Kingdom of the Feared (Kingdom of the Wicked, #3)(37)

“Why?”

He looked like he didn’t wish to answer, probably because he wasn’t used to sharing information so freely, but he relented. “There’s a small chance you may not survive the transformation.”

“You just said immortality always wins.”

“I say a lot of things I believe to be true. That doesn’t make it fact.”

“And yet here I stand,” Vittoria interjected, “fully restored.”

“You rule over death,” he snapped. “Of course you’d survive.”

I held Envy’s stare. Six months ago, if someone told me I’d be considering taking the word of a prince of Hell over that of my twin, I would have thought them mad. I thought of Wrath’s conviction about his brother—how he was no murderer. If my husband trusted him, then so would I.

Plus, I wasn’t sure what he meant by my not being “ready,” but I knew I certainly wasn’t ready to make that decision. Spell-lock or not, I liked my heart where it was.

“If my heart is the only thing standing in your way,” I asked Vittoria, “why not just take it?”

“She can’t,” Envy said. “You must choose to let it go.”

“Or?” I asked, searching my twin’s face. “What’s the consequence?”

Vittoria exhaled. “You’ll die. Just as they’d always intended. We were never supposed to remember what we are. The night we took our amulets off? It made a fissure in our curse. That’s why she warned us against switching them. They weren’t going to alert the devil. They were going to begin a chain reaction that would set us free, another one of their prophecies. No one wants to free vengeance goddesses, especially when they’d wronged them.”

“How did you learn of this?” I asked.

“A spell book whispered its secrets to me. Soon after I’d taken my amulet off and had given it to you, my latent ability was unlocked, and it grew stronger over time, the whispers becoming louder and more insistent that I act. One day the whispers led me to the first book of spells. That’s how I learned the way to remove my own spell-lock.”

It was true. I’d read the entry in her journal that mentioned the whispers and Vittoria’s desire to understand. I moved away from the cell bars and collapsed onto the mattress, dust motes puffing up from it in a blast.

Nonna knew this whole time. She’d not only known, but she’d also been the one to bind us into our mortal forms. Knowing we’d eventually die—trapped as mortals—if we didn’t willingly choose to break the spell-lock. Our lack of education in offensive spells made sense now. All of it did. And I hated it. I wanted to keep fighting against it, but it all fit.

“But we were children. We grew up. How is that possible?”

“Do you remember traveling to that cabin in the woods? The one with Nonna’s friend?” Vittoria suddenly asked. I nodded, my unease growing. “How did we arrive there? How did we get home? Why was it so brutally cold and covered in snow? It felt a lot like here, didn’t it?”

Recently I had wondered the same thing. Had questioned the true purpose for that visit and how I couldn’t remember little details like traveling there and returning home. All I could remember were the cashmere gloves, the bubbling cauldron…

I felt the first prickle of tears forming and locked my jaw together. Our memories, our whole lives, nothing was real. It was all magic and lies and betrayal. And yet it still felt real.

“What about our parents?” I asked. “Did they know?”

Something like pity entered Vittoria’s eyes. “I’ll be back later to see what you decide. I don’t suggest waiting too long to make up your mind. Wrath won’t fight the poison off forever. He’s immensely powerful, but not against a magical poison crafted by Death.” She looked to my wound again. “And that needs to heal, or your choice will be made for you.”

“How?”

“If you die naturally, I’ll just bring you back. Without your mortal heart.”

“You could bring me bandages and supplies.”

“You’re right. I could.” Vittoria cocked her head. “But I won’t.”





I’d been lying on the mattress for only a few minutes, staring at nothing while trying to process everything I’d learned, when Envy appeared above me. His glare was impressive. A little haughty, a little vexed, and as brutally intent as I’d ever seen.

“Do you recall the Stars of Seven?” he asked.

“You asked me that before.”

“And you didn’t deign to respond.”

“In case you failed to notice,” I said, a bite in my tone, “we were interrupted.”

“Are you going to lie there and sulk all evening? Or focus on the task at hand?” His voice was crisp with annoyance. How dare I not immediately heed his royal demands.

Aside from a murder I wasn’t certain was truly a murder, there was the blood retribution on Vittoria, Wrath’s poisoning, and everything I’d just learned of my family to contend with in a short amount of time. My world was crashing down faster than Greed’s gaming hall, and Envy ought to crawl back to his corner and leave me to think for a few minutes. I needed to set an achievable list of goals, and at the moment, I was struggling to string together a single thought.