Caged by Damnation (Caged #2)(30)
In my hands, I held what at first appeared to be a small crown. However, after closer inspection it was obviously a diadem. Walking over to a nearby mirror, I placed it on my head, careful not to ruin the waterfall braid Scrye had created.
The diadem was white gold and rested on my forehead. At the center was a full moon and crescents laid on either side. Chains arched from the front to the closure in back with stands that hung, circling my hair. At the end of each of the descending chains were small charms carved from various stones. It was lovely and brought tears to my eyes.
Whisper then explained that the diadem would block her telepathic ability. She guessed that I would be uncomfortable with her gift and created the diadem specifically with me in mind. The pure elegance, coupled with the thoughtfulness of the gift, was astounding.
I soon found myself standing in Aria's great hall. The lights were dimmed with cathedral ceilings and chandeliers handing from the highest perches. A wooden table rested on a burgundy rug large enough to fit an army, and took up the middle of the room. Sound carried from the outer courtyard and the faint scent of hay lingered near the open windows.
"Sorry that took so long. I thought you would take a bit longer with the others." Aria grinned and motioned for me to sit at the table. She took her seat across from me and slid a rectangular box coated in blue suede towards me. Opening the lid, I found two glowing daggers.
"Well? Do you like them?" Excitement emanated from Aria, but I was a bit disappointed. I had no idea how to fight, let alone use daggers. "You'll never find a better set than these."
I nodded. "Aria, I love them. They are amazing, but I don't know how to use them."
"That's part of your gift. I am going to teach you. You're going to need to learn anyhow. It makes sense to learn with your own weapons. I know Death already gave you a small arsenal, but..." She tapped the box. "He didn't provide you with anything like this."
Inside, I was laughing hysterically. If only my friends could see me now. Who would have thought that I would own more weapons than a small battalion and them combined?
Aria demonstrated some maneuvering tactics with the daggers and showed me how to grip them. A clock sounded and she walked me to the door, but before I pulled the ring of the dungeon-like doors, Aria reminded me, with a hand barring me from leaving, that there was more to this visit.
"Forgetting something?" I stared, waiting for her to continue. "I hope you're not this forgetful all of the time." Aria winked, as a serious shadow cast across her expression. "My true name is Echo." Aria's voice changed with her name, taking on a haunting song that projected throughout the room. She then stepped back and I walked through the doors in a gaze. Echo's voice had a hypnotic effect on me, and before I knew it, I had walked into the hall of Ivy's domain.
My dress waltzed with the draft while I made my way towards the one Hellhound, who made me want to flee. Ahead, I noticed plants moving, as though they possessed a mind of their own, and my stomach dropped. Worried that a Venus flytrap was going to burst forth from the walls, I quickened my steps until I stood before the writhing plants, which I assumed was her doorway.
Ivy brushed the plants away from the entrance to provide a small space to walk through, and the doorway closed behind me.
"I don't have all day, you know. Quit gawking. I want to get this over with," Ivy sneered, sitting on her canopy bed.
The temptation to scream for help was consuming me, and finally did when I glanced down to see a snake twining itself around my ankles and climbing up my skirt. Everything went black after that.
Crystallized light pierced my eyes. Shards of uneven pain blared through the slumber I was tempted to wallow in. The migraine itself wasn't enough to convince my inner self that waking up was a good idea. Ivy's voice made her way through the maze of confusion to stand proudly at the center of my vision, finally convincing me to piece my memory into a cohesive pattern.
I remembered walking through a doorway of living plants, Ivy's irritation at my hesitance, and a snake curling around my limbs. Remembering the snake, I shot off the floor, nearly colliding with Ivy's face in the process.
"What's your deal?"
Spinning in a circle, I looked for the culprit that caused my faint. Why someone would allow a snake to writhe around their room was beyond me, but it made sense that of all the Hellhounds, Ivy was the one who was crazy enough to do it.
I found the monstrosity coiling around the bedpost, its brown and black markings blending in with the wood as the eyes glowed in my direction, mocking me.
"Don't tell me you're afraid of snakes?"
How exactly did she expect a normal, sane person to feel about a snake roaming free in her domain? If I'd known I would be walking into a vipers’ nest, I never would have gone there!
I let the reptile out of my vision for a moment while I stared Ivy down. "Are you serious? They bite, squeeze their prey to death, and can be venomous. What's to like?"
Ivy considered my question before calmly answering in a professor-like tone. "Snakes eat insects and mice. So you won't find any of those inhabiting my domain. I wouldn't be so sure about yours though." She smirked. "Most are not deadly to humans, though there are some exceptions. Their venom is often used in medicines, but can also be used to get rid of the people who tick me off. They are sly, quiet, and have a dark beauty that I happen to appreciate. The best part is that they don't ask asinine questions."