Chapter 42
Bella
The fight is over. I won. And now it’s time for my reward.
I hurt my ankle, but Atticus checked me over and wrapped it. It’s not ideal, but it’s time for the claiming ceremony. Kaiser and I don’t want to wait. I’m still gross, covered in sweat and blood and poison, but Kaiser wrapped me in his red robe and insisted on sweeping me off my feet. Literally.
He carries me deeper into the underworld. Each step takes us further from the light. He seems to know these tunnels, their twists and turns, by heart. I imagine him as a boy, racing through this space, finding a home here in the darkness.
I squeeze his hand, and he squeezes mine in return. I’m his home now, and he’s mine. I will never leave him or allow him to leave me.
I can tell we’re close to our destination because the grimy stone gives way to polished black marble. The only sound is the echo of our shoes on the tiles. The dank smell disappears, covered up by the thick scent of heady incense. Underneath it all, though, is a scent of rot.
There’s a tingle at the base of my spine, my sense of anticipation growing. I feel like I’m in a horror movie, about to come face-to-face with an evil cult.
But I’m grinning like a maniac. This is fun!
There’s a crackling sound up ahead, and I gasp when we come around a bend into a nightmarish world.
The tunnel gives way to a cavernous space made of obsidian stone. Flames dance in gas fireplaces set right into the walls. The only light comes from the fire and hundreds of candles, and the reddish light glints off the rows and rows of skull masks.
Fraternitas is here. Waiting for us. The men in devil masks and skull rings stand silently in the pews, facing the front.
“This way.” Kaiser carries me to the front and a small pool that reminds me of a baptismal font. The scent of incense hangs heavier in the air. Frankincense, cassia, and myrrh.
Then I realize what this place looks like.
A church. An upside-down church. A sanctuary made in hell.
There’s even an altar. The Giant’s body lies on it like a sacrifice. Someone cleaned him up a little, but blood still pools around him.
I almost feel sorry for him. He was Dominus’s son, sent to fight for his family’s honor. But in this world, it’s kill or be killed. And I am a killer.
Kaiser sets me down on a chair. “Can you kneel?” he asks and helps me into a high kneeling position that won’t twinge my ankle.
He tucks his robe around me more tightly.
It’s so huge it wraps around me a few times and pools at my feet, but I appreciate it.
It’s chilly in here, despite the fireplace built into the walls.
Or maybe I’m just feeling the aftereffects of adrenaline leaving my body.
All the pain I didn’t feel in the ring has arrived, and I’m living in it. My ankle and cheek ache.
Two men come forward, one wearing a black mask with devil’s horns. I recognize him from my father’s office a lifetime ago. The Devil is here.
The other is Father Francis. What’s a priest doing in hell? It was my idea, he told me once. He raised these boys, founded Fraternitas. Helped hone them into a weapon.
A few more figures join us at the front. A woman in a wheelchair, with brilliant tattoo sleeves. She’s holding a dagger, stroking its handle. The blood red jewels in her skull ring glint in the firelight.
“That’s Lucy,” Kaiser whispers to me.
Jaeger and Elodie also drift toward us, holding hands. Elodie’s changed into a simple white dress that makes her look like a priestess. She looks solemn, like she’s at a funeral. She and Jaeger take their place beside the altar. I notice she can’t look at the body.
“It’s time,” Father Francis intones.
Kaiser leans down to turn my face toward him. “It’s time I make you mine,” he murmurs to me. “Forever. My chosen one. My elita.”
“This is it?”
“This is it. I’m claiming you.” He cups my sore cheek. His brow furrows as he swipes his thumb gently over my swollen skin. He looks so upset by the fact that I’m hurt that I want to comfort him.
“I’m okay,” I murmur. I turn my head, kissing his palm. “Let’s do this.”
“The sacrifice has already been made,” the Devil rasps. “Blood has been spilled. You are already bound by blood and death. After this ceremony—”
“Wait,” I blurt out. The sound echoes in the cavernous space.
All the skull masks tilt my way, and I can feel their silent disapproval.
I’m probably the only person in the world who dares interrupt the Devil.
“Sorry. I know this is probably a bad time. But, uh, I have something to confess.” Crap, I’ve messed up this beautifully sinister moment, but I have to get this off my chest. I hover my hand over Kaiser’s arm. “You won’t like it.”
“Tell me,” he rumbles. “But if it’s about hunting down Dominus, I’m in. I’ll do it for you. We all will.”
