Everything he did was calculated. Every move, strategic. There were games he was still playing and secret agendas he had that I hadn’t begun to figure out yet. Maybe they related to my sister’s murder, and maybe they didn’t. No matter how tightly he guarded his secrets, one way or another I’d find out what he was truly after. If I’d learned anything about him at all, it was the endless lengths he’d travel to get what he desired.
I looked down at my inked arm. I’d thought the matching tattoos would vanish when I’d cast a spell of un-making to end the betrothal that same night. They didn’t.
Despite the broken magic, they kept growing like seeds that had been planted and tended. Bits of each of us fed the design: his serpents, my flowers, the twin crescent moons within a ring of stars. They were a constant reminder of my inexperience and his lies of omission.
I traced the delicate stems and petals replicated on the robe, the fabric silky and cool. It was so beautiful, the exact thing I’d choose for myself if given enough resources to have such a fine garment made. He knew that. Knew me.
Maybe more than I gave him credit for. And yet, he still remained a mystery to me.
I gathered up the robe, swung myself out of bed, and stood naked before the crackling fire. Hours ago I was near death, my skin burning from ice, not fire. He’d stayed the whole night, cradling me against his body. A body that was not ice-cold as Nonna used to claim in her stories of the Wicked. He could have summoned a royal healer to do the task.
He also could have let me die like Anir suggested. But he didn’t.
I held the fabric to my face, breathed in Wrath’s lingering scent, then tossed it straight into the flames.
FIVE
“Death by wardrobe” was destined to be the epitaph on my gravestone, thanks to Wrath’s obsession with fine clothing and exquisite fabric. There were so many dresses and skirts and bodices and corsets and tunics and stockings and delicate, lacy undergarments and silk nightgowns and dressing robes, I had to close the carved doors and step back. It was too much.
At home I’d had a handful of simple corset-less dresses and frocks made of muslin. Two pairs of shoes. Sandals and lace-up boots. A few blouses and homespun skirts. Vittoria and I would often share clothing to make our meager closet appear larger than it was.
The items inside this wardrobe were unlike anything I’d seen in the mortal world. And it wasn’t simply the daring styles and scandalous amount of skin I’d be showing. It was the vibrant colors, detailed embroidery, and whimsical nature of them.
I took a deep breath and opened the armoire again. Shoes ranging from slippers to small-heeled shoes to boots in a rainbow of dark colors lined the bottom of the wardrobe. Blacks, charcoals, deep maroons, golds, and even some dark purple and silver.
Ribbons, lace, leather. Gowns with exotic and fantastical patterns featuring thorns and serpents and flowers and fruits and glittering fabrics to rival the night sky. Silks, tulles, velvets, and something that was so soft and fuzzy I rubbed it against my cheek.
Cashmere. A half-forgotten memory sparked to life. A little cabin deep in a frozen wood; a plume of silver smoke snaking into the sky. Whispers and cauldrons and… and Nonna had given Vittoria and me cashmere gloves when we’d visited her friend in northern Italy once. I liked the material then and loved it now. I pulled the pale lavender-gray dress out and swallowed hard.
“Oh.”
Fashion in the Seven Circles was a lot more formfitting and revealing than the clothing in my world. This dress would fit like those gloves and fall to mid-thigh. If I was lucky.
It was the obscenest piece of clothing I’d ever encountered, shorter than any nightgown designed for those who plied their trade in pleasure-houses. I wondered what it would be like, confidently owning my body and sensuality, neither apologizing nor simpering to anyone.
Suddenly, I imagined wearing the dress while I picked a fight with the demon who’d chosen it…
… his gaze would darken as it roved over me in a furiously slow way, making my blood boil. I’d shove him against the nearest hard surface, breathless as he flexed his fingers on the soft fabric at my thighs, carefully considering his next move.
Perhaps his troublesome mouth would taunt and tease while he strategized ways to wring pleasure from me. He’d whisper all sorts of filthy promises, heating me to my core instead of shocking me. I’d lean in and nip at his lower lip, a warning and a plea.
I would happily inform him that I was no longer fearful of my passions or willing to deny myself. That shame was the last thing I felt when he was in my arms.
He’d kiss me then, slow and deep. A commanding exploration of my mouth, my body. Proof of making good on his wicked promises. I’d feel his desire pushing against me, hard and warm and thrilling. My satisfaction over affecting him as much would slide into need faster than I could draw my next breath. I’d press against him, wanting to feel more.
It wouldn’t take much for him to wrench the dress up over my hips, drop to his knees, and kiss his way up—
“Blood and bones.”
I shook myself from the magically induced illusion. This realm and its nudges would take a lot of getting used to. It wasn’t as strong as it was in the Sin Corridor, but that same darkly seductive magic was there, lingering, testing, teasing.
Another unfortunate complication. I’d have to carefully mind each of my thoughts and feelings. I quickly put the dress back and snatched a dressing robe, banishing thoughts of Wrath.
Thinking about the prince of this House of Sin while standing near my bed without a stitch of clothing was a courtship with trouble. After I slipped the robe on, I tied the silk belt around my waist and thumbed through the clothing once more.