Copyright

  Natalie Bennett/BB Books

  © 2024 by Natalie Bennett.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying without written permission of the publisher or author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Natalie Bennett does not condone or consent to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or generative AI.

  EDITING: PINPOINT EDITORS

  DEDICATION

  When your toxic trait is romanticizing the most irredeemable villains.

  This one is for you.

  Contents

  Copyright

  DEDICATION

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  SEMPER

  DUET PLAYLIST

  !IMPIO Translations!

  !CONTENT WARNING!

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Books from Natalie Bennett

  Books from Mae Royal

  THE SECT

  SOCIALS

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Hi! Thank you for taking a chance on my book. You can find the link to the TWs at the end of this note. As you read, please keep the following in mind.

  Stygian Isles is romantic horror, meaning romance is not the central focus of the story, but a major plot point. This duet contains various triggers some readers may find objective as well as content that could be distressing.

  The MMC within these pages believes there’s not a single thing wrong with him. He does not become soft and apologetic as the story unfolds, if anything he becomes much more OTT and brutal by the end. He is possessive, obsessed, and almost completely bankrupt of morals.

  The heroine is one of my favorites, but whether you agree or disagree with her way of thinking and the choices she ultimately makes is entirely personable.

  Her development is gradual and much of it happens in book two. As for the romance aspect, the connection between the characters is a slow burn. Lolita does not fall head over heels for her captor because he makes use of her body at every opportunity.

  Finally, last but not least, Muerte ends on a cliffhanger with plenty of loose ends to be tied up in Semper, including the resolution of Del Diablo. The Isle is vast and there’s much to be revealed.

  TWs have been listed in the back of the book for sensitivity.

  If you prefer going into this blind, please keep in mind absolutely nothing within the Stygian Isles world is off limits. The inhabitants live by set rules and an established hierarchy with given titles and roles. There will be graphic and grotesque scenes of horror and explicit sexual situations, ninety-five percent of them dub/non con.

  TW can be found HERE

  CHAPTER ONE

  There are moments in life we pass off as insignificant that later become crucial pieces of a catalytic chain. The kind of moments we look back on and only then begin to realize all the warning signs that were ignored.

  Some would call this hindsight.

  I had a different name for it.

  Misfortune.

  But before we get to that part of my story, it’s best to start from the beginning.

  Everything changed the morning I walked through Millennium Resort’s arched glass doors.

  I’d never seen it in such upheaval. The upscale establishment prided itself on running smoothly and efficiently. Regardless of any fires that may have needed putting out behind the scenes, the lavish resort maintained a solid front, so seeing my colleagues rushing this way and that had me momentarily taken aback.

  I would have asked what was going on, but that meant stopping someone in the middle of what they were doing, and I loathed it when anyone did that to me.

  I didn’t see Anya anywhere to ask her either. She was probably still in the bathroom. She’d practically sprinted inside while holding her stomach before I was fully parked. I’d told her not to eat the leftover take-out for breakfast, but she hadn’t listened and had added an entire cup of coffee on top of it. She was in for a rough morning.

  Not wanting to be in anyone’s way, I focused on my own job, quickly discerning that the chaos was happening away from the guests. The upper levels were relatively quiet, to the extent that as I settled into my usual workflow, I forgot all about what was happening below.

  I did one last sweep of the room I’d just finished refreshing to make sure it was postcard worthy and then went back into the hall. I got to my cleaning trolley just as Anya stepped out from her refresher a few doors down, having made it onto the clock after her rendezvous in the bathroom.

  Her dark hair was still coiled in a tidy bun while mine was fighting to escape the ponytail I’d pulled it into earlier. I reasoned that was because hers was pencil straight and mine a thick mass of waves.

  “Anything new?” I asked.

  “No, same as usual. Unmade beds. Used towels and washcloths tossed all over the place, wet ones at that. It’s disgusting.”

  “That’s why we have gloves.”

  “We need hazmat suits. I think you should seriously consider attending the next staff meeting and request they put neon signs above the hampers. They’re obviously too hard to see.”

  “Why do I have to be the one to do it?”

  “Because you’re more responsible and well-spoken, duh.”

  I breathed a laugh and slipped off my latex gloves, tossing them into my mini trash bin before scooping up the tablet I was provided to mark down my daily progress. I noted how full the resort was. More than half the room blocks were lit red, indicating they were occupied.

  There must have been a conference or something. That didn’t explain the chaotic scene in the lobby, though.

  Even when booked for a reception or gala, things weren’t so hectic. I quickly checked off the rooms I’d finished and then dimmed my screen.

  “You know most of these people probably don’t know what a hamper is.”

  Anya made a sound of annoyance as she retrieved her tablet and did the same. “Are you ready for break? I’ve been ready since we clocked in.”

