Death and Desire (Love in Cairo #1)

Chapter Eight

R acing along the shadowed corridors of the massive palace was only driving Violet to madness. When she finally reached a door and opened it, she collapsed from exhaustion on the cold marble floor.

It was the same chamber she’d abandoned hours ago. Anubis turned in the arched entrance to the balcony and regarded her with brilliant gold eyes.

A sob caught in her throat, and she suppressed a shiver—but not from the cold, unrelenting stone beneath her or the unyielding maze he considered his home. Her body trembled regardless of her attempt to rein in her visceral reaction to this place, to him.

“Am I in hell?” Violet asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Anubis snorted. “Hardly.”

“Why am I trapped here? Why do I go in circles when all I wish to do is leave?” Panic clawed at her heart. “Am I never to see my family again?”

With measured steps, he approached, stopping just as his sandaled feet reached the pristine hem of her gown, where it flared around her like flower petals strewn across the earth. He extended a black, clawed hand.

“Come with me.”

Violet shrank back, eyeing him with distrust. “Why?”

“I vow no harm will come to you while you are in my care.” His golden eyes glistened in the dim light.

“How can I possibly trust you?” Violet tried to dig her fingers into unrelenting marble. “You’ve brought me here against my will.”

“You are under my protection,” he replied simply, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“You call this”—she waved her hand to indicate the opulently carved room before her—“ protection ?”

“Would you rather I had let you drown in the Nile?”

“No.” She sighed. “But couldn’t you have taken me to Cairo...or at the very least, dropped me on the riverbank?”

“Would you rather I left your unconscious form for crocodiles to feast upon?” He inclined his canine head.

Violet hadn’t thought of that, honestly. She was so distracted by the odd being before her, it took a moment to think. She bit her lip to stifle an incredible, overwhelming urge to laugh. He looked so much like her father’s old wolfhound, soaking wet from rain, regarding her with such a look. An unladylike snort escaped her, although she couldn’t bring herself to care. She hid her twitching lips behind her hand.

“The thought of being devoured by crocodiles amuses you?” Anubis straightened, his hand still outstretched.

“If you were in my position, you would find all of this so preposterous, there would be no recourse but to laugh at the absurdity.”

“You think me absurd?” His voice deepened, taking on a darker edge.

“Would you not think it absurd to find yourself plagued by the company of a god?” She scoffed, slowly pulling herself to her feet, pointedly ignoring his outstretched hand.

“You have a valid point.” He clenched his hand into a fist and returned it to his side.

“Do you make it a habit to befriend and kidnap innocent women?” Violet brushed her skirt, noting a slight tremor in her hand as she did so.

“Innocent, are you?” Anubis arched a dark brow. “We shall see about that, little thief.”

“You repeatedly call me that. Little thief . What do you mean?”

“It means exactly what I said.” Anubis stepped around her and exited the room.

“Is that why you brought me here?” Violet stumbled after him, running her hand along the wall as she kept pace. “Have I taken something from you?”

Anubis did not reply. His broad form took up much of the hallway ahead of her, blocking the light.

Violet fell into silent contemplation. He’d given her answers, and yet, none of them made sense. She craved details he seemed unable—or unwilling—to share. With a sharp exhale, she quickened her pace to keep up with him. Frustration coiled in her gut.

When he finally came to a halt, Violet collided with his back. He was like a stone wall shrouded with velvet, but warmth radiated from him. Her fingers itched to reach out and stroke the broad muscular back. Unable to resist the temptation, she lifted her hand and extended her arm.

He turned and she jumped, retracting her arm to her side, clenching her hand in a fist.

After regarding her for a brief moment, he turned to a door on his left. The solid wooden mass swung open, and a vibrant golden light filled her vision. She blinked, again shielding her eyes from the unexpected brilliance.

When her vision adapted, she gasped at the sight before her. Gauzy curtains fluttered from the ceiling, encircling a crystalline pool in the center of the room. The soft burble of water from a fountain filled the air. Delicate orbs of light hovered throughout the room, filling it with light.

Anubis gestured toward the pool. “After you.”

“What is this place?” Violet asked, her tone stricken with awe as she stepped into the warm chamber. “It’s beautiful.”

“These are healing waters.”

Violet spun to face him.

Anubis leaned against the doorway, watching her, golden light dancing across his black skin. In this light, she could make out the details of his features, the intricate design on his garments, the bands of gold clasped around his wrists and biceps. His muscular physique was defined by shadows, the power beneath his calculated, graceful movements.

For all his cold, intimidating presence, this creature who had saved her was magnificent. His gold eyes held no malice, but muted curiosity gleamed in their depths. It was difficult to read his expression, given his likeness to a hound more than a man. And yet, she could not help admiring the size and breadth of him. Strength radiated from him in waves, and his muscles stood prominently beneath his dark skin.

How soft is it ? Violet shook her head and turned back to the pool.

“Healing waters?” She ignored the draw of his presence and investigated the room instead.

“The reason I brought you to this place.” He nodded to the shimmering surface. “Bathe in it and you will be restored. Only then can I return you to the land above.”

