the seven devils [completed]

chapter thirty

NOTE: I have attached a song to this chapter because I believe it will set the mood well. Do not start it at the beginning, but later in the chapter (if you want). You will know exactly when.

God, I hope you all like this chapter because it has to be one of my favorites.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Tom watched her come down the stairs in her moonshine gown, hair pulled back as her noble face was on full display. Her eyes carried an intellectuality he had never seen in another woman, and her body moved with royal presence. In another life, she could have been one of the Graces, so effortlessly beautiful that it could drive any man insane, and in this one, so wickedly talented that she could have anyone gravel at her feet.

Her beauty was spun by the spindle of anguish, and it was rooted from a soil that allowed nothing to grow from it— the grief in her eyes, the way they dulled in the light of the chandelier, and yet carried wisdom that spluttered above the waves of darkness and desperation.

Varya was on the arm on Icarus Lestrange, and as they walked down the stairs, the rest of the group patted the boy on the back like rapacious hyenas watching a sacrifice. It irritated Tom, and he wondered if any of them genuinely saw how bright the witch was, how she was far superior to any other girl in the room. He stood by the bottom of the stairs and waited for her to come down.

He felt impatient, almost as something was pulling at him, and he frowned when he felt a sensation in his chest, something fiery that he had only felt in his most profound moments of hatred. Tom glanced up at the girl in confusion— did he truly despise her this much? Enough to feel like flames were completely engulfing his whole body. He did not understand.

When Varya reached the marble floor, her eyes immediately went to him. The boy carried a perplexed look in his eyes, but then immediately composed himself, and nodded, a signal that the objects had been planted. Varya looked at his suit, the first one that fitted him like it had been designed on his body, and the way his hair was slightly pulled back to reveal the diamond-edged face.