Envy (The Damning Book 2)

by Katie May

  Dair immediately wrapped it around his waist. His golden skin was freckled

  with bruises and red welts, but if he felt any pain, he didn’t show it.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, moving to my feet. I held out a hand for

  Bash to take and pulled him up as well. “There wasn’t supposed to be

  anything there. That’s the point.”

  Dair was already shaking his head before I had even finished speaking.

  “You don’t understand. I searched everywhere. Bottom of the ocean. Miles in

  either direction. There was nothing there. No clues. No hints. Nothing to

  indicate who the traitor is. Z, it was a dead end.”

  I heard him, I did, but I couldn’t quite process the words. They went

  through one ear and out the other, circulating in my mind constantly like a

  whirlpool. I couldn’t quite grasp a coherent thought.

  “So it was a diversion?” I asked numbly. “A trap?”

  “Do you think your father knew about the Kraken?” Bash seethed. “Is

  that why he sent us here?”

  Dair shrugged his shoulders, reaching up a hand to push dark golden hair

  out of his eyes. It only flopped back down, refusing to be tamed. “I don’t

  know. It could be a coincidence, but the map led to nothing. Dad must’ve

  known that I would recognize the extra island. He was trying to confuse us

  and lead us in the wrong direction.”

  The numbness iced over turning into a tundra of snow. Anger thrummed

  through my veins. The King had led us on...what was the saying?...a wild

  goose chase. He knew we would find nothing, yet he sent us there anyway.

  He might be behind the Kraken attack as well.

  My eyes flickered to Slippy splashing in the water, a strange cooing

  sound emitting from its - his, I had to remember - little mouth. I wanted to

  say that the little, murderous guy was cute, but that was a lie. Even not trying

  to kill me, the monster was butt ugly.

  “How much time do we have?” I asked, swiveling my head to face Bash.

  His expression was tight, answering my question without words. We had no

  time. It had taken us more than six hours to get here and would take us just as

  much time to get back. The fight with the Kraken. Dair’s quest. Both had

  taken time, time we didn’t have. We had to get back to the castle, to the

  dungeons, before at least five men, maybe all six, were wrongly sentenced to

  death.

  And we still didn’t know who the traitor was.

  My heart beating, hammering, breaking my rib cage, I glared up at the

  sky. “Fuck!”

  LUPE MET me the second I stepped into the mansion’s foyer. His large,

  muscular arms wrapped around me, pulling me to him. I allowed myself to

  relax in his embrace only for a moment before I pulled away and met his

  gaze.

  “Ry?” I asked, voice terse.

  Lupe shook his head sullenly, and my stomach dropped through the floor.

  “I’m sorry, love. I couldn’t find him.”

  “It’s okay,” I whispered, though it was anything but. I secretly wished

  that Ryland had left me, left the mate bond, left his brothers, though I knew

  that wasn’t the case. I would rather have him hate me than be dead or

  harmed. The mere thought nearly sent me into hysterics.

  I was doing fine before these men came into my life. Maybe I wasn’t

  happy, but I was alive. Or, at least, a version of it. Now, I couldn’t help but

  wonder if I had spent my whole life holding my breath, my lungs screaming

  for air. Drowning, almost, in too deep water. With them, it felt like I could

  breathe. Could finally reach the pocket of fresh air that had constantly been

  just out of reach.

  Quite ironic, if you asked me, because they constantly took my breath

  away and made me scared shitless.

  “You’re back!” Tavvy glided down the staircase, arms extending as if he

  meant to give me a hug. He was freshly showered and wore a form-fitting

  black suit. “I didn’t think you were going to make the deadline.”

  “Bring me to the dungeons,” I demanded coldly. Tavvy’s grin widened

  further, but he elaborately gestured towards the doorway.

  “Ladies first.”

  “Then go,” I retorted oh-so-maturely. His eyes flared briefly though I

  couldn’t tell if it was in anger or arousal. I really, really hoped it was the

  former.

  Without another word, Tavvy peeled the door open and stepped down

  into the dungeons. Piss, mildew, mold, and blood blended together, and I

  wanted to gag at the pungent scent. Lupe kept his hands on my shoulders,

  steering me through the darkness. Candle flames flickered intermittently,

  something I hadn’t noticed during my first trip down.

  Bash and Dair moved to stand in front of me, shoulder-to-shoulder, a wall

  of muscle Tavvy would have to go through to get to me.

  The little psychopath chuckled.

  “Z! Z! Z!” he called in a singsong voice. “Do you know who the traitor

  is?”

  Shouldering past Bash and Dair, I faced Tavvy with a defiant set to my

  chin. He stood in front of the now opened cage, hands sweeping wildly as he

  gestured.

  Seven men were kneeling inside the cell, hands bond in front of them and

  brown bags over their heads.

  “How the fuck am I going to identify the traitor if I can’t see their faces?”

  I asked harshly.

  Traitor.

  Who I still didn’t know.

  Nausea churned in my lower stomach.

