Fifty-Eight #2
“It helps to fully understand the chalice first. The Chalice of Memoria is carved with symbols and runes. So it not only siphons memories, but when activated properly can grant immortality, strike an enemy down, or give someone infinite wealth. Or anything else they desire. It is an object of immense and terrible power that predates even the oldest demons in the realm. The Aether Scrolls contain the spells needed to activate the chalice.”
“All the players were after the same prize, then.”
Envy lifted a shoulder. “The Chalice of Memoria can become anything for anyone, making it unique to any individual. I imagine that’s why Lennox used it.”
“Why can’t you give your court memory stones to help?”
“That would be rather convenient, wouldn’t it?
” He gave her a wistful smile. “Memory stones only work when the person purging the memory recalls what they’d like to forget with clarity.
Since the memory fog started, my court cannot recall in enough detail.
Even though it’s been a slow descent into madness, when it first started, we weren’t prepared.
The fog only lasted for a few moments, easily passed off as tiredness.
It wasn’t until things got much worse that I understood.
Then it was too late to offload any memories to the memory stones. ”
Camilla seemed as frustrated by that as he had been.
“Who has the scrolls?”
He hesitated. This was information even his second-in-command didn’t know.
“I do. But… I can’t access them now.”
“Why not?”
“Because I cannot summon my wings.”
“Expand on ‘cannot summon’ them, please.”
“My wings are still there, under my skin, waiting. Sometimes the need to summon them… is uncomfortable. But I can’t risk it.
Yet. I do not have enough power to hold my court together at the same time.
Especially when seeing Lennox is inevitable.
I cannot waste an ounce of reserves before I fight him. ”
“And how do your wings relate to the scrolls?”
He thought of the single emerald feather Lennox had sent him, the mockery of the gesture. “After the chalice was stolen, I had the scrolls fused with my wings to keep them out of enemy hands. Think of them like invisible tattoos, I suppose. It’s an ancient demon trick.”
Camilla stared, stunned. “You’ve had access to them this whole time?”
“Not truly. As my court weakens, so does my power. And they mean nothing without the chalice.”
“But you fought those beasts and the vampire prince,” she argued. “How is your power that diminished?”
“Brute force, darling. Not magic.”
“What about the Hexed Throne?”
“I stabbed it with my House dagger, no magic needed.”
Envy clasped her chin, drawing her gaze to his.
His tone hardened. “ This look is exactly why I haven’t told anyone. I am not yet defeated, Camilla. Do not pity me.”
She bared her teeth, a lovely little feral animal hiding behind her pretty, cultured smile.
“I don’t pity you. I’m simply trying to make sense of your story.”
“Truth for truth.” His attention sharpened on her. “Time for you to share with me, Miss Antonius.”
Camilla pointed to the carvings.
“I believe the scales here represent Libra. These circles are the sun and moon. The sun sits on one scale and the moon on the other. They’re equal in size, but the moon is lower, heavier.”
She dropped her finger to an intriguing creature.
“At first, I thought this was simply a stylized satyr, but look closely. The legs and horns of a goat are likely a depiction of Pan.” She dragged her finger across a series of dots and lines. “This half-goat, half-fish also symbolizes the sea goat.”
“And a sea goat relates how?”
“Simply put, this geometric design is the constellation Capricornus. Pan standing beside it is the biggest indication.”
She followed the carvings up—past what looked like crude depictions of evergreen branches to the top, where a sword dripped blood, a crescent moon shadowed on its blade.
“This is basically a carved set of instructions on how to activate the pillar.”
A chill caressed his spine. “Camilla… you’re brilliant.”
He went to prick his finger, but she stopped him.
“Not your blood. Mine.” She nodded at the pillar. “The symbols all indicate a date. The evergreens, the constellations, the moon. Everything represents the winter solstice. The longest night.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
Something flickered in her expression. “It’s my birthday.”
He sensed a partial lie. “The date can vary for mortals—”
“We’re not in the mortal realm.”
“But the Pillars were carved thousands of years ago. By your own admission you weren’t born then.”
“Envy…”
Something in her tone made the skin along Envy’s spine prickle.
“There’s something I—”
A deep rumble shook the ground, splintering the marble floor. They were almost out of time. Envy flashed a grim smile. “Now, Miss Antonius. Whatever you have to say—let it wait.”
A war raged behind her gaze. “It shouldn’t be delayed. You really ought to—”
Another crack split the floor near the mouth of the cavern. She flinched.
“We don’t have the luxury of time, Camilla. Activate the Pillars, quickly, now.”
She looked torn, but finally heeded out of necessity.
Once they made it through the next several hours, Envy might consider the possibility of breaking the rules he’d set for himself so long ago. Because he knew where they were headed next: the Wild Court.
Maybe if he could face his own demons there, he could pursue Camilla after all.
Because, truth for truth, Envy would have to admit: one night hadn’t nearly been enough.
He was starting to want much more.
Not starting . He wanted more before she’d ever left his side.
And with the game nearly won, perhaps he could have it all.
“When you’re ready,” he said, handing her his House dagger, hilt first. “Let’s end this.”