Envy, p.1
Envy, page 1
Contents
Copyright 2022 Dylan Page
Books in the Series
Link to the Series:
Author Warning
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Envy - The Seven Sins Series
By: Dylan Page
COPYRIGHT © 2022 BY Dylan Page
Envy
Heaven and Hell weren’t the enemies everyone thought we were. The mortal plane was more like a chessboard with humans being the pieces and us the players. The divine was more bound by their rules. If there was one thing the seven deadly sins could sense, it was the dark desires of the human soul.
The heavens wept when Cain raised his blade and brother struck down brother, for the fourth sin emerged in a rage of Envy that could tear down the strongest bond.
Copyright 2022 Dylan Page
FIRST EDITION
All rights reserved.
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Edited by Angie Ojeda Hazen of Lunar Rose Editing
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Cover Design by Merel Pierce Designs
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Formatting Services by Brooklyn Cross
Just Ask Her Productions: www.justaskherproductions.com
Books in the Series
(IN ORDER OF RELEASE)
* * *
Greed – Brooklyn Cross
Lust – Drethi Anis
Envy – Dylan Page
Gluttony – Marissa Honeycutt
Wrath – Billie Blue
Sloth – Talli Wyndham
Pride – T.L. Hodel
Link to the Series:
The Seven Sins Series
My Book
Author Warning
Trigger Warning
**Warning: This book is meant for mature readers, 18+.
Envy is an 80K+ word dark romance that contains some scenes and situations that may be upsetting for some readers. Includes several triggers and sensitive material such as: fatal illness, violence, and other possible triggering elements.
Please do not read if you are uncomfortable with any of the above. Thank you.**
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead, are coincidental.
I take what belongs to me. I take what belongs to others. I take what is satisfying to me. I will take what satisfies others. I will take it all. And mine it will be. – Leviathan
The day I fell…
For once, Heaven wasn’t a paradise; it was a battlefield. That ethereal light that had always shone over utopia was now clouded over by the smoke from Lucifer’s new dragon, turning what was usually a bright rolling sky of white cloud into a murky amber. Scattered across the grassy, flower-covered plains, His angels were slowly pushing us back. The moment Lucifer returned with his army, I took up my sword, my decision already determined. I’d made my way down to the masses, caught Lucifer’s crystal blue gaze, and nodded, affirming my choice, where I stood, before fighting my way through the throng of angels, cutting them down one by one.
I’d been relentless. Ruthless, my skills with my weapon were unparalleled to the others. As a loner, I’d delved into swordplay and mastered it, hoping that I would be considered the best at something for once. That I possessed a talent or skill no one else possessed. But as always, I had come up short. Michael, beloved Michael, and his symbolic blade were seen as the fiercest warrior, His best man. Gritting my teeth, I released all my bottled frustrations, feelings of imperfection, and inadequacies, to channel all of them into the Battle of Heaven.
Though I’d been victorious thus far, I’d watched as His army proceeded to sweep its way through Lucifer’s beasts, and several angels had already been thrown beyond the shattered remains of the golden gates. Lucifer was thrown from Heaven first, clinging to the edge as he dangled, reaching for something or someone to grab onto. Maddix was gone. Lust was gone. And now, Michael was leading the charge in my direction. Despite that, I found myself now cornered, and I wasn’t about to surrender yet. Call me desperate or stubborn, but I was not going to give up until the edge of Michael’s sword was slicing through the back of my neck.
One of His angels shot at me, his wings carrying him through the air, the fool moving ahead of the others to take me one on one. His long, heavenly blade was raised high, ready to strike me down. Only these holy blades had the power to actually kill us, and I wasn’t ready to die yet. Baring my teeth, I rose to the challenge, swinging my own silver sword high to block the attack. What this idiot wasn’t prepared for was the second blade I had hidden that was strapped to my back. When our swords clashed with an echoing metallic peal that rang out over the hills of His paradise, I swung to the side, wielding my secret weapon, and struck. My blade sliced into my challenger’s side, and as I glared up, a cruel smirk spread over my face as I drank in the surprise of his expression. Twisting the blade into his body, dragging it across his middle, I made sure to cause as much damage as possible to end his life.
His light, the pure embodiment we emit as angels, dimmed, his wings twitching as they lowered on his back, and I wrenched my weapon free, the blood spattering over my exposed legs. In fact, my entire body was covered in blood, traces of smoke, and dirt from the fighting, but I didn’t care. My opponent fell limply to the ground, dead. I was trembling all over at the death surrounding me, my mind racing as I took in the sight of lifeless angels; some I’d known, some who were nameless, along with the remains of demons. As I stared at those I’d once known, I could feel my breathing quicken, my lungs soon gasping as I fought for air, my body trembling in rage and anguish, the two feelings clashing so violently in my mind that I felt like I might collapse. So much blood, so much death, so much chaos…
And then I remembered.