  “Sure.” I took hold of my cart, steering it in the direction of the staff elevators.

  It was an official rule that we didn’t use the ones meant for guests. Upon reaching them, Anya waved her employee badge in front of the card reader to bring one up, allowing me to get in first. I eased my cleaning trolley all the way over, careful not to brush against the mirror that made up the sidewall. Anya backed inside, leaving a small gap between the two of us.

  She jabbed the button for the floor we needed. “I still can’t believe this is what our lives have come to. Cleaning up after rich people.”

  “This is way better than our last job. I still can’t look at raw chicken without wanting to vomit.” I nearly shuddered just thinking about it. “Plus, we could be making less and cleaning up after the poor.”

  “Doesn’t that mean we’d just be cleaning up after ourselves?”

  “Yeah, but at least then we’d know who the wet washcloths belonged to,” I pointed out as the glossy elevator doors slid shut.

  We had multiple variations of this conversation at least once a week. I knew she wanted more from life. That was only natural. I did too. It wasn’t like I woke up ecstatic to go to work and toil with a bunch of strangers’ dirty linens. And I had plenty of opinions about the occasional sneer or upturned nose directed my way.

  But all that aside, this job wasn’t terrible. We were given some pretty decent perks. Complimentary meals were provided from some of the attached restaurants we’d never be able to afford otherwise, and there was a set period during the off season that granted us free stays as long as we had perfect attendance.

  More important than the benefits, the bills at our apartment were mostly all paid up. The same couldn’t have been said a little less than a year ago. Back then we’d been on a strict ramen budget, struggling to keep a roof over our heads and the lights on.

  “What are we doing this weekend?”

  I glanced over at her. “Unless it involves long walks from my bed to the couch or kitchen, I’m doing absolutely nothing.”

  “Oh, come on Lo! You never go out with me anymore.”

  “Going out with you always adds a flair of drama or douchebag to my life that I have no patience for.”

  Her brow knitted as if she was confused. I was glad the elevator doors chose then to slide open and let us out. We pushed our trollies to their designated area. Halfway there we were forced to stop and move aside for a man pushing a satin covered cart down one of the private lower halls. I caught the tail end of a conversation from the walkie on his hip as he passed.

  “What’s the deal with this Bacch
us Trade Show?”

  Anya shot me a look, her dark brows rising in disbelief. “Sometimes I wonder if you live in the same world that I do.”

  I slid my trolley into its numbered spot and waited for her before walking towards the break room. “Hey, I knew it was coming, just not what a huge deal it apparently is.”

  “That’s subjective. Some would say it’s not the show but who will be in attendance that makes it such a huge ordeal.”

  “Oh. Well, that explains why the resort is so booked up then.”

  “Yeah, there’s going to be some important people coming in. I’m surprised they didn’t hold a staff meeting just to brief us. I guess that would have exposed too much.”

  “Maybe, but I’m more interested in the show.”

  “Of course you are,” she replied with a dramatic sigh. “It’s an auction or something for rare items. I’m not sure what yet, but if the rumors flying around are anything to go by, this event is ultra-exclusive, so I’ll probably have a hard time finding out.”

  She undid the top button of her uniform to show off more of her perfectly rounded cleavage. One of her signature thirst traps.

  I hated it when she did this, but I’d gotten so accustomed to her antics that I knew better than to waste my breath with reprimand.

  “And?” I urged her to continue.

  “I heard it costs a fortune just to step foot inside the room unless you’re a member of some elite group. Based on the usual people who stay here, I envision a bunch of old dudes stuffed in suits with hella rings on their fingers and smoking fat-ass cigars.”

  I laughed softly. “I think you’ve got an overactive imagination.”

  “Tell me you don’t consider half the guys in the rooms we service high-class sugar daddy material.”

  I wrinkled my nose at the visual that created. “Can you not refer to this as servicing ever again? You just made us sound like private escorts.”

  “Hmm.” She brought a finger to her dimpled chin and pretended to consider that idea.

  Actually, there was a slight possibility she wasn’t pretending. With Anya it was sometimes hard to tell. I gently shoved her shoulder as we ducked into the staff room where our lockers were.

  “Anya, I was joking.”

  “I didn’t say anything!”

  “You didn’t need to. Sometimes you’re an open book. And anyways, there have been more than a few nice-looking, younger guys staying here that clearly had money.”

  “You mean those arrogant assholes with authorized credit cards? I would never stoop that low.”

  “Um, you’ve literally stooped lower.”

  She gasped dramatically. “Lolita!”

  I shot her an apologetic smile, not entirely sorry at all.