  “That’s the second part of your test, my sweet Z.” He dared to venture a

  step forward, hand raised as if he wanted to brush my hair, but Lupe’s

  threatening growl stopped him in mid-stride. He glanced at the large Shifter

  with only mild annoyance before turning back to me. “You have five

  minutes.”

  “Five minutes?” I asked in disbelief. “I have at least a few hours until my

  timeframe is over.”

  Tavvy clicked his tongue, shaking his head. “Rules change. Timelines

  change. You now have five minutes. If you don’t choose by the end of the

  allotted time, the chains around their necks will tighten and kill them.”

  I was shaking so hard that I thought I would pass out. Not even Lupe’s

  hands on my shoulders could provide me comfort.

  The seven men...

  Wait? Seven?

  I narrowed my eyes, and my gaze immediately latched on a pair of dark

  hands, directly in the middle.

  Horror filled me.

  “Ryland...”

  Tavvy laughed maniacally, throwing his head back. In the next second, he

  was behind the seven prisoners and removing their hoods.

  The first three were the red-heads I had noted before, including the young

  teenager, but the fourth was my Shadow mate. His eyes burned with a

  ferocious anger, blood coating the edges of his lips. Around his neck, a silver

  chain dug into his skin.

  His scars were more pronounced now that he couldn’t hide behind his

  shadows. They covered every inch of his dark face. His cheeks, his forehead,

  his lips, through his eye. There wasn’t an expanse of skin on his face that

  wasn’t mutilated.

  He turned towards me, and the anger ebbed immediately, replaced with

  relief.

/>   “Z, you’re okay,” he whispered.

  “What the hell?” I took a trembling step forward. My fingers went to my

  bottom lip. “How did this happen?”

  “The damn twins,” Ryland said, venom spewing. “They ganged up on

  me. Put this collar around my neck that prohibits the use of my powers.”

  I had never heard of a collar like that. With that weapon...it was a game

  changer. The Alphabet Resistance would love to get their hands on it.

  It was no wonder only the royal families had access to it.

  “Enough!” Tavvy moved to the end of the line and removed the hood off

  the last man. “Choose who to kill before the five minutes are up, or else

  they’ll all die, including your mate.”

  “Just pick one,” Lupe whispered into my ear.

  But what if I accidentally chose an innocent man? How could I live with

  myself? What type of person would I be if I chose myself and my mates over

  innocent people? It wasn’t a person I wanted to be.

  “Four minutes,” Tavvy said cheerfully.

  My eyes flickered over the men present, absorbing every detail. The

  scatter of freckles on Man One’s arms. The abnormally long hair that

  might’ve made me believe he was a Shifter if I hadn’t known he was a human

  on Man Two. The missing finger on Man Three. The tattoo on Man Four.

  The unblemished skin on Man Five, and the scars zigzagging Man Six.

  Something niggled at the edges of my mind, a memory. I reached for it

  desperately only to have it slip through my fingers.

  “Three minutes.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Tavvy,” Lupe growled.

  Six men. One traitor.

  Nine fingers.

  The random thought came to me suddenly, Jax’s ramblings echoing

  through my head.

  “I have five fingers on one hand. Four on the other. Five plus four equals

  nine. And nine is the number. I heard the devils talking. Five plus four equals

  nine. Nine fingers. We need nine fingers.”

  It was the senseless ramblings of a mad man, wasn’t it?

  I gazed harder at the man missing a finger. He had garnet colored hair

  with streaks of black in it. His hair was longer than the others, and his face

  was unremarkable. Nothing about him screamed “traitor”, yet I knew. I knew

  it as surely as I knew my name was Z and I had seven mates.

  “He’s the traitor,” I whispered, lifting a trembling finger in the man’s

  direction. His eyes widened in horror even as the other men collapsed in

  relief. One of the older men began to sob.

  “That’s quite the accusation,” Tavvy said, tsking at me. “Do you have

  proof to back it up?”

  “Do I need proof?” I responded harshly.

  I had to rely on myself, my sixth sense. It had never led me wrong before,

  and I knew it hadn’t this time.

  “I suppose not.” He shrugged like he couldn’t care either way.

  “Now let my mate go.” My hands were clenched tightly into fists, nails

  digging into the palm of my hand.

  “Isn’t it funny,” Tavvy drawled, “that the magical binding spell placed on

  you to protect us doesn’t work on Ryland as it does me. I wonder why that

  is?” When I merely quirked a brow at him, he met my gaze with a malicious

  smirk. “The spell the Mage King put on you would have you running to his

  rescue at this very moment, not strategically playing my game. It just

  confirms what I always suspected.”

  “What did you suspect?” I asked, though his words caused a chill to brush

  through me.

  “That the seven perfect princes aren’t actually related to the royal

  family.” Behind me, Lupe’s breathing hitched. Ryland had gone rigid where

  he sat, still in my peripheral vision. I didn’t dare pull my gaze away from

  Tavvy’s to read the expressions on my other two mates’ faces.

  “Enough of that.” Tavvy waved a hand dismissively and stepped behind

  the man I had deemed a traitor. He pulled on his red hair sharply, and the

  man let out a cry. “Why don’t you tell the beautiful Z here what you did to

  betray the crown.”

