Page 51 of The Demon Mark

What marvelous words from a woman who was too afraid to take her own power into her hands. He could see how vehement she was about this, though, and some voice in him whispered to listen to her.

He could force her to become like the other oracles. She was susceptible to it. All he would have to do was curl his fingers inside her body a little harder next time, and perhaps she would fall into his palm and do whatever it was that he wanted.

It was rather charming to know that she encouraged people to live. That she still saw the hope in those people and the value in their lives if they kept walking forward.

He didn’t see that value. Not in the slightest. Humans were replaceable in that they would always reproduce. He had countless humans at his disposal. Even though he’d killed quite a few of them. It didn’t matter what he did with them, because there were still so many people in his kingdom. Many of them still did his bidding, no matter what he did to the others.

Perhaps he should listen to this woman.

Sighing, he nodded and gestured for her to go back to her chair. “That is fine. It is your power, and you should choose what to do with it.”

Both females in his room looked at him with shocked expressions. At least, he thought Orphe was looking at him in shock. It was rather hard to guess, considering she was a raven.

Lilith gave him a tiny nod and then staggered away, sinking into the cushions and staring into the flames with a blank expression that made him wonder how long she’d been awake.

“There is one other matter,” Orphe said, her croaking voice echoing in the silence. “It appears the circus master never left the kingdom to find the herb.”

“He what?” Envy snarled, his gaze whipping to look at the beast in his room. “You are certain?”

“Positive. He chased me out of his room with a broom while I was looking for the correct recipe.” Even his little spirit looked troubled by it. “He has been... talking about you.”

Now that piqued his anger even more than the knowledge the man hadn’t done what he was ordered to do. “How so?”

“He tells the story of how you let him go. And that you were weak to allow him to leave. Many believe now that you are frightened of him, and the power that he controls in the circus he has built.” Orphe ruffled her feathers again. “I would have ignored the rumors, but it seems some people believe him. And they are very willing to join his cause in the hopes that many of them gathered together might defeat you.”

It was a stupid thought. There had only been a few other times in the history of this kingdom where many had banded together to fight him. They had failed then. They would fail now.

It didn’t anger him any less. They thought they could rise against him? For what? To stop him from stealing their magic?

Nothing would stop him from taking all of their powers. He would destroy them all, one by one. Until they were all crushed beneath his heel.

Grinding his teeth, he gritted out, “Then we will take care of them when it is time. Gather more information about them and prepare yourself, Orphe.”

“Do I get their eyes?”

“Yes,” he replied with no small amount of bitter satisfaction. “You can have their eyes.”

20

Lilith lingered between dreaming and waking. Warm hands stroked up her back, a murmuring, deep voice telling her to wake because they had somewhere to be.

She’d been dreaming about him anyway, so it was hard to tell if this was real. His deep voice was so tantalizing to her senses, and she’d wanted him to touch her more. But she’d dreamt about him every single night since he made her come so hard on his lap that she’d seen stars.

It was hard to think of anything else. So it made sense that she was incapable of even escaping the thoughts in her sleep.

“Oh, little one,” he murmured, his voice echoing throughout her barely awake mind. “I’d love to indulge both of our desires, but we have somewhere to be.”

She must have rolled toward him, ready for whatever new feelings he would inspire throughout her form. Blinking her eyes open, she was surprised to find him leaning above her.

A lock of his dark hair had fallen in front of his gaze. That dark strand made her want to smooth it back from his face so badly that she stopped resisting her own urges. She just reached for it, tucking it behind his ear and lingering on the sharp edge of his jaw.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice raspy with sleep.

“We need to make you that tea. Don’t we?”

“I don’t need to be there for that.” And suddenly she came out of the sleepiness. In its place, she was a little grumpy that he was trying to wake her up. She was so cozy in bed. So warm.

This was the deepest and most comfortable sleep she’d ever had in her life. She didn’t want to get out of the warm bed and out into the frigid air where he stood.

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