Throne of the Fallen полностью

They were going to be very cozy tonight.

The tiny one-room cabin was dark and windowless, the square space taken up almost entirely by one large bed. And by bed Envy meant the thick layers of pine boughs he’d braided into a lush platform.

The “bed” was pressed against the far wall, leaving only a small path for him to open the door fully.

The air was stale but laced with the warmth of the pine. They’d be warm and safe from the elements. Hours had passed, and even if she wasn’t tired yet, Camilla needed to sleep before the worst of the storm hit.

Envy gently nudged her forward.

She dug her heels in.

“There’s barely enough room for the bed.”

What she avoided mentioning was the fact that they’d practically have to lie curled around each other to fit upon it. A fact he’d been partly dreading, partly anticipating.

It was going to be his own sort of personal hell to have Camilla pressed against him while experiencing the sensation of sins.

“Apologies for the less-than-stellar accommodations, Your Highness,” he mocked softly. “Next time we travel through the Corridor, I’ll make sure to add another wing to the cabin.”

She called him a gloriously filthy name under her breath but let him step past her, swirling his cloak from his shoulders and spreading it over the bed of boughs, like a sheet of sorts. He gestured that Camilla could lie down, which she did with a glare, crawling onto the mattress and testing its stability before moving to the far side. Envy closed the door behind him, making sure it caught firmly in its frame, and then climbed atop the mattress at her side.

Her warmth enveloped him almost instantly, her scent filling the space between them until all he could think of was how much he envied her perfume for touching her skin when he couldn’t.

“Will we travel directly to House Sloth?” she asked. “Once we’re… done here?”

“Yes,” he said. “We’ll travel a bit farther to please the Corridor, then I’ll transvenio us to my brother’s circle as soon as I can. We should arrive by midmorning.”

“Transvenio,” she repeated quietly. “According to my father’s stories, that’s how demon princes travel between realms. Like shifting from one reality to the next. Which is how we arrived at the gates earlier. Correct?”

“Indeed.”

“Won’t we see your court first?”

He swallowed tightly. “There’s no time for a visit.”

He supposed he should send a missive to Sloth first before showing up unannounced, but to do so he’d need to stop at his House and await the royal admittance to the rival court, which meant Camilla would see the crumbling kingdom firsthand. Even if he brought her to his royal cottage on the outskirts of his grounds, too much could go wrong. Sloth would likely take his time responding, and that was the one thing Envy could not risk now: wasting any more time.

He allowed himself a brief fantasy of a different story unfolding. Of his House being robust, filled with life and art, and demons who collected all manner of objects and items to inspire his sin in their circle mates.

Envy wanted to see Camilla’s gaze sweep over everything when it was as glimmering and wondrous as it used to be. He wanted to know if she’d like his House, his galleries, his curiosities. His bedchamber.

And that was dangerous.

He shouldn’t want any of it.

She was quiet for a few moments.

“You said you’re playing a game… that’s what all of this is for. What’s at stake?”

Everything, he thought. “An artifact I covet,” he finally said. It was true enough.

“You’re doing all this for an artifact?” she asked. “It must be very important.”

He stared at the wooden ceiling, his jaw tight. They were getting too close to discussing his greatest mistake, especially here, where he’d once brought her.

Camilla rolled over to face him, but he didn’t look back at her. He couldn’t.

“Take off your cloak,” he said instead. When he sensed her surprise, he finally looked over and gestured at their exposed bodies. “We’ll use it as a blanket.”

Camilla gave him a long, silent once-over, but she did as he asked, and he helped her to wrap the edges of the garment around them. As a final act of chivalry, he pulled off his waistcoat, bundling it up to form a pillow he placed under her head.

As she settled back, even more snugly situated against his side, Envy decided to count backward from one thousand, focusing on his end goal.

He hated Lennox and his royal Unseelie Fae. Hated them beyond anything he’d hated before. He would not only see his court restored but would see Lennox’s Unseelie court obliterated in return. He’d toy with them all as Lennox had with him.

“Envy?” Camilla whispered, breaking his focus. He felt her stir under the cloak, and then a warmed finger emerged, which she reached over to run along his jaw.

He’d been gnashing his teeth.

He forced himself to relax.

“How many other players do you think there are? In this game?” she asked, removing her hand.