Chapter 5 #2
“We were once Champions,” Pernella said. “And now we are bound to Temptation.”
I wanted more answers, and here they were, served up to me on a plate. However, my exhaustion overpowered my desire to understand this new world, and I didn’t want to get entangled with these strangers who clearly had other plans than answering my questions.
“Hell doesn’t end hunger or desire, only amplifies them,” Auron whispered. “There’s no need to be ashamed of what you want.”
“Well I don’t need anything,” I said, my voice angrier. “Leave.”
Auron’s smile widened, a hint of something seductive visible on his face, but he inclined his head. Without another word, they left, the door closing behind them.
I exhaled, leaning against the stone walls, ready to collapse. I couldn’t remember what I’d done to deserve this . . .
I had flashes of fragmented memory.
Blood on my hands.
Stars swirling in my vision.
A frightened voice – Tobias’s voice – calling my name.
None of it made sense. My past wasn’t coherent, and I wondered whether Hell had taken it from me . . . or if I’d started forgetting long before I arrived in this gods-forsaken place.
I stared at the crimson sky through the glass doors, its glow radiating over the sprawling landscape.
I pushed the doors lightly, and they gave way to a balcony.
The palace appeared to stand in the centre of the domain.
All around it, towers leaned unnaturally, their pointed spires piercing the swirling clouds, while other buildings seemed to sag, slouching against one another as though exhausted.
The streets were veins, twisting and branching, some illuminated in warm red light and others swallowed by shadow.
Way down below, I saw figures scuttle around.
In the far distance, the mountain range stretched around the land.
I couldn’t see beyond, although I already knew what was out there – red barren wastelands.
I had nowhere to go.
I was trapped here.
A hiss caught my attention, and my eyes went skyward just in time to see a leaf floating down from the clouds.
Its edges glowed red like it had been kissed by fire.
It drifted down to the balcony, but before it landed, the leaf transformed.
Where there was a burning leaf, now fluttered a black moth.
I froze, watching as its wings beat faster and faster, before it burst apart into shards of glass. I jolted back, my hands over my face to protect myself from the vicious flying splinters. When I looked again, where I expected a puddle of glass, instead lay a delicate piece of parchment.
I hesitated, my fingers trembling as I reached for it. It was warm to the touch, softer than anything that had any right to exist in Hell.
The elegant script read:
Champion, you are hereby summoned to face an infernal trial in the Domain of Fear.
As I stared at the words, an invisible pull tugged at my chest.
The message wasn’t just an invitation.
It was a command.
I took a breath and stepped back into what was supposedly my very own chambers.
I crossed to the wardrobe. Inside hung floor-length gowns.
A little too delicate for a walk in Temptation.
I’d spent enough time in the village to not care for exquisite clothing.
But, the colours were quite beautiful. Obsidian silk, plumy velvet, iridescent satin that shifted from blue to silver in the light.
The wardrobe’s bottom drawers mostly stored accessories, including embroidered corsets, masks and lace stockings.
I gave up and decided a rest on the bed wasn’t a bad idea after all. But lying atop the silk sheets was an outfit fit for a warrior. A brown sculpted leather bodice with a flared hemline and reinforced leather trousers to match.
The hairs on my arms lifted. Was this a gift? A warning? A trick? Maybe connected to the invitation I’d received.
I hadn’t heard anyone come in, and the outfit was most definitely not there when I first entered the room.
I stepped towards it slowly, half-expecting the clothing to go up in flames. But it didn’t, and I released my overactive brain. The fact that I was in Hell was sending me on a sceptical voyage every second.
I ran my fingers over the material. They looked about my size. I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to find someone watching.
There was no one in the room, nor anyone peeking inside from the hallway. The doors were shut, and I was alone.
My tattered clothes begged to be washed or discarded altogether. But I couldn’t bring myself to part with them. They were a piece of home, no matter how worn they’d become. Besides, could anything in Hell come without a price?
I shoved the parchment into the pocket of my skirt and realised the cheese and meats I’d stashed earlier were gone.
Tobias . . .
The thought of my brother going hungry clenched my heart.
Squaring my shoulders, I strode to the ornate doors and cracked them open. The corridor beyond was lit by glass lamps lining the walls, their soft glow a surprising comfort in this place.
I didn’t care what it took – dragging answers out of Elise, confronting Leander – I was done waiting. It was time to get the truth.