Page 111 of The Demon Court

Overwhelmed and bitter, he veered away from the carriage and made his way to the snowy edge of the kingdom. And he stared into the darkness below his feet until night came. This time, he swore there were knowing eyes staring back at him.

ChapterThirty-Seven

Selene floated through the next few days. He’d gone back to the castle, according to Minerva, and he hadn’t said goodbye to her. But she still had the faintest memory of a hazy morning wrapped in his warmth. How he’d stroked her hair like she was made of glass and how his heart beat underneath her cheek.

It was enough for a while. But by the second day, a few stray thoughts of doubt plagued her. She didn’t want to think about why he had disappeared. She didn’t want to think about anything other than how he’d completely changed the way she would ever view sex.

He was... magnificent. That was the only thought in her mind. She’d never truly had sex until him and now all she could think about was being in bed with him, him in her mouth, his fingers between her thighs.

She couldn’t stop having those lustful thoughts, and she swore everyone else could sense it in her. Even her sisters gave her a wide berth when they walked around her.

Other than Ursula, of course. Her dearest sister who had been suspiciously absent since Selene had returned.

“Don’t you have something else to do?” Selene asked as they meandered toward the dining hall. “I know how busy everyone is. It’s strange to not be one of the busy ones.”

Her sister laughed, and the chiming sound was like bells ringing through the halls. “I’m happy to spend time with you, Selene. Any chores can wait.”

Except they couldn’t. Which meant that Minerva had told Ursula to keep an eye on her. Selene wasn’t foolish. She knew she wasn’t welcome back in the Tower, but what she couldn’t figure out was why. Beyond what she was supposed to do, beyond the meaning of her life as Minerva would say, why did her entire family seem to not want her?

Frowning, she peered into the dining room where all her other sisters waited before glancing over at Ursula with a sly expression. “Do you want to go to our hiding place again? You can tell me what’s really going on in this castle.”

Ursula’s face paled. “Um... We shouldn’t. Mother has been very strict about what we’re allowed to do. You’re supposed to go back to studying with the others...”

Minerva had thought putting Selene back in the same life she’d had before would somehow convince her that this was the better way to live. Or something like that. Maybe her plan was to remind Selene how nostalgic it was to be here, as though she were a child again.

“Oh, come on.” She grabbed Ursula’s hands and held them close to her heart. “I’ll tell you all about the castle. There are so many stories to tell you about the people there, the way they live, the clothing. I haven’t gotten any time with you at all since I’ve been home. Not really.”

The words were manipulative and even she could admit that. But she couldn’t go back to that cold room with the others when all she wanted was to splash the entire space with a little color. Maybe bright red, just to make them all come alive again.

“Selene...” Ursula’s face paled even more and then she grabbed onto her. Ursula pulled her to the side, away from the doorway and into a small alcove that was likely intended to be a reading space. “There’s something I need to tell you. You have to put all your effort into being like us again. You’ve changed and Mother doesn’t like that.”

“I know she doesn’t like it.” But Selene liked it. For the first time in her life, she felt as though she was doing something right. “People change, Ursula. Going to the castle, living the way they do, it would be impossible to stay the same. Did she really believe that I wouldn’t change?”

“Yes,” Ursula hissed. “And if you don’t go back to yourself, she’s going to—”

They both fell silent at the sound of rapid footsteps. The clacking of heels had them stumbling out of the alcove and standing straight. Waiting for their mother to walk past them.

“You little witch,” Minerva hissed. She stalked toward Selene with no attempt at slowing. Her mother barreled into her, catching a hold of Selene’s face and slamming her back to the wall. “You told him to come here, didn’t you? Two weeks, Selene. That’s all I asked him for.”

“I didn’t—“ Selene tried to jerk her head out of her mother’s grasp. A faint burning at the back of her neck sent panic skittering down her spine. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The demon is here. Two weeks early,” Minerva said, slamming Selene’s head back against the wall even harder. “I thought I made myself very clear, Selene. No one was to summon the demon here until you were back to yourself. He has affected you in ways that none of us could ever have guessed. You are no longer my daughter, and I want her back.”

A burst of anger seared through her soul. Selene shoved at her mother, catching the other woman by surprise because no other sorceress would dare touch the High Sorceress like that.

But the shove made her feel better. So, as her mother’s grip loosened on her face, Selene shoved her again.

Minerva stumbled back, shock on her features as she stared at Selene as though she’d lost her mind. And maybe she had. Or maybe she was finally experiencing what it felt like to be herself.

“I’m not going to be that little girl you raised any more,” she said, her voice strong and sure. “I don’t want to be. This is the first time that I’ve gone out on my own, and the changes that may or may not happen to me are natural, Mother. You can’t keep me locked up forever.”

And there was her mistake.

Selene had always thought that Minerva looked at her and all the other young women like daughters. She called them all by the name. She’d taken them in. Given them a roof over their head and trained them to use their magic. No one else had done that for all the lost girls of this kingdom.

But Minerva was not the woman that Selene had been raised to believe she was.

Minerva’s expression hardened. “You ungrateful little brat. I gave you everything, and this is how you repay me?”

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