  The man began to cry in earnest, large, fat tears cascading down his

  sunken face.

  “Please,” he sobbed helplessly, and my heart lurched.

  “Tell her,” Tavvy instructed darkly, and his hand tightened on the red

  strands.

  The man opened his eyes and turned to meet my gaze. Begging me.

  Pleading with me. I instinctively stumbled further into Lupe’s warm embrace.

  “Please,” he cried again, this time directing his plea at me.

  Once more, Tavvy pulled at the red chunks of hair and more than one

  handful broke free. The man whimpered in pain.

  “I fell in love!” he choked out at last. Tavvy released his grip, and the

  man’s head swung forward, lolling against his chest. “I fell in love with a

  Mermaid.”

  “And?” Tavvy asked darkly.

  “And she loved me back. We planned to run away together.” He finally

  looked up, meeting my gaze. I hated the anguish in his eyes, the pain. It

  stabbed me repeatedly in the chest until I was nothing more than a puddle of

  blood. “She was the wife of the Mermaid King.” This confession was said

  around an exhale of air. His head dropped as if he wasn’t able to hold it up

  any longer. “Not his mate, but one of his wives. She told me I was her mate.

  Me. A human.

  “Her name was Ali, and she was beautiful. Smart. Funny. Kind. I loved

  her with my entire heart. Until she died.”

  When the man paused in his story, I swung my gaze over to Dair. This

  woman had been one of his many step-moms. Had he known her? Been close

  to her? Cared for her? However, his impassive face and slightly pursed lips

  gave nothing away.

  “When the King discovered our affair, he killed Ali. It wasn’t a quick

  death. He wanted her to suffer. He cut off all her limbs and made her crawl

  across the floor. And then, in front of me, he cut off her head.” He choked on

  a sob. “I did the only thing I could think to do - I tried to kill the sick

  bastard.”

  “So you admit you’re a traitor,” Tavvy said lightly. He flashed a smile at

  me. “Good job.”

  “Good job?” I whispered. I couldn’t get in enough air. I was gasping,

  choking, vomiting on my own breath. Tears burned my eyes.

  What had been this man’s crime? Falling in love? Defending her from a

  crazed mad-man?

  I stared into the man’s bright green eyes. I didn’t even know his name,

  and the powers that be wanted me to kill him. Wanted me to snuff the light

  out of those eyes that were looking at me with such hope.

  Those eyes suddenly widened. His brows had been furrowed, but as I

  watched, they smoothed over.

  And then his head toppled from his body.

  A scream lodged in my throat, and I desperately grasped at Lupe’s arms. I

  had seen death thousands of times before. Hell, I had even been the one to

  kill.

  But this was different. I didn’t know how. Innocent people died all the

  time; it was just the way life worked. Maybe it was because he had been

  staring at me with such hope. The man - whose name I still didn’t know - had

&nbs
p; truly believed I would save him. Me. A savior.

  It might’ve been laughable if I didn’t feel like crying.

  Tavvy stood over the man’s body, a bloody sword held loosely in his

  hands. A manic grin twisted his blood red lips.

  “You’re a kind soul, Z. It’s going to be your downfall. But don’t worry.

  I’ll look after you.”

  Somebody touched my arm, and I jumped. But the dark skin and calluses

  were familiar. Bash or Dair must’ve released Ryland when I was focused on

  Tavvy. I immediately jumped into my mate’s warm embrace, reveling in how

  safe he made me feel.

  “Are you okay?” I whispered hoarsely into his chest. He brushed my hair,

  kissing my head.

  “I’m fine, little assassin. I’m fine.”

  A gagging sound pulled my attention away from Ryland.

  The five other men were choking, desperately grabbing at their necks and

  the tightening collar around them. I ran towards them, but it was too late. All

  five of them fell to the ground, faces blue and cold.

  Dead.

  Including the young teenage boy.

  Tavvy released a sardonic laugh, clutching his belly. When I spun on him,

  eyes murderous, his laughter only intensified.

  “You said release your mate,” he pointed out between chuckles. “Not the

  other five prisoners.”

  THIRTY-TWO

  Z

  The strangest sense of loss plagued me that night and all through the

  next day. It was completely irrational, to mourn someone you didn’t

  even know, but it was my reality.

  The man’s name was Jakob.

  The boy’s was Radon.

  No matter how long I scrubbed at my skin, I could still feel tendrils of

  blood. I wished I could bleach my hands, my eyes, my mind. I may not have

  been the one to hold the sword, but it was my admission that had cost Jakob

  his life.

  But Tavvy? He was behind the death of the other five innocent men.

  I sat in the now pink water, staring at my pruned hands.

  Would they always be a beacon of death, these hands? Would death

  always trail behind me like a lost, albeit obedient, puppy?

  “You’re not going to clean yourself like that.” Ryland’s voice came from

  behind me, from the shadows converged in the corner of the room, but I

  didn’t jump. I didn’t do anything but sit in the sickly pink water.

  The shadows steadily receded, revealing his face to me. I barely noticed

  it, barely comprehended what a gift that was.