Chapter 19 Prince Sloth #2
The chest was filled to the brim with shimmering gold coins. Nestled among the coins were resplendent jewels. Strands of pearls spilled over the sides of the chest, each bead perfectly round and gleaming with a soft, opalescent sheen.
“A treasure chest is a bit trite. You need some better books.”
“It’s not my fault you read boring nonfiction. Who rolls their eyes at a real-life pirate horde?” Lore plucked up a strand of pearls to admire it, then tried on a few jeweled rings before moving on to the next treasure.
The former pirate king must have raided the best ships and lands for the bounty of riches displayed in this room alone.
He put Gluttony to shame with the sheer grandeur of the space, and that was quite a feat, to outdo the prince of overindulgence.
Lore drank it all in before turning to me.
She crossed her arms and scanned me from head to toe, her expression guarded.
“Are you feeling all right?”
Clearly, she wasn’t asking after my health.
“Yes. Why?”
She moved over to the bed and dropped onto the mattress, bouncing a little as she did.
“The punishment didn’t fit the crime back there.” Her dark gaze narrowed on me. “You seem more murdery than normal.”
“Murderous.”
She heaved a sigh.
“Lighten up, Blondie. Not everything needs to be so literal.” She flashed me a teasing look. “These accommodations are definitely an upgrade from the dungeon you found yourself in last night. Try smiling for once.”
I bared my teeth in an approximation of a grin, and she shook her head like I was a lost cause.
“We’ll work on that. I wanted to know how you felt after the dungeon and almost beheading.”
A real smile ghosted across my lips before I caught myself.
I rolled my neck from side to side and exhaled slowly.
“You passed the Trial, clearly, or else one of us would be dead. So there’s no need to discuss what might have been.”
“Still, you seem off.”
“Maybe because I’m trying to puzzle out what you’re hiding.”
“I’m not hiding anything, per se. It’s just… complicated.” She spun the stolen ring on her finger. “I’m trying to figure it out.”
I arched a brow. “How fortuitous that my sin is tailored to working complications out.”
She half-heartedly rolled her eyes.
“Okay, then. Let’s see your deductions in action. I had another vision after we escaped the chopping block.” Lore looked uncomfortable, which made me home in harder on every detail. “I watched as someone betrayed their loved ones and sent them to their deaths. It was… brutal.”
“And?”
“Whoever’s memory that was, she liked it. Their fear, their hurt. It was beyond terrible to sit through, let alone to live through. I couldn’t imagine ever being that cold or cruel. To anyone, let alone someone I loved. Their expressions will haunt me forever.”
I let the information settle into the vault of my mind and turned it over, examining it from all angles.
I was growing more confident that there weren’t any mentions of visions or memories being part of the tests. It was clearly emerging as a pattern, though.
It was possible Nyantha’s power was slowly being unlocked from the book and was somehow corrupting Lore’s mind. It was a variable I hadn’t accounted for.
But Lore was also getting stronger with her dreamweaving, as was evident by her shifting stories before the Liber Noctem could. I had begun to doubt whether she was a dreamweaver, but that fear was now laid to rest.
“We should focus on your magic,” I said. “Maybe better control over it will help block the visions.”
And if it was Nyantha’s power seeping in, it would hopefully prevent it from getting worse.
After studying me for long moment, she fished around inside her dress and pulled out the phoenix tear. It emitted a low hum, like a cat purring for its favorite person. It almost made my skin crawl.
I moved away from where I’d paused by the window, my focus locked on the object in her hand.
“Has it always made that sound when you hold it?”
She shook her head. “I felt it more than heard it before. This is definitely new.”
My gaze narrowed as I tried to sort out why that might be.
Thus far, none of this was following any of the myths and legends I’d read about the phoenix tear or the Trials. Or her dreamweaver power.
Unease worked its way back in. There was another anomaly I couldn’t account for—the Liber Noctem.
I’d assumed it would remain close to the dreamweaver while the Trials were in play.
That it would want to closely monitor the situation to twist it as needed.
Xavier wasn’t on the boat, so how was the book still digging its claws into Lore?
I wondered if it could move from host to host, then promptly dismissed the thought.
I had to believe I’d sense that dark power.
“Try to shift us to a new story.”
She closed her eyes, then snapped them open again.
“Shouldn’t you… hold my hand or skirt, or something? What if I go flying through another portal?”
I crossed the chamber and knelt before her, offering my hand, palm up. “Scared you’re going to lose me, Peaches?”
She rolled her eyes, but I didn’t miss the way her skin flushed.
“Just take my hand or I’ll leave you with the pirates as punishment.”
I swore under my breath and her delighted laughter caused one thread of worry to loosen. Somehow, that created a new set of strain.
One I refused to delve into, for fear of what it might reveal.