Page 52 of The Demon Mark

Rolling over, she snuggled deeper into the softness and decided if she ignored him, then maybe he would let her sleep a little longer. She could slip back into that dream where he was here for much more entertaining desires than to just get her out of bed. Maybe if she dreamt hard enough, he would pull back the covers and get into the bed with her. His warm body would press against her from behind and he would?—

The blankets were all ripped off of her in one quick sweep that left her limbs exposed to the icy air.

With a tortured moan, she tucked her legs closer to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, trying to preserve what little heat she could.

“Come on,” he said with a chuckle. “You can’t stay in bed, Lilith. Up you get.”

She didn’t want to get up, though. She wasn’t sure she would survive it, and damn him for saying that she had to!

Lifting her in his arms, he set her on her feet, still chuckling at the grumpy expression on her face. “You don’t have to get dressed. I brought you a cloak. This won’t take long. I’ve already done most of the work. You just have to be there for the last part.”

Grumbling under her breath about stupid men who got her out of bed, she staggered after him toward the portal that she hadn’t realized he’d already summoned. At least the cloak he had wrapped around her was already warm. Almost as though he’d cast a spell on it to heat it.

Lifting the soft rabbit interior to her cheek, she rubbed it against her skin and was delighted to feel that it was actually staying warm. So he had used some of his endless magic just to make sure she was cozy.

That made her... feel odd. Something in her belly twisted and her heart thudded hard in her chest. He had gone out of his way to make sure she was comfortable and that was...

Well. She didn’t know what to think about it. The demon king was supposed to be a terrifying creature who killed anyone and everyone who stood in his way. Not the kind man who had given her a warm bed, a warm coat, and an orgasm that made her cross-eyed.

She was losing her mind. Even more so when they stepped into a moonlight desert.

Her breath fogged in front of her face, the cold air turning everything to mist. For once, it wasn’t her. Although, maybe it was. The mist on her skin rose at the opportunity to see an entirely new kingdom and all the people within it, with futures she could never exist in.

The sand was white. Not gold. Pure white, like someone had spread tiny grains of sugar across the world. The moon sparkled on each little chip of sugar, filling her gaze with diamonds and silver. Even her skin looked a little colorless in this world.

But then she saw that there was a small table on the sands. As she stepped toward it, she could see a small burner and a bowl with petals in it. Her petals. He had been preparing her tea, in the old way, the only way that mattered.

He’d taken the time to find out what the tea needed to be brewed in, and made sure that the moon was full, so the tea was strongest.

“My old master hasn’t brewed the tea under a full moon in years,” she whispered as the memory filtered through her mind. “I had forgotten that the full moon was even required. He had so much of it that I just assumed... It was so weak.”

So weak that she had to drink more of it than she had ever wanted to. But she couldn’t remember what that meant for her when there was so much power rioting in her mind that she only got small breaks from. Those breaks were when she was supposed to get her mind settled so she could do what needed to be done.

Wasn’t that how it was supposed to be?

Envy stepped in front of her. There was a spoon inside of the bowl that had been stirring on its own, but it stopped as he waved a hand over it.

She watched in anticipation as he pulled out a teacup from his pocket. An honest to gods teacup with a tiny, breakable handle. She was a little surprised he hadn’t brought the saucer with it.

He held it delicately in his hands as he poured the tea into it and then waved a hand over the entire thing.

She arched a brow in question while he handed the cup to her.

“To cool it. The directions say you have mere moments to drink it.” His expression softened. “I didn’t want you to burn your tongue.”

This man.

He’d thought of everything and somehow that made it all the worse that he was here with her. She lifted the tea to her mouth, noting that it was the perfect temperature, and then swallowed it all.

She felt it moving throughout her body. There was a sudden sensation not of the blankness that she was used to, but clarity. The tea that her old master gave her had always made her feel odd. She was uncomfortable after drinking it. It made everything inside of her foggy, as though the world itself had dulled.

But this tea, the tea that was made for her and followed the correct rules, it focused everything. Suddenly, she could see every single grain of sand around them. She knew where every breathing thing was within a mile around them, and she could sense even his heart throbbing in his chest as he watched her drink.

Her heart had always felt sluggish in her chest, and now that slow, awkward beat steadied. Her back muscles stopped aching and every part of her felt infinitely better. She wasn’t just a shell that hosted an oracle. She was a living, breathing woman with so much more inside of her than just... emptiness.

A deep sigh echoed from her core, and she tilted her head back in relief. This was how it was supposed to feel to be alive.

“Better?” he asked. Those green eyes saw more than she wanted him to see.

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