Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Nina
“My wicked souls, may I tempt you with something barbaric? A body rack, perhaps?”
Velvet curtains swayed in the heat, incense smouldered from silver bowls, and bodies tangled across couches without shame.
Everywhere I turned, silk robes lay discarded, voices gasped in pleasure, and Leander’s magic was stuffy enough to choke on.
His throne room felt less like a gathering place and more like a furnace, feeding on desire itself.
“We have every sensuous and tortuous contraption imaginable,” Leander laughed with delight, reclining in the centre of it all like a gluttonous king.
His beautiful dark-blonde hair was slicked back as usual, and he was topless, as hands explored his body and begged for his attention.
A man beside him rose and kissed him deeply, then trailed away into the throng of the party.
Leander flicked his hand at the other souls around him, and they dispersed into the crowd.
His eyes found mine, and he tracked my every step through the room until I was a few feet away from his throne.
“I’ve come for your relic.” My voice came out a little breathless.
“You’re still in denial.” His lips curve into a smug grin. “So you’ll fail again.”
I flinched at his words, hating the way they rang true. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
Leander stood, closing the distance in measured strides. His grip caught my chin, forcing my head back. Cobalt eyes glittered brightly as he looked down at me. “Then submit, Nina,” he said, his voice low and seductive. “Admit that you are mine.”
Heat shuddered through me at his touch and my name on his lips. I knew he was offering himself at that very moment.
“Can you feel it?” His voice dropped to a murmur as he pressed his lips against my ear. “My magic coursing through you?”
I could.
Gods, I could. It throbbed against my skin and twisted in my gut, filling me with an incredible ecstasy that made my legs sway.
What is he doing to me?
Leander’s hand moved to the back of my neck, and I leaned in to his touch. My eyes fluttered open, and I stared into Leander’s blue eyes. They were blazing with want. A sound escaped me, and a smile tugged at his lips in triumph.
He would be my undoing. I knew it. And worse, I feared that when the choice came, I’d take this over Tobias. Take everything Leander had to offer.
The bound souls were writhing in pleasure around the room, having given in to their own desires. I knew they were fuelling Leander. He was amplifying their emotions and feeding on the heat of their temptation until it ripened into desire.
I wondered if the bound souls were watching me and knew exactly what war was raging inside me.
“Is it your sin making me want you, Leander?”
There it was. I’d admitted my desire for the demon who had me trapped.
“I can’t influence your true feelings. Temptation only heightens what is already there.”
Still, I didn’t like the feeling that this wasn’t genuine. I felt out of control. He might not be forcing me into this, but I sure was under the influence of his power. And that was my fear. If Temptation wasn’t infecting me, would I even be here? Would I even be contemplating abandoning Tobias?
No.
It wasn’t right.
I’d have to find another way to win Leander’s relic. He sensed my unease and loosened his grip.
“I did warn you that you’d lose again, little Champion.”
I stepped back, my eyes darting around the room in a panic.
Leander watched me as I stumbled away and retreated through the double doors. Out in the hall, I heaved in a deep breath before a body slammed me against the wall, my skull cracking against stone.
“You smell so sweet,” a voice purred hot in my ear.
Spots danced across my vision as I fought to focus. “Tolliver?”
“Yes, pet.” His breath reeked of wine. “I’ve come to have some fun.”
I struggled against his grip, but he had me pinned, his weight crushing me up against the pillar.
“What are you doing?” I wheezed. “Get off me.”
Rage flooded my mind, but fear, too, as Tolliver’s fingers traced my lips. He pressed his nose to my hair and breathed me in. A low chuckle vibrated against my neck.
I was too shocked for words, frozen in place, terrified that Tolliver might actually take his threat all the way. I suddenly couldn’t react. I couldn’t push him off. I was speechless.
Yet . . . it was easy to imagine driving my dagger through his eye. The only problem was, my body had seized, as though I had turned to stone.
“I know you want me. And it’s about time I have my way with you.”