He forced me here, where I don’t belong. Plucked me out of the darkness of the Abyss and tried to shape me into something I’m not. Every day since, I was stuck here, trapped, surrounded by those who only reminded me of how I was not good enough, pure enough, worthy enough… I would never be enough, would never have what they were all blessed with upon their creation.
Another angel flew at me, his spear raised, shield held high, but I was ready, despite my exhaustion. He came down, moving much too quickly. He’d never be able to slow down in time. I spun to the side, flying up before he could slow and change his trajectory, and swung both blades to his throat. The spray of blood flew across my face, right into my mouth. I spat it to the ground just as his head fell at my feet and I turned to face my next adversary.
Two angels advanced upon me next, but they were nothing. I don’t even recall their names. Their faces only blended in with so many others I’d begrudged. I just wanted to get to Michael, who was making his way in my direction, his blue eyes locked on me, his expression determined and set.
He’d been the one to throw Lucifer out, to banish him from this place. My fury rose in my stomach like bile, driving me onward, and I easily cut through these two fools, kicking their bodies loose from the sharp edge of my weapons. I wanted to take him down. I wanted retribution for my fallen comrades. Our fight, this war, was all because He had lied. Because He had chosen them over us… tainted, imperfect, flawed humans were loved more than His angels.
And why? For what?
I tried so hard to exemplify the image of perfection that the others had, and yet, I always felt like I was lacking. Nothing I did was enough. Then He went and created those humans, those imperfect miscreants who chose to go against his word and his law, and yet, He chose to love them over us. Over me.
He made me what I am.
He forced me here.
And then, he abandoned me when it was clear I was not worthy.
I rolled to the ground, ducking beneath the shimmering metal of another foe’s blade, and sliced my dagger back, quickly severing the tendons of his ankles. He screamed, his legs useless, but his wings still held him aloft. Soaring up behind him, I swiftly sheathed my weapons before I gripped the muscle of the golden feathered appendages and wrenched as hard as I could, flexing my strength as I twisted and pulled. The crack of the bones breaking was so loud I was certain that everyone in a hundred-foot vicinity could hear it before he howled in agony. Seizing the hilt to one of my blades, I brought it up and easily slashed his throat, tearing through the muscle and tendons before dropping him to the grassy plain to lie with his fallen comrades. Finally, I turned to Michael, the corners of my lips lifting as we finally squared off.
Here I was, covered in bloo
I glowered at him, my rage fuelling me, giving me second wind as I prepared myself to fight to the death against someone who I’d once considered a brother.
“Surrender,” He called to me, his voice hitching a little, as if this pained him. But I knew it was an act. He didn’t care. None of them did! He’d always had it easy, always been one of His shining boys. He never had a day in his life where he questioned his very existence as I have. For him to look down upon me, displaying no genuine sympathy for how I have struggled, fills me with blinding rage. My breathing quickened, and a tightness in my chest ached. It made me feel weak, and I loathed that feeling.
“You ask me to surrender as if I am the one at fault…”
“You are, Leviathan.”
“He promised us eternal love!”
“He has.”
“And yet he chose them!”
Michael’s wings twitched as though agitated, like he was irritated by my sentiment, and his next words only enraged me further. “He is love.”
I spat on the ground; a bit of my own blood mixed with what was left over from the previously fallen challenger. Up until now, I’d been confident, dauntless. But as I focused on Michael up the high ground of the grassy slope, I felt a terrible, twisting, sinking uncertainty in my stomach.
I am going to lose.
I blinked my green eyes several times to clear my vision and rolled my arms back, preparing myself for our inevitable clash. I refused to let him see how vulnerable I felt. “His love is tainted. It is false. Fraudulent. He has never loved me as he has loved you or any of the others. And now, he rewards those who are inferior, those… those mortals that are so impure, unclean, so lacking in everything, more love than he has ever shown me!”
“You are blind, Leviathan!” Michael moved closer, but with each step he made forward, I took one back, careful about keeping the distance between us the same. I wasn’t going to engage until I found an opportunity that gave me the upper hand. Michael had proven his prowess in battle, and I had always admired him from afar, but I’ve never put myself in a situation where I had to fight him.
Until now…
“No, Michael, for the first time, I can speak freely about how I feel. I can tell you all how it really is! And He is too prideful to admit he is wrong! So he threw Lucifer out!”