“You brought me here...to heal me?” She looked at him with newfound curiosity. “Why not take me to the hospital in Cairo?”

“Your injuries were too severe. You would have died.”

A smile split her lips, even as she shivered at the morbid possibility. “Everyone will think I’m dead.”

“Time has no meaning here.” Anubis crossed his arms over his broad, bare chest.

“So you will return me before anyone realizes I’m gone?”

“Not exactly.”

“What game are you playing?”

“I do not play games.” His demeanor didn’t budge. Stoic, he gestured to the pool. “Now bathe and get some rest.”

“Why save me?” Violet asked, crossing the space between them.

His eyes flared. “It is not your time.”

“How can you possibly know my time?” She grasped the locket as thoughts of her mother filled her mind’s eye. Her voice cracked. “How can we possibly know when it’s our time?”

His gaze dropped to her hand tightening around the small tether to her mother.

“You miss her.”

Violet blinked away tears, a waspish retort lodging in her throat. “I...don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Your mother.” Anubis’s voice softened a fraction, belying his sympathy but maintaining his cold, indifferent facade. “You miss her, don’t you?”

“Not that it matters to you.” Violet dropped her hand, releasing the locket. “But yes.”

“You would give anything to see her again?”

“I would.”

Anubis nodded. “Bathe.”

His abrupt transition left her spinning. “Not until you tell me why I’m really here.”

“When the time is right, I shall reveal everything. Now go bathe.” Anubis retreated from the room, the door closing behind him with a thud.

Violet searched the room for something to hurl at the door. Surely the satisfaction of hearing something shatter would improve her mood. Alas, there was nothing but the gurgling pool with soft warm linens beside it.

She quickly pulled the delicate gown from her body and stepped into the water. Warmth tingled, drawing her deeper into its soothing embrace. When she dropped beneath the surface, it was as though her whole body were alight with pulsing heat. It sank deep into her, touching her very soul.

Breaking the surface, she sighed at the delightful sensations surrounding her. No bath...no pool had ever been as relaxing as this. She lounged against the edge and closed her eyes.

Nothing about this situation made any sense. There was no rhyme or reason to the things she’d experienced in his presence.

Perhaps she was dreaming.

Surely this couldn’t be real.

None of this was real.

It was a dream, she assured herself as she stepped reluctantly from the water and wrapped herself in a clean linen. Her hair would never dry like this. She wrapped it in another linen and let the edges trail down her bare back. If only she had something to untangle her hair...

A golden comb appeared on a small table beside her.

When she unbound her hair and drew the comb through it, it glided through the thick curls effortlessly.

That settled it. This was a dream. Anyone with long, curly hair would agree.

When she searched the room for clothing, she found only a set of what looked like silk pajamas. She pulled them on and sighed at how the texture of the fabric felt against her body.

Retreating the way she’d come, Violet located the bedroom in which she’d awoken. It lay empty. Frowning, she plopped onto the plump mattress.

Anubis wasn’t here. Why in the blazes was she disappointed by his absence?

“I brought you something to eat.”

Violet’s heart jumped at the sound of his voice. He stood before her, holding a tray laden with fruits, cheeses, and bread heavy with thick, dark jam, a goblet sitting beside the plate. He set the feast on the nightstand.

“Time is of no consequence here, but hunger is?” Violet shifted beneath his scrutiny.

“No, but you still must eat.”

Half tempted to ignore the delicious morsels on principle, Violet knew this was not a battle to wage with a deity. Defiant, she glared at him, plucked a grape from the plate, and popped it into her mouth. The sweetness burst on her tongue, and she moaned in appreciation. She gathered the cluster in her hand, continuing to eat in silence.

“Does this form make you uncomfortable?” Anubis’s question broke the stillness.

She shook her head.

“But you prefer my human form?”

“It’s less intimidating.” She ate another grape.

“Would you feel more relaxed if I resumed that form?”

“I would feel more relaxed if I were in my bed at the hotel in Cairo.”

“All in due course.” Anubis straightened, his body flexing, his muscles tensing. “Rest.”

When he turned to leave, panic seized her at the thought of being alone. Violet bolted off the bed, grabbing his wrist. Her jeweled bracelet warmed as it brushed his thigh.

Anubis turned slowly, his gaze coming to rest on her hand clasped around his wrist. She stroked the back of his clawed hand with her thumb. Soft and warm, like satin in the sunlight.

“Thank you,” she murmured. Whatever embers glowed between them ignited flickering flames bursting somewhere in her chest.

She couldn’t trust him... shouldn’t trust him. And yet, something bound them together. Circumstance or fate, she couldn’t be certain, but whatever it was...it called to him in a language neither of them understood.

His gaze locked with hers, and he inclined his head in acknowledgment. Anubis slipped his wrist from her grasp and abandoned the room without a word.

Violet collapsed onto the bed, staring at the canopy. The glowing lights around her dimmed until she was shrouded in shadow and the faint glow of red moonlight drifting into the room through the balcony doors.

No one would believe her. Good thing this was only a dream. She would wake in the hospital in Cairo to the company of her overwrought father and chastised brother.

Why did she feel a pang of loss at the thought of leaving this place?

At forsaking him .