Envy (Dark Waters Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-five:

It took an hour before Gluttony finally came down. By then, Priscilla was comfortable against me, head on my chest. Her hand occasionally traced lines over my shirt. Her plan of stress relief worked; on both ends. I'd forgotten how free I felt after feeling her love. Her stress reliever strategy.

"Is there coffee?" Gluttony asked from the stairs. I sat up fast when he spoke, then stood when he leaned against the Bannister for support. His wounds weren't as bad as the night before, but parts of his face were still deeply bruised. I could make out the red gashes under his beard.

"Um, no," I shook my head, "there is water, though." I pointed at the kitchen. "I can bring you one if you—"

"No, no." Gluttony waved a hand in the air, shaking his head. "I'll just sit for a minute if that's all right." He glanced at Priscilla. "May I?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah." Quickly jumping up from her spot on the couch, she let Gluttony have the entire sofa.

He slowly made his way over, and with a pained grunt, he dropped onto the far right. Immediately, he leaned back against the pillows and closed his eyes. I wanted to ask him how he was feeling—though I thought that was a dumb question considering what he'd been through. But I also felt like I should apologize. He was put in that position because of me, and what was I supposed to do now? How could I make it up to him?

His eyes slowly opened just as a key pressed into the house's front door. The three of us focused on it as it opened, and Gabriel walked in. He flipped his keys in his hands before rolling his head around his shoulders and locking the door behind him.

"You came back in time," Gluttony said.

I glanced back at my old friend. "In time for what?"

Gluttony smirked, shaking his head. "I told you I would answer your questions right." He coughed. "I owe you that much after... everything."

My eyes widened. He had promised me answers—after I demanded them, then left him to fight Wrath and Lust by himself. To think he'd still give me them. Did I deserve them?

"Can I ask questions?" Priscilla squeaked, twiddling her fingers. "If that's okay..."

"Ask him questions?" Gabriel put his keys on the kitchen counter. It wasn't hard, but it was enough that their clink echoed into the living room. I glanced at him to see the irritation on his face. A little bit of betrayal. If anything, at this point, I thought Priscilla was owed answers, too. Gabriel's seemed vague.

"Yes, him," she said. "Maybe a demon will give me honesty, unlike angels who lie."

Gabriel lowered his head, exhaling sharply through his nose. "Some parts of this plan weren't mine to tell," he said, lifting his gaze. "I said the same thing to Octavio here."

Priscilla's eyes slid over to me. "He told you about this plan?"

I shook my head, licking my lip. "He told me just about as much as you know," I touched my chest, "about how we're alive because they need us."

"Right." Gluttony cleared his throat, straightening as much as he could on the couch. His body fell forward, his forearms landing on his knees. He sighed as he shook his head. "We saved you," he said, then looked at Priscilla. "Both of you."

"But why?" Priscilla hissed. "I need more than just it was that we broke the rules, more than everything could've crumbled because of us—"

Gluttony lifted his head. "That's what we wanted," he said. "To shatter the realms and stop this stupid tradition of murder."

I licked my bottom lip. That's what Gabriel told me; they were both tired of Pure souls and the need for demons to kill them. But I didn't think that was Priscilla's question.