After an indeterminate amount of time of descending and ascending a few mountain peaks, our carriage abruptly came to a halt. Wrath peered outside, his expression once again carefully set into that cold, unforgiving mask.
“We’re here.” He reached for the handle, then paused. His muscles were tense beneath his well-tailored suit. He shook his head once, then looked at me. “Should you find yourself in need of a partner, I will dance with you.”
Before I could react, he shoved the door open and exited the carriage. His hand appeared from the shadows, waiting for mine. I gave myself a moment to gather my emotions. I hadn’t lied to Wrath about the cause of my nerves, but I hadn’t expressed all of the reasons behind my pounding heart. I would now have an opportunity to speak with every demon prince of Hell. And one of them, quite possibly, had orchestrated my sister’s murder.
Much would either be gained or lost over the next few days. And, if my sister’s murderer was here, there was no telling if he’d try to rip my heart from my chest, too.
If I was about to enter into a battle for my life, at least I had Wrath at my side.
His fingers tightened on mine as I stepped from the carriage and took in House Gluttony. It was massive, if unusual in design. A cross between open Roman terraces with tall arched windows and medieval towers. It was built into the side of a steep mountaintop and looked like something out of a gothic fairy tale.
“Prepare yourself.” Wrath escorted me up a small flight of stairs and stopped just outside the castle’s grand entrance. “My brother’s debauchery knows no limits.”
Words failed me as we walked inside House Gluttony. The prince of this circle did not hide his namesake sin or vices. Immediately upon entering the palatial receiving foyer, we were greeted by the most scandalous scene I’d ever borne witness to.
A table the size of four oversized mattresses was prominently on display, forcing guests to squeeze around it if they were to enter the castle beyond. The table was not covered in food or wine. It was covered in lovers. Some were engaged in acts I’d never dreamed of.
On one end, a woman lay naked, her legs spread wide as a man poured a trail of chocolate sauce over her breasts, down her stomach, and across the apex of her body. He tossed the jug aside, dropped to his knees and began feasting. There was no romance, no seduction. Only pure, animalistic hunger. Not that the woman seemed to mind.
My attention darted to the opposite end of the table, where a young man lay with an arm bent behind his head, watching as his partner sucked whipped cream from his arousal, and another lover entered her from where she was bent over. My face flamed at the erotic scene.
Before I’d learned that Pride wasn’t my intended, Wrath had mentioned his brother inviting lovers into our bed. I now understood what he meant. I also knew with vivid clarity what Fauna had been asking when she’d inquired about taking my mouth to Wrath.
“My brother enjoys shocking guests upon their arrival.” Wrath’s low voice at my ear sent a shiver skittering along my spine. “His subjects are all too happy to participate in his favorite vices. The lovers here want to be seen. They desire for us to overindulge in their pleasure. Our attention feeds them as their trysts feed us. It will not be this way throughout the entire House.”
Wrath’s hand on my back did not uproot my feet from where I’d planted them. “Will Gluttony’s influence make me do that? In front of everyone?”
Wrath followed my gaze, his own expression inscrutable. “No.”
I subtly studied the demon at my side. He was completely unaffected by all of the naked bodies and grunts and groans. He might be gazing upon furniture, noting it was there to sit upon, but worth no more than a cursory glance. The same could not be said for me. I tore my attention from where the man was licking and sucking with fevered abandon.
“How can you be sure? Lust managed to influence me. As did Envy. I’m sure your brother can make me do whatever he pleases with whomever he pleases I do it. Maybe our lessons weren’t enough. Maybe—”
“Breathe. No one will touch you while we’re here, Emilia. It would be an act of war and we’re all gathered with the understanding of temporary peace. You belong to House Wrath. If they forget, I will take pleasure in reminding them.”
One look into his harsh features drove his promise home. I had little doubt this prince would tear someone limb from limb if they laid a finger on me without my consent. I wanted that power. I wanted to know safety at my own hand and almost swore I had once upon a time. Perhaps that was why I’d felt so envious when I’d first met Envy and he’d used his influence on me. I longed for the power to defend myself and my loved ones.
My focus drifted back to where the man knelt between the woman’s thighs. He worked her now with mouth and hand. A female lover moved to her chest, adding more whipped cream and licking her skin clean before adding another dollop.
Gluttony wished to shock his guests, to unnerve them. Except most were from this realm and had likely witnessed much more debauchery. No, this tableau was not for all of his guests. This was for me. To unsettle the mortal guest of honor long before I entered his ballroom.
And he’d almost succeeded.
Nakedness, people seeking sexual pleasure, no matter how much I kept trying to move past it, the mortal way of thinking of them as wrong and shameful kept creeping back in. They kept shocking and embarrassing me because deep down, I still worried about being ruined by human notions of scandal. Most of all, I kept worrying about what others would think.
Enough. I’d had enough of falling back into old fears. I strode over to the table and dipped my finger into a bowl of whipped cream, then slowly turned to Wrath as I licked it off. There wasn’t anything in his expression now that spoke of boredom or disinterest. He tracked each movement as if committing it to memory.
A waiter appeared, holding a tray of champagne flutes.
I gave Wrath a small, devious smile and snagged a glass of sparkling demonberry wine. “Cheers to being scandalized.”