  “Let’s just agree that the kind of rich men we’d be into only exist on the other side of a screen or within fiction, making them statistically unobtainable. They either live billions of miles away or don’t exist.”

  I just barely stopped myself from questioning this we she was referring to. That would open the door to a whole different kind of conversation.

  “Have you forgotten the men who own this resort, technically our bosses’ bosses? What about all their friends?”

  “They don’t count. They’ve all got wives that they’re shockingly devoted to.”

  “So?”

  “I don’t want to split custody of dick, sharing the holidays and weekends. I need commitment.”

  Lord, help her. “How did we go from talking about their looks to you screwing them? And when did this change of opinion come about?”

  “I had an epiphany about the scandal that would break out if a man like that got caught balls deep in the help.”

  So, not because she suddenly felt remorse for all the previous married men she’d slept with. “Anya, I know this may sound insane to you, but maybe going for a regular nine-to-five man wouldn’t be the end of the world.”

  “You’re right. You’ve lost your mind.”

  I ignored her rebuttal and proceeded to wash my hands, grabbing my bag afterward. She waited for me to finish, checking her cell notifications with a small smile I didn’t dare ask about.

  The last time I did that she thought it was a green light to show me some random man’s genital selfies. The secondhand embarrassment I had for him lasted nearly two weeks. Some poses shouldn’t be done clothed, let alone naked.

  We headed back into the hall and through the double doors that gave us access to the main lobby. Now knowing what was going on, the craziness from that morning made a little more sense. In fact, I think it had gotten worse now that an onslaught of guests had arrived for check-in.

  Men and women all fashionably dressed were clustered together in small groups, conversing with one another while bellhops rushed around with carts of luggage, going the extra mile to earn bigger tips. Navigating through all of this to reach the corridor that led to the restaurants was as tempting as skipping over hot coals barefoot.

  There were so many people.

  I could handle the judgement that came with this job in the presence of one or two, not an entire army. Anya didn’t have such reservations. She looped her arm through mine and urged me onward.

  “Don’t worry about these judge-y motherfuckers, Lo. Think about food, because I’m starving.”

  Leave it to her to know exactly what my hesitation stemmed from. “Do you have some idea of what you want to eat then?”

  I hoped she chose the bistro. It was always the least busy, and hopefully today wouldn’t be an exception. With a whole thirty-five minutes to order, eat, and then be back on the floor to finish our remaining rooms, time was always of the essence.

  As we made our way through the maze of guests, I tried to pretend I didn’t feel the needling of multiple eyes on us. I placed one foot in front of the other and let the beauty of Millennium distract me.

  The lobby had always been my favorite part of the resort. It was purely designed for opulent tastes. The marble floor never went unpolished, resembling smooth, untouched glass.

  There were bouquets of fresh, beautiful flowers that were replaced every other day, always in shades that complimented the cream and wood-toned hues of the Millennium’s color pallet. But my absolute favorite part of the resort’s design was the domed skylight that made up the ceiling.

  Catching a flash of movement in my peripheral, I glanced over and saw a bellhop rushing our way with a cart of luggage proportionate in size to my entire lower half.

  I untangled myself from Anya and made sure she was clear of his path with a gentle shove, and then did a quick skip-hop to avoid being run over, bringing myself within centimeters of a man’s broad back.

  I held my hands out to steady myself, taking a quiet breath of relief when I didn’t go bulldozing into him. The bellhop had the decency to breathe out an apology as he whizzed by.

  I didn’t recognize him as one of the regulars. The resort must have called in reinforcements. I quickly moved away from the man and his companions, catching a fragranced note of cologne—something exotically warm. I’d never associated the scent of cologne with money, but whatever that man had on was undoubtedly expensive.

  I slowed briefly so Anya could catch up to me, allowing her to loop our arms back together. She immediately leaned closer and whispered, “Did you see them? Please tell me you saw them.”

  “No. I was too busy saving my dignity.”

  “You should have left that on the floor. I take back what I said earlier.”

  Finally reaching the other side of the lobby, I looked over at her. “Can you be more specific?”

  “They were fine!”

  Her elevated voice caught the attention of everyone within a few feet of us. I didn’t have the courage to look back and see how many more people were staring now.

  “Did you need to announce that to the entire resort?”

  “Hell yeah! I swear I’ve dreamed of at least two of them before.”

  Cheeks flaming, I couldn’t help but grin at her. The girl was shameless, the total opposite of me. I loved her exactly for that reason and had from the moment we’d met at a mutual foster home years ago.

  “I hope you die a happy woman now.”

  “That won’t happen until one of them bends the knee and professes their undying love for me.”

  “You have issues. Maybe you should see about talking to someone. I’m sure Shana could squeeze you in. You know how much she loves to remind us girlies that she’s always here if we want to talk.”