Envy (Dark Waters Book 1)

Chapter Thirty:

Her, the mistress of our realm, walked a complete circle around the circle of the Seven. Those seated gasped and lowered their heads. What was left of Greed's body sputtered, which made him sink further into his seat. She paused beside him for a moment, then shook her head; disappointment was evident in her shadow.

"Mistress, I—" Wrath attempted to speak, but our Mistress immediately raised her shadowed hand to shush her. Wrath obeyed and lowered her head once more.

The Mistress of Darkness finished her full circle without looking at me, Priscilla, or Gluttony. She looked up at the hand holding Pride. She touched Pride's leg as he kicked, his feeble attempt at escaping.

"We have left you unattended for too long," she said. "The power has rushed to your head."

Her presence was powerful. I'd never felt her so up close and personal, but the amount of dark energy pushing from her very being rattled me. My heart struggled to remain calm; I struggled to stay calm. A part of me, an urge, needed to bow before her and give my allegiance. This was the influence they had. They were the creators of sins and bestowed the powers upon us, the Seven, to distribute them through the world.

And He and his massive hand—I'd never seen a body attached. I always assumed he was too big for a realm outside his own, a giant to the rest of us. But His hand wasn't meant to be evil; it always appeared to bestow a gift. Now it seemed different, and I knew Pride was the reason. He was always the reason, wasn't he?

Mistress has always been a mystery between the two powers. If they are here, she is upset. And no one wants a woman's scorn, do they?

Tears slid down Pride's cheeks as he looked down at Her. "Mistress, I can explain—" he started to say.

But she shook her head. Ignoring him, she looked at the others in the room. "Sins, please explain—how have you all allowed Pride to become so large? Your role within the realm is to distribute sins, not to become what it is." She looked up at Pride. "He is the embodiment of the power we gave him, and it is disappointing."

Each of the Sins sank further into their seat. Sloth put his head in his hands. Each of them looked ashamed, as they should. None of them had anything to say.

A sound rumbled from within the portal. His voice. "They share his pride and superiority."

She nodded. "I see."

"No!" Wrath's head shot up.

Lust lifted his hands, pleading. "Mistress, we only wanted to maintain order. That was it. We wanted to do right by the both of you."

"Hm." The Mistress of Darkness sighed and placed one hand on her hip. "To maintain order, you fight each other? The Seven cannot be strong if separated. In your selfishness, the Seven is in danger of crumbling. Because of your actions, He and I should replace all of you."

He rumbled again from within the portal. "Agreed," our sire said.

"No!" each of the Sins cried in unison. Sloth slid down to the floor, his hands pressed together, bowing to Her. Wrath and Lust did the same. What was left of Greed wobbled in his seat, hissing stench into the air.

While they pleaded and begged for their existence, Gluttony and I didn't move. We glanced at each other, and locked eyes, but what could we do? We were the Sins the others fought against. We were a part of the reason the Seven was crumbling.

I wouldn't plead for my position as Envy. I'd woken up this morning believing it was what I needed. Yet, after a few hours and having Priscilla's light in my life again, I was reminded it was never what I wanted at all...