Page 37 of The Demon Mark

He watched her murmur with the elderly man, and he mused that perhaps he wasn’t dealing with Lilith at all. The confidence, the way she moved so comfortably in her body, those were signs of an ancient creature. She had no fear left in her, and he wondered if now he was dealing with the oracle.

Not Lilith.

He waited until she finished with the old man before he stepped closer to her. As she drifted by him, he grabbed onto her upper arm.

There it was. The magic that had given him so much trouble when he’d tried to take it from her. It held onto him right back, digging into his skin as though there were knives attached to the end of its power.

“Release me,” she said, her voice lower and vibrating with magic.

“I’d like to speak to Lilith now.”

She tilted her head slightly, observing him with white marble eyes. “Astute, spirit, but we are busy at the moment.”

Well, that wasn’t Lilith. So he was right. She didn’t have all of her wits about her when she was like this. Or at least, she wasn’t herself in the sense that Lilith wasn’t home at all. Whoever resided in her head at this moment was the oracle who saw through the very future itself. How odd.

He watched her trail through the streets again, following behind her as his mind skittered through all the possibilities. While he still very much wanted her power—and still intended to steal it from her at some point—this was also a unique opportunity to watch how she did what she did. He could observe how she used her magic, and perhaps that would give him an idea of how to take it.

This was how he would learn more about the oracles. She wouldn’t have to tell him about her power at all.

And the longer he followed her lithe body, the more he knew that wasn’t going to be a chore.

She was beautiful. Even in this state, when there was something eerie about looking at her. She moved with an inhuman grace, stuck in a human body that was so limited. Her hands twitched at her sides, fingers constantly curving and moving as though she were stroking the very mist that rose off her skin. Her eyes turned toward whoever needed their fortune told, and she walked in that direction with unerring confidence.

She didn’t notice any danger around her. But he did.

The first man who approached her had hungry eyes. Envy didn’t know if he wanted the power that radiated from her skin or if the man was merely hungry for flesh. It didn’t matter. He peeled one of his shadows from his skin and let the sharp creature roll along the stones toward the man who lingered in the shadows.

The oracle didn’t even react to the sound of his screams. In fact, it seemed like she had known what he would do because she turned her face away from the alley at the same moment the sharp ball of blades reached the man.

Leaning into her, he grabbed her by the throat and forced her to stop where she was. “I thought you said you couldn’t see my future, oracle?”

She only paused to indulge him. He could feel it in the leashed power that pressed against his palm and slowly pried his fingers off her skin. “I still can’t. You are nothing but a void, demon king. But I can see other people’s futures, and that man’s was already written.”

How strange it was to release her and see her continue walking, as though the most dangerous man in this kingdom hadn’t just had her throat in his grip. And fuck, it had felt so right. He had wanted to hold on to her longer. To curve his fingers to where her heart would beat against his skin.

He didn’t want to hurt her, though. He only wanted to feel that flutter increase as he leaned closer to those plush lips.

Envy needed to get his head on straight. She was just the first oracle he’d gotten close enough to actually try to steal her magic. Or the second, he supposed, if he included the one he’d killed.

He didn’t include that one, though. A failed attempt at getting the magic from them was obviously something he wanted to forget rather than to admit he had failed. This was the first powerful oracle in his grasp.

He wouldn’t waste this opportunity.

So he watched her. Even though it made every part of his body harden and ache with the need to devour her. Or her magic. He didn’t know which.

Because this oracle was just as beautiful as her host. The lithe body was just the shell that he found himself attracted to. But there was more than that. He could see the spark of kindness in her hands as she reached for those who needed her words. She trusted him implicitly to keep her safe. Even though there was another who tried to attack them, she didn’t even look at the shadows.

One could argue it was because she already knew that he would take care of her. But even that made something strange twist in his chest. He had never been the trustworthy individual. He was a demon in the body of a man who stole magic from others. A creature who could peel his tattoos off and use them as weapons. He wasn’t a good person.

But she trusted him with her life. And that was as terrifying as it was strange.

Finally, he knew they were done. She was weaving as she walked, her body showing the toll of all those prophecies, and there was only so much time left until the artificial sun in his kingdom rose on the horizon. He’d always tried to mimic this kingdom like they were living above ground, and the sun let him know how much time had passed.

She’d pushed herself too hard, too far, and now she was going to pay the price for that.

Envy found he didn’t appreciate that she’d hurt herself. He was the only one allowed to harm her, and even then, he wasn’t certain that he liked the idea of her in pain.

He walked up behind her and bent to scoop her into his arms. She protested, but barely.

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