Sinners' Kingdom #1: The Book of Lust (Complete)

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Author's Note: An extra chapter to celebrate 25k+ reads! Thank you so much for enjoying this book. :)

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I was still warping through nothingness when I remembered — the mirror! How were we teleporting anywhere without the reflective surface Lust needed? The last thing I remembered of it was holding tight to the wooden handle right before the ceiling of the underground chamber caved. When I found myself tied up at Sarina's feet, the mirror was already gone. It must have shattered under the debris, or at least been flung into one of the thousand snowdrifts surrounding the collapsed chamber. With the furious fighting, there was no way it hadn't been trampled, if it ever made it out of the pit at all.

Yet we were moving, undoubtedly. Now that it was my second time traveling through time and space like this, the rippling of the ether against my skin was easier to process, more distinct, even recognizable. Or maybe that was because I was still bare ass naked and that much more sensitive to the almost sensual whispering all over my body. The absolute darkness made it even more eerie, stripping me of all control and even the ability to discern the physical appearance of the endless place we traveled through.

Either way, after what might have been one second or ten — it was impossible to tell as we swirled through the liminal space — I came tumbling back down... and down, and down, and down.

My stomach lurched as I abruptly plummeted. For a terrifying instant, my brain crammed my head full of images of splattering on the ground, bones cracking, blood flying. My heart slammed up into my throat as I clawed blindly for a handhold, anything I could grab that would catch me as I tumbled and rolled. A rocky crag, a branch, even a vine — I was falling into the real world, so there must be something in this void that could save me!

Bracingly cold water hit my back like a terrible wall. I gasped at the harsh slap of it and realized only too late how stupid that was. Water flooded over my face and the rest of my body as I plunged under the surface, nose and open mouth filling completely in the blink of an eye. No screaming, no breathing, even thinking was impossible. I had to get out! Surface! Air! Breathe! Now!

The swallowing was reflexive. There was no way to stop myself from gulping down water even though somewhere in the back of my panicking mind, I must have known that was only making it worse. My arms flailed, my legs thrashed, and I powered forward as hard I could, but the pain ballooning in my chest, throat, nose, everywhere just wouldn't stop no matter how far I went—!

Something grabbed me in the darkness, both arms. I kicked out once again with all the savage strength I could muster, this time to defend myself from whatever captured me, but I was powerless to free myself from the punishing grip. It yanked me in the opposite direction, towing me backward as I screamed soundlessly into the watery abyss that enveloped me...

And then freedom.

Cool air hit my face, and the violence with which I exploded out of the water sent a shower of it everywhere. Not that I could see it, but the darkness couldn't deafen me. Water spewed out of my nose and mouth as I sobbed and gagged, shaking so hard from the adrenaline that had cramped my every muscle that it would have been impossible to stay afloat if not for the squeezing grip on my upper arms. Whoever had saved me held my head and shoulders out of the water, refusing to let me sink back down into the depths.

"I had her first."

"You're mistaken, Mammon. It was me for a certainty. Sable, my love. You're all right." Something moved toward me, a large body that made the small space of water between us splash a little. "Mammon, let her go. I'm being surprisingly generous with my patience."

"Funny. Taking the words out of my mouth. She's mine now. She renounced you, for me. You need to let her go."

"A little lover's quarrel, nothing more. Besides, she still bears my mark. Run along now, brother. I must tend to my sweet little queen."

"I'll tend to you, you fucking —"

"Shut up!" I snapped, though I sounded a lot more ridiculous than I hoped when I coughed, gagged, and half-threw up, half-burped up another mouthful of water from my lungs. "The two of you just, just shut up for one second!"

I'd figured out by now that Lust was the one on my left. Greed was opposite him, hovering on my right... and also holding on to me. They had both pulled me to the surface — together. What a pair. They fought and argued nonstop, but when they wanted to, they sure did work well together, didn't they? At least it was to save me from drowning this time, and not mutilating innocent monks just trying to do their jobs.

"I'm sick and tired of you two," I continued once I caught my breath, and I angrily shrugged off Lust's hand when he soothingly stroked my back under the water. He countered by kissing my forehead and tucking my sopping wet hair behind my ear, utterly unperturbed by my rejection. Honestly, it felt like he was pleased by my reaction. What a deviant, sadistic, weird-ass — "We need to get out of this place first, wherever it is. There must be some exit if we're in a cave. Once we find light and land, then you two can get back to fighting or whatever makes you happy. I just need..." I paused to cough up more water, nose and throat burning. "Just need to get out of here first. That's all I ask. Okay?"

They responded with silence. Good. The satisfaction gave me the resolve I needed to kick my legs and move blindly in whatever direction felt right. If the Princes could see anything in this pitch black darkness that I couldn't, they would tell me.

But neither hand released me. Anger pinched what little remained of my patience, and I struggled harder to no avail.

"Get off me! I can swim."

"But you can't see?"

The Prince of Greed's voice was still rumbling and guttural, a tinge of animal in it, but now it contained a hint of suspicion, too. Excuse him? What was he getting an attitude about?

"I'm human," I said sharply. "If your eyes can see in here better than mine can, now's the time to speak up. Otherwise, we need to feel our way out of here. Or I can look by myself, but I'm not staying here treading water for nothing."

"Asmodeus," Mammon growled. "This is your fault, isn't it."

"... Yes, well..." Lust's arm slipped down around my waist, holding me in place even more firmly than before. "It was ill-planned, but the best I could do under the circumstances. I'll take excellent care of Sable in the meantime. This is only until I find a way to return her sight, that's all."

... What was he talking about? Comprehension flitted at the edge of awareness on the very brink, but it couldn't be, right? I was misunderstanding something, definitely.

"The mirror was lost," Lust said quietly. "And I needed a reflection to form the gateway, however small."

Uneasy dread lurched in my stomach. He didn't mean...

"The only reflection within reach was in your eyes. There was no time to..."

"Say it," Mammon barked. "You used her eyes as the gateway. And you paid the toll with her sight."