“It was Lucifer’s pride-”
“Lucifer was right!” I cried, my voice catching in my throat, causing it to crack and exposing my failings. “Lucifer is right. And yet we are punished for it!”
“Enough!” Michael’s face reddened, his blue eyes sparkled as if he was holding back tears. Deceptive, a ruse. “Enough, Leviathan. You have turned your back on Him. On us all! You cannot stay here!”
“So come at me, brother. Fight! Let us end this!”
“I don’t want to kill you…”
“Why not? I am just The Flawed Angel, defective, the one he twisted and forced into a world where I did not belong. I have had to live every day since, forever reminded of the fact that I am not like the rest of you. That you were all created with the intent to carry that virtue and righteousness without question, while I come from the darkness of the Abyss, and am thus polluted.”
“He still loved you, Leviathan. I loved you-”
“No!” I screamed, feeling as though my vocal cords would tear. “You all have something I can never emulate! I have been set up for failure… poor Leviathan, the corrupted angel. The one who will never be good enough, never have enough… I’m worth nothing to him. To all of you.” My chest was heaving, and I furiously fought back the tears in my eyes. Although the moment I see the look of pity on Michael’s face, my overwhelming emotion of despair is fleetingly replaced with fury. “Don’t you dare!” I yelled, the grip on the hilt of my blades tightening, “Do not look at me like that. Not ever again!”
“Leviathan-” he started to say, but I was done. The calm way he addressed me, the way he shook his head, as if what I was saying was a lie, sent me into a blinding rage. Forgetting my initial plan of engagement, I flew at him, releasing an ear-splitting roar that ripped apart my vocal cords. I’d hoped to end it quickly, bringing both my blades inward to slice into his sides, but Michael was too fast. He flew back, just out of reach as our weapons crashed deafeningly together and brought his large, celestial sword down, forcing both my hands to the ground.
You fucking fool, Leviathan! I scolded myself.
I wrenched my arms up, using my strength to try to knock him off-balance. His sword slid over the top of mine, the sound ringing out like a piercing shriek over Heaven’s now burning and bloody fields. I lunged again, hoping to knock him back, confident that with my superior strength and size, I could get him to lose his balance and fall, and then I’d have him. Overhead, the smoked cloaked clouds of Heaven were dark, storming without thunder or rain. He was displeased. He was angry. Good. He could watch as I took the head of his new favourite angel.
I rushed Michael as I spun with each step I took, first bringing down one blade upon him, only to whip around, immediately following with the other. He stumbled back but did not entirely lose his footing as I’d hoped and managed to block each strike with his sword. Snarling, I dived at him, swinging inwards again right to his throat. He wouldn’t be able to block both being so high. But Michael jerked himself back once again just as I brought the sharp edges together with a resounding clang. Before proceeding with my next strategic ploy, a sharp, cold slice of metal was pressed into the back of my neck, and I knew… I knew I’d misjudged his step. Somehow, he’d gained the upper hand and had me in his clutches.
It was over.
I sagged where I stood, inwardly berating myself for losing control and instigating the first move. Way to go, Leviathan, you stupid, useless, broken angel… you have now fallen. You lost.
I fell to my knees, my whole body sagging in defeat, knowing that I wouldn’t have enough time to follow through on another move before Michael would apply just a bit more pressure and remove my head from my body. But he didn’t budge.
“What are you waiting for?” I spat, furious at his hesitation. I wouldn’t have. “Do it.”
“You are not so far gone that you cannot be redeemed, Leviathan…” Michael whispered, his voice tight. “But you have sinned. You have gone against Him.”
“So end me!” I cried, dropping my weapons as I clenched my fists. “End this, for I will not stop! I cannot! I can’t come back from this!” My voice cracked on the last words. “I cannot live here, not with Him. Not with any of you. Not after all of this… not after all this death and betrayal. I do not belong here, Michael. I never have!”
He still did nothing, and it only fuelled my rage and resentment. In a flash, my hands swung up, reaching behind me, seizing the blade of his sword, squeezing it until I felt it pierce through my skin, freeing my “holy” blood so that it dripped to the ground. “Do it!” I hissed between my teeth, my jaw clamped so tight I thought the bones would crack. “If you have the courage He credits you with, you will end me. End my suffering!” I tugged a little harder on the blade, my palms and now the back of my neck bleeding with a steadier stream, though my eyes were locked on the plains of Heaven; the place that I did not deserve, trying to ignore the ache in my chest. “Put me out of my misery, Michael.” I could feel him pull back on his sword, the metal sliding out from where it had cut into my neck, and I snarled. “Coward! I did not hesitate when I tried to end you… and yet you pull away from disposing of me? You are weak!”
