was trying to distract her. He could say whatever he liked about only keeping her safe for the game. His actions said otherwise.

Alexei handed her one cuff at a time.

She noticed he only touched the silver.

“Aversion to rubies?”

“Not quite.” A smile ghosted across his face. “Rosary peas mixed with rubies. Highly lethal to vampires.”

“He expects I’ll need them?”

“A precaution, Miss Antonius.”

She gingerly took the cuffs and put them on. They fit as if they’d been forged for her.

“They were,” Alexei said.

“Why is it that everyone in this realm can read my mind?”

“Your expression tells your thoughts. It’s minute,” he added, “nothing a mortal would notice. But you’re no longer surrounded by mortals. Creatures here pay attention to everything; no detail is too small. You need to constantly wear a mask.”

“I suppose being surrounded by other predators keeps one sharp.”

He inclined his head in agreement but didn’t comment further.

Instead, he handed her a matching necklace he pulled from a satchel she hadn’t noticed, his cool fingers accidentally brushing hers before he quickly drew back.

She searched his blue eyes for answers. She hadn’t felt any loss of her senses, and his eyes identified him as royal.

“Your touch doesn’t impair me the way Zarus’s does. Why is that?”

His attention sharpened.

Bollocks, she cursed silently. She remembered too late that she was supposed to be human. Alexei looked at her for a long minute, then finally answered.

“Zarus is a blight.” Alexei’s icy gaze hardened. “He needs adoration almost more than he needs blood. In his mind he is a god, and he wants to be worshipped as such, even if he manufactures it through abuse of power. He rarely listens to advisors, and his hubris damages his court. He recently provoked Prince Wrath, which resulted in…” He shook his head. “Zarus’s reign ended when he made that move. It’s only been a matter of when he is deposed.”

Camilla was surprised any predator felt a moral obligation to use their magic only when necessary.

“If Prince Envy defeats him, will you take the throne?”

“When His Highness defeats him,” Alexei corrected, “I will return to House Envy.”

“Is that what you want?”

“Yes.”

Alexei glanced at the billowing white sheer drapes separating the royal box from the chaos beyond, the chalices of alcohol-spiked blood, the mortals being seduced and bitten.

If he longed to indulge like his brethren, he didn’t let it show.

“I choose to be His Highness’s second-in-command. There is much to learn from the way he runs his court. One day I might decide to return here, but for now our arrangement is mutually beneficial.”

“Does Envy know you’re studying his court?”

Alexei’s smile broadened. “Of course. It was his idea.”

Trumpets blared near the fighting pit, three short blasts that made the hair along the back of Camilla’s neck rise.

Alexei shifted his attention to Blade, a silent conversation seeming to take place between them before the latter inclined his head and stepped into the shadows.

“Relax,” Alexei murmured, “Envy will not lose.”

Relaxing in a tower full of blood-drunk vampires while one of the only allies she had in this realm battled to the death wasn’t possible. If Envy didn’t make it…

Camilla wasn’t sure there was much hope that she’d find her way back to Waverly Green. Alexei might try to bring her to House Wrath, but what chance did he stand of getting them to safety if the demon prince fell?

She perched on the edge of her seat, staring down.

Camilla fixated on the white sand below, on the two gated caverns on opposite sides from which she imagined each prince would emerge.

A giant humanoid creature wearing a crudely made wolf head helmet that completely hid its face strode out, muscled chest bare, tattooed arms and thighs the size of an elephant. It had to be at least twelve feet tall and was built like a mountain.

Camilla couldn’t imagine anyone fighting it and walking away with their life.

Alexei scoffed.

“Canidae. Unoriginal as far as taunts go. But that’s Zarus.”

“How is it a taunt?”

It certainly didn’t seem like a taunt to her. It seemed like Death walking.

“Envy’s House symbol is a double-headed wolf. A green-eyed monster. Canidae, known as the Wolf of the Western Isles, was chosen to mock the prince.”

In one meaty hand it swung a flail that had two spiked balls attached via chain. It was positively medieval—a weapon made popular in ancient blood sports, of which she’d seen many gruesome paintings throughout the years.

Camilla supposed that was exactly what this was: blood sport.

The giant creature swung its weapon at the crowd, the cheers growing impossibly louder as it swaggered around the arena.

It thrust its unoccupied hand at the stands, taunting, daring someone to come and fight.

To her horror, she realized it wasn’t wearing a helmet—the creature had a wolf’s head with a man’s body; it was barking and growling as the crowd tossed someone over the wall, directly at the monster.

Without seeing its eyes, she couldn’t tell whether the victim was a human or a vampire, but she saw how terrified he was; a steady trickle of urine glistened down his leg, earning more jeers from the raging crowd.

Everything happened quickly after that.

In a blur of metal flashing and flesh shredding, the creature had beaten the male until he was an unidentifiable mass of raw meat, his dying screams bloodcurdling as they echoed up the tower.

Blood coated the male from head to toe; part of his arm hung off, severed at the wrist, dangling by a stubborn tendon. His left eye had been bashed out, oozing something foul-looking.

Camilla squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the overwhelming urge to vomit.

The creature had been aiming for the male’s skull, and she did not need to witness what happened when that killing blow connected with its target.