“No, it’s not about that. I actually was going to leave Dominus to my father. My father’s still alive, you know.”
A murmur runs through the Fraternitas’s ranks. Out of the corner of my eye, I see one of the men raise his mask. It’s St. James, and he’s rubbing his face like he has a headache.
Kaiser kneels to take my hands. “What is it, Bella?”
“Um… so… I’ve been poisoning you.”
“I know.”
“Yeah, no, it wasn’t what you think. I wasn’t trying to kill you with the poison. This time.” Hecate, help me, I’m making a mess of this.
Kaiser has a patient look on his face. “Is this about the candles?”
“No. Not the candles. This is a poison you don’t know about.
” I talk faster, trying to speedrun through my feelings.
“See, oxytocin can be used as a fertilizer and some samples got shipped to me by accident and I thought it would be good to make you fall in love with me. So I made a sort of aphrodisiac lotion and rubbed it into my skin and—”
“I know,” Kaiser says.
“And I think it made you love me… but it’s not real…” It takes me a second to hear him. “Wait, you know?”
“Yes. I figured it out. Atticus tested everything in your room when you were in a coma.”
“Oh.” I look around. In the front pew, a masked man raises his hand at me. “Hi, Atticus.” I turn back to Kaiser. “You knew.”
“Yes. You weren’t exactly subtle. You labeled the lotion “Love Potion Number 9.”
“But—” I’m trying to catch up. He knew, and I didn’t know, but now I do…
and where does that leave us? I’m confused.
“I made you love me. This isn’t real.” He has to understand I manipulated his feelings.
This is why I had to tell him right away; I can’t stand that I tricked him.
“This is just what the potion made you feel—”
“Bella. No.” He gathers my hands to his chest, holds them there at his heart.
He takes a moment to gather his words while I try not to fidget or look away.
“I want you to hear me.” He waits until I meet his gaze to say, “From the beginning, you were my poison. Even before we met. It wasn’t anything you used on me.
You were in my system the moment I laid eyes on you. ”
I shake my head. I don’t believe it. I can’t. I did all these tricksy things to win, and now I’m devastated because what Kaiser and I have might not be real.
“Think about it,” he says softly. “You haven’t wanted to touch me since your coma. Any effect of the love potion wore off long ago.”
Finally, I get what he’s saying. He’s right. I haven’t used the love potion on him in over a month. “It wore off,” I repeat slowly.
“Yes.”
“But… tonight you were willing to fight for me, sacrifice for me.”
“I was. I am. Because I love you.” He steps closer, drawing me into the circle of his strong arms. “It wasn’t the aphrodisiac, Belladonna. It was always you.”
It’s too much. I start hyperventilating, but he rests his hands on my back. I feel him, and it feels good.
“Shhh, it’s okay,” he murmurs, kissing the top of my head.
“I still want to do it,” I confess. “I want to keep poisoning you. I don’t want you to leave.”
“I know. It’s okay. You can still poison me if you need to, okay? I can take it.”
I sigh, half slumping against him, drinking in his delicious scent. I finally feel calm again. I could stay like this forever, but all of Fraternitas is watching us right now.
“Okay.” I lean back and push my hair out of my face.
I feel like my whole world has tilted on its axis, but now it’s spinning smoothly.
“Sorry. We can go back to your evil ceremony or whatever. I love all this by the way.” I wave a hand around the sanctuary.
“Very Dante’s Inferno. Black is the new black, I think—”
Kaiser grips my hand again, and I shut up.
“You ready?” he asks.
“Yes.”
The Devil clears his throat. “Usually, we hold a collaring ceremony at Club Empire first, and then there’s a sacrifice. But you, Belladonna Bosco, have already killed for Fraternitas.” He motions to the Giant’s body. “Your place among us is secure, if you wish it.”
“I do.” I take a deep breath so I really feel it. “I wish it.”
“Kaiser,” the Devil says, “do you vow to love and honor your elita? Will you care for her and keep her, cherishing her above others? Will you fight to protect her and put her safety before all else, even your own life?”
“I so vow.”
“Belladonna Bosco.”
“Present.” I wave a hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Elodie bite her lower lip to keep from laughing.
“Do you vow to submit to Kaiser and wear his collar as a sign of your loyalty and love? Will you honor and obey him and give yourself over to him in full and complete surrender?”
“I so vow.” My knees have started hurting because they’re pressed into the hard stone, but I embrace the discomfort. It makes me feel submissive.
Lucy rolls up. She now has a pillow in her lap, holding both the dagger and a silver collar.