Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Nina
Flames crackled in the fireplace of Leander’s chamber.
The whispers of Hell began to creep back into my mind, fracturing my bliss.
“Nina, Nina, Nina,” they called.
The beautiful demon was lost in his slumber. The silk sheets fell loosely over his waist and bared his chest. Sex had ruffled his hair, but he’d still insisted on clawing his fingertips through it, slicking it back, before sleep had taken him.
“Leander,” I whispered, running my fingers over the snake tattoo on his forearm.
“Mmm.”
“How do I earn your relic?”
He chuckled softly. “You know I can’t tell you.”
A small flutter of something like hope stirred in my stomach. I liked that he wanted me, beyond just playing me in The Cycle. Maybe his lust was real. Maybe my feelings were real. But that still meant I needed his relic.
“At least give me a clue.”
He grew quiet. “You have to succumb to your temptation.”
“I thought that’s what I just did.” I grinned.
“Fucking me wasn’t my trial, little Champion.”
“I know,” I said with a giggle. “But I am ready to face your trial now.”
He huffed and rose from the bed. “Are you sure that’s what you really want?”
“Of course,” I breathed. “I want to win.”
“Fine,” he said, his voice not as playful as it usually was. “Let’s play.”
He lunged out of bed, and clicked his fingers. Suddenly, leathers appeared, and he was fully dressed.
“It’s only fitting we have an audience,” he said. “So make sure you dress to impress.”
I rolled my eyes, and couldn’t stop the grin from stretching across my lips.
***
A crowd had gathered in the courtyard, eager to watch me and Leander spar. Even Kob was there, waving long worms around like he was cheering for me.
I spotted Elise near the weapon wall, glowering like she wanted to drive a blade between my ribs.
I sighed.
This was going to be a delightful trial.
A large white circle had been painted into the sand.
“So, let’s make the rules clear,” Leander said, his voice carrying across the space. “One round. The first who falls outside the circle loses.”
I nodded. “Understood.”
Around us, the Thorns watched from the shadows, their gazes hungry for blood or spectacle. It was very hard to tell which.
Leander moved first, steps measured. His blade sliced sideways with lazy precision. I parried, sparks skittering off my daggers, my pulse thrumming with something between thrill and rage. He moved beautifully, his muscles taut, his large hands gripping his sword tightly, effortlessly.
“Careful,” he murmured. “You’re getting distracted by my good looks.”
I ducked low and swept his legs out from under him, but he twisted before he fell, catching my wrist mid-motion. For a heartbeat, our blades locked, faces inches apart.
His smile was infuriating. “I love when you’re unhinged.”
I shoved him back, breath sharp in my throat. He stumbled a step before recovering. Around us, the Thorns muttered and shifted, the ring of their attention tightening.
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Would it really be so bad if you lost The Cycle?”
"Yes," I said. "That would mean I'd have given up on my brother."
He sighed. "That's not true."
"I'm going to see this through to the end," I said. "And I'm going to win your relic."
"I'd like to see you try," he said with a mischievous smile.
I threw my dagger at his feet, and he jumped backwards, and it missed him by a sliver.
I feinted left, pivoted right, and caught him off guard. My blade kissed his throat. He froze. I leaned close enough to see the pulse beating beneath his skin.
“Kneel,” I said quietly. “Before I cut your head off right here.”
For a long, tense moment, he didn’t move. Then his knife fell to the ground with a soft clatter. He sank to one knee, eyes never leaving mine.
The courtyard erupted in whispers.
The knife trembled.
Slowly, he reached up and tucked a loose curl behind my ear. His fingers lingered for just a second too long. The heat between us is dizzying.
My breath caught. Desire pooled low in my stomach.
"I can see the lust all over your face, Nina," he whispered. "I know you want me to bury my cock inside you."
My cheeks flushed, hoping none of our spectators could hear him.
"The rules were to push me outside the circle—"
I shoved him onto his back, and his arm fell to the ground – on the other side of the line.
Leander’s laughter broke the silence. “You win, you win.”
The Thorns dispersed, muttering. Elise turned on her heel and stormed away. Kob let out a whoop that echoed against the walls.
I stood there in the circle, heart hammering in my chest.
I’d won.
Leander's relic was mine.
"You are so beautiful when you work up a sweat," Leander cooed. "I could strip you bare and take you on the sand right now."
"I have some modesty, Leander," I chuckled.
“Yes, you are truly an old soul,” he said.
“Well, not that old,” I laughed. “I’m twenty-five.”
“Not quite,” he said.
I frowned. “Yes, I am.”
“You’re not exactly twenty-five years old, Nina. You just think you are.”
I shook my head, utterly confused by Leander’s games. “I know how old I am.”
His eyes closed, and when he spoke, it was almost tender. “You died, Nina. Not when the fire took you from your village. Long before that . . . you just don’t remember.”
My breath caught. “What are you talking about?”
“You were never alive in your village. You were in Purgatory. It’s where every soul destined for Hell has waited over the past century.”
The courtyard tilted. “No . . . that can’t be right.”
“It is.” His voice was steady. “The living realm was gone from you the moment you drew your last mortal breath decades ago. You and Tobias remained in Purgatory, waiting for Hell to claim you. So you’ll probably be close to a hundred years old. Still young in comparison to—”
I shook my head, vision blurring. “You’re saying, my home, my life, was a hallucination?”
“Well it was real,” he said softly. “Just not in the way you think it was.”
A sob clawed its way up my throat. “What about Tobias?”
Something like regret passed over his features. “He remains in Purgatory until the Essence selects him. If it ever does . . .”
I dropped to my knees, trembling. “He’ll never make it out. He’s not wicked. Does that mean . . . he’ll rot there forever because he doesn’t fit your sins.”
Leander crouched beside me, his tone infuriatingly gentle. “Purgatory was never a sanctuary, Nina. It’s a waiting room for the damned. You and your brother were always destined to be here.”
“No.” My voice cracked. “No, he deserves more than that.” My chest heaved as grief split through me. Tobias, my only constant, my anchor, condemned to wander alone in a forsaken realm.
Leander’s hand hovered, offering, tempting. “Stay with me. You don’t have to suffer. I could make a bargain with him when the time comes. You could both belong to Temptation.”
I lurched to my feet, shaking my head so hard my vision blurred. “I will not sign away my soul, Leander.”
“There is more to you than just your soul,” he murmured. “If you choose to see it.”
“I need to go.” My voice cracked, and I turned and ran before I could change my mind.
Running had become second nature. I ran away so often that I was getting rather good at it. Before the doubt could settle inside me, my feet carried me down the corridor, towards the veil of Temptation.
The truth battered at my chest as I fled: I had been dead all along. Tobias too. Our village, our lives, was Purgatory’s lie.
And now he was still trapped there.
Not while I still breathed, dead or not.