Then his mouth crashed against mine, foul and possessive. I wanted to tear his face off with my teeth. A burning, feral anger exploded in my chest, and I recoiled at his touch. His hand clamped down on my breast, squeezing, and his tongue forced its way into my mouth.
In his passion – the godless pig – Tolliver lifted some of his weight from my body.
Revulsion and fury somehow ripped me free from my paralysis.
I pushed him back, then used all of my energy to propel my knee into his ribs.
As he jolted sideways, I struck him, knuckles to the throat, knowing it was a vulnerable area.
Just as Leander had taught me. I twisted free with a growl, but Tolliver spat, lunging for me with long, creepy fingers.
“WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING!” A voice rumbled through the hallway.
“L-Leander,” Tolliver stammered. “We’re just having some fun. You know how it is—”
“It doesn’t fucking look like fun.”
I was a trembling mess. Tolliver, I was delighted to see, was slightly hunched, with one hand at his throat. Of course, we weren’t having fun. Leander wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly what had happened.
I wanted to kill Tolliver.
That was when the fun would start.
Leander approached me. “Nina, what happened?”
I swallowed, suddenly aware of how breathless I was.
“He tried . . . his hands were . . . he forced himself onto me,” I bit out. I couldn’t look Leander in the eye, so I just stared down at his bare feet.
“What do you want to do about it?”
“Leander—” Tolliver’s voice broke. “Please. I can’t join the Hollows. I’ll do anything else. Anything you want—”
“Shut the fuck up,” Leander growled. “Nina,” his voice was gentle as he turned to me. “What do you want to do?”
What could I do?
Sentence a soul to eternal damnation?
No.
Maybe.
Was I to blame for what he’d done? For letting it happen?
I needed time to process it all.
I breathed in deeply. “I just want to go back to my room.”
Tolliver chuckled softly, clearly amused by the idea that I'd walk away, allowing him to avoid any punishment.
But Leander looked furious.
Magic suddenly unwound from him like a whip. I felt it, the heat pulsing from him as magic lashed through Tolliver before I could blink, tearing flesh . . . ripping him open.
Behind Leander, and through the big double doors, the hall went still. Even the gasps stopped. It was so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Blood had splattered the floor.
Chunks of flesh were on my shoes.
I didn’t want to stare down at the remains of Tolliver.
A tremor ripped through me, and my knees almost gave out. This was the truth of Hell. Pain, hunger, and violation. A tear slipped down my face, and I brushed it away before anyone could see. It wasn’t grief for Tolliver. I was . . . overwhelmed. Everything had finally come crashing down.
“You are strong,” the whispers murmured. “We must punish the weak. We must punish the guilty.”
They were always there, waiting to guide or comfort me. And in that moment I was thankful for them.
Leander stood over what remained of Tolliver, breathing hard, fury rolling off him like a storm. His gaze snapped to me. “You might let it slide, but justice is eternal here.”
His jaw flexed, a war waging in his face. His hands curled into fists, trembling to lash out again. He looked like a man on the verge of burning down his own temple just to silence the fury.
The evening hadn’t gone the way I’d planned.
And I’d just watched a man (who did not deserve my pity) die his second death.
***
When Salazar materialised in my chambers, I was staring into the fire, wishing away the image of Tolliver’s ruined body. The flames hissed as if mocking me, their light catching on the sheen of dried blood along my boot.
It seemed that Salazar never slept. He appeared at odd hours, silent in the shadows, a gathering of smoke and gold eyes. Tonight, his form flickered near the hearth.
The memory struck again. Tolliver’s tongue against mine, his hands bruising my skin. I shuddered and pressed my palms together until my knuckles whitened. Fury came next, burning through the nausea. Rage felt safer than shame.
He’s dead now.
He will never touch me again.
“Whose flesh is that on your shoe?” Salazar’s grumbling voice threaded through the quiet.
I glanced down. “That’s Tolliver.”
“Are you hurt?”
I shook my head. My throat felt raw.
“What happened?”