Silence fell, metal cracked bone, then the crowd went wild.

Vibrations from the seats below rattled her bones.

“It’s over,” Alexei said, leaning close. “The body is gone.”

Camilla’s stomach twisted violently as she stared down at the pool of blood that had just contained someone’s life. It was beyond horrifying.

Beyond a nightmare.

And it was only just beginning.

With blood still dripping down the smooth stone walls, Envy strode into the arena looking like an indolent royal out for a stroll among his adoring court, completely unconcerned with the giant storming toward him, flail swinging, gore from its last victim splattering the mixed crowd of vampires and their human pets in the nearest stand, its muzzle nearly black with entrails.

Camilla realized with sudden horror that the body of its last victim was gone because Canidae had eaten it. No bone, no flesh remained.

Still, Envy walked out, his body language bordering on bored.

The demon prince wore a crisp suit, a stylish waistcoat, and a pair of freshly pressed trousers tailored to him exceptionally well. Not ideal fighting clothing.

Camilla wasn’t sure whether he was brilliant or mad. Perhaps a little of both.

“What’s happening?” she asked, searching for the vampire prince. “Why is he fighting that creature?”

“Zarus will strike as soon as Envy is focused on Canidae.”

“Isn’t that against the rules?”

Alexei flashed her a grim look.

“There are no rules.”

The wolf-headed creature, Canidae, descended like a storm. The way it had been fighting earlier… it had been only halfheartedly.

Canidae focused on Envy with singular brutality.

Its footsteps shook the arena, its war cry the most terrifying thing Camilla had ever heard. It sounded like all hope had been lost, like blood and death had been its only friends for millennia. And Envy threatened to take them away.

The demon prince didn’t move, didn’t tense as Canidae thundered closer, its snarls making her recoil almost a hundred feet above it.

Camilla’s heart nearly broke out of her chest, it was pounding so furiously. She stared, her attention fixed on the prince as if it had been magically stuck to the scene.

“Run,” she urged quietly, “please. Run.”

Impossibly, as if he’d heard her whisper from the pit far below, Envy raised his gaze, finding her in the crowd instantly.

He stared into her eyes, mouth curved, as his hair ruffled in the breeze of the flail sailing near his head. He’d stepped out of its path only at the last second, sending Canidae into a seething rage as it barreled past him, whirling and wild-eyed.

Its size worked against it. The creature wasn’t agile; any sudden movement from its opponent worked against it.

Camilla’s knees knocked together, her hands bouncing from where they rested on her lap. She wanted to run and scream and wake up from this horrible nightmare.

Then she realized what Alexei had said. There were no rules.

Envy could use magic.

But why doesn’t he?

Canidae had charged again, mere feet from Envy, when the prince suddenly unleashed himself. Whatever animal, whatever that uncivilized creature was that she’d sensed lived beneath his skin, it was no longer caged by propriety.

Envy was no longer a prince. He was every inch the demon.

And he was magnificent.

From one breath to the next he’d ripped his jacket and waistcoat off. The sound of his fist connecting with Canidae was audible all the way up to where she sat. The crowd, the jeers, the pounding fists and stomping feet, nothing drowned out the sound of that punch.

The creature flew backward, crashing into the wall, a crack shooting halfway up the tower from the impact. The demon had tossed the giant as if it had been nothing at all.

Camilla recalled when he’d hit Harrington—Envy must have been holding back. A lot.

Envy whirled, his House dagger drawn, as the vampire prince leapt from behind, fangs bared.

Zarus had taken the coward’s move, trying to attack from behind.

Envy was faster, more powerful, more ruthless.

The demon thrilled at violence.

Camilla watched, rapt, as he fought with the sort of brutal grace that was hauntingly beautiful despite how horrible it was.

If she could paint him now, she’d focus on the harsh lines of his face cast by shadows, the glittering promise of death in his eyes, and the violent slash of his mouth as it twisted into a vow of pain and torment.

Suddenly, it all took a terrible turn.

Canidae removed a barbed whip from its belt, cracking it more loudly than thunder.

Another great beast, this one with the head of a lion, charged into the arena while the vampire prince stalked closer, still aiming for Envy’s back.

Camilla was out of her seat, leaning over the edge, shouting for Envy to look.

Alexei grabbed her, hauling her back. She nearly turned and punched him.

“Do something! He cannot fight against three.”

Alexei’s gaze sparkled. “Zarus is attempting to make it a fair fight.”

“How is three on one…” Camilla’s voice trailed off as the answer came to her. “Envy is that much more powerful.”

“Not quite.”

Alexei nodded to the arena, where another two giant creatures emerged. One had a bull’s head with the body of a man, and the other had the head of a bird of prey. Five. It took one vampire prince and four giant beasts to even the fighting field.

“Exactly how strong is Envy?”

“The Kiadara each possess the strength of two hundred men. They are rumored to be the by-blows of the old gods. Because of their taste for blood, they’ve aligned themselves with the vampires.”

Camilla’s mouth went dry.

Envy was fighting the equivalent of eight hundred mortal men and a vampire with immortal strength of his own.

The demon prince turned, saw the raging beasts descending, lifted his dagger, and smiled.