I recounted the night’s events. Each word felt like scraping glass across my tongue, but I forced them out. Tolliver’s roughness. Leander’s fury. The tearing of flesh. I paused often, reminding myself that the guilt belonged to Tolliver, not me.
I am strong, and Tolliver doesn’t deserve my pity. He's a no-good, death-becomes-him bastard.
I continued sharing the story with Salazar because I needed to get it out before the memory consumed me.
When I finished, he said nothing. His eyes, molten gold and unwavering, remained focused on me. Then, "He deserved worse. But a quick death will do, I suppose.”
I didn’t answer. There was no satisfaction in it. Only an empty ache that clung to me. Even as the fire crackled, I could still feel Tolliver’s hands and taste bile at the back of my throat.
Movement in the corner of my eye drew my gaze back to Salazar.
The smoke that made up his entire being swirled and condensed.
It twisted outward, and a wisp formed itself into the shape of a hand.
I didn’t flinch as fingers touched my cheek and wiped away my tears I hadn't noticed were falling. He wasn’t just an illusion, like I had believed. I could feel the warmth of his touch.
The gesture disarmed me. A monster, offering comfort. “You’re not always just a projection then?”
His smoky head bobbed. “With enough focus, I can gather enough power to make my presence tangible. It costs me a lot of energy, so I try not to do it often.”
I nodded, pretending to understand. His tone held exhaustion, not pride.
“Will you read to me?” he asked.
I let out a faint laugh. “I don’t have any books.”
A heavy thump made me jump. A tome now sat on the table, bound in worn leather. Salazar’s form dimmed, as though the effort had drained him. He sank into a chair, perhaps exhausted from abusing his magic twice in one night.
“What’s this?” I asked softly.
“A story from my kingdom,” he said. “A very, very old story.”
With a slow breath, I opened the book as dust lifted from the pages. The faded ink was legible. A quick glance at Salazar told me he was patiently waiting, and so I began to read.
The tale was about a maiden who gave her life to save her people, and the lover who brought down empires to avenge her. The words carried a rhythm that steadied me. At some point during the hero’s rampage, Salazar interrupted to ask if I liked it.
I nodded, quick and awkward.
He made a sound that might have been a chuckle. “Good. I’ve not heard this story in a long time. It's . . . comforting to hear you read it.”
His confession surprised me. “I'm glad you shared it. I like it very much.” I took a moment to pour myself a glass of wine and gestured to Salazar, happy to pour for two.
“I don’t eat or drink up here. But . . . I do miss wine. Peaches. Berries. Anything sweet. In my prison, everything tastes like ash.”
I returned to the book, pretending not to notice the tremor in his voice. All the while, the images of Tolliver slowly drifted away, and I felt settled, in a hopeful love story. It was not the type of book I imagined a smoke monster would enjoy.
The story ended with the hero’s death, but he met it gladly, knowing he’d finally be reunited with his love in the afterlife. Silence settled over the room when I closed the book, and something in me felt lighter.
Salazar’s eyes were still on me, soft yet intense.
"Thank you,” I said. My dreams were nightmares, and my waking hours a hellscape. Reading a tale about heroes was the first peace I’d found since arriving in Hell.
Salazar looked away, the edges of his form already thinning and dissipating. “Goodnight, Nina.”
“Goodnight,” I whispered back, but he was already gone.
That night marked the last time Tolliver’s hands haunted me. In their place was the epic tale – of heroes, love, and justice – that kept me from breaking in the dark.
***
At some point during my sleep, an invite had appeared. It was on the pillow beside me, having materialised from the fabric of Temptation. The words were familiar, and I was not the least bit surprised when I read them.
Champion, you are hereby summoned to face an infernal trial in the Domain of Chaos.
It took effort not to run and hide.
I was to face the next demon, in whatever hellish nightmare they wanted to put me through.
I felt exhausted, and quite broken in all honesty.
I was close to chucking the towel in. It was tempting to end it all, and just face my future of eternal damnation.
But there was hope I could return to Tobias.
And even a sliver of it, meant I couldn't give up yet.