Page 118 of The Demon Court

By the seven kingdoms. A hole opened up in his chest and he suddenly felt like he could fall into it at any second. She deserved someone to love her, more than someone who just needed or wanted her. She deserved a man who would feel the entire island shake every time she looked at him.

He didn’t know how to love. He didn’t know how to feel much of anything other than lust, and that wasn’t fair to her. It wasn’t fair for him to keep her.

A small hand slipped into his, and he looked down at Affection with surprise. “You are putting a lot of responsibility on your own shoulders, Lust. You need to talk to her. To tell her how you feel and what you know. Together, you can fix this.”

“I broke her,” he whispered. “What right do I have to beg her to put herself back together after what I have done?”

“It is not your fault. It is not hers either. Bad things happen in this world, and all you can do is rely on each other.” Affection squeezed his hand before the sensation faded and it returned to a being made only of light. “You have given me much strength, Lust. That is a beautiful thing.”

“Are you going to take mortal form, then?” No other spirit had in a very long time, but he wouldn’t mind having another like himself. A new spirit who would experience new things might liven the place up.

“I don’t think that is my destiny,” Affection replied with a soft smile. “I think I’m needed more like this.”

“You will always be welcome here, my friend.” He patted his hand through the bright mist. “Now where is she?”

“The gardens, last I checked.” Affection shrugged. “But I think it’s likely she’s near the edge. She’s been finding herself there more and more lately.”

A spike of fear shattered through his chest. “Why?” Was she thinking about throwing herself off it? He wouldn’t allow that. He’d plunge into that darkness with her and he didn’t care if the beast underneath their kingdoms devoured them both. At least they would be together.

Again, Affection shrugged. “She said it makes her feel small. And I don’t know why she’d want to feel like that, but I think it makes her feel better.”

Of course. She didn’t want to feel like herself. All she wanted was a distraction from the emotions she’d hidden for years. At least she was feeling them, though. And at least he could help distract her when she needed it.

He left the library and the glowing spirit behind. Instead, he turned his attention to the gardens and to the spot he’d brought her when they first decided to trust each other. That memory felt so far away now that he thought of it.

He remembered how feisty she was. Selene hadn’t wanted to trust him in the slightest, and she’d fought him tooth and nail the entire time they worked toward that trust. But he had gotten through to her, just as she had gotten through to him.

Lust wasn’t alone anymore. If he needed her, Selene would come running, because that was what she was good at. In knowing that she was there for him, even through the hardest part of her own life, he had become stronger. So much stronger.

Though it took him a while to find her, Lust paused when he finally did. Selene stood on the edge of the cliff, the wind whipping in her hair and the jagged thorns of roses surrounding her. The sky beyond disappeared into the darkness below her feet. Dark hair tangling around her shoulders, she wore a dress from his own closet. Ropes twisted around her shoulders and hips, holding the pale lavender fabric against her skin, though it revealed every inch of her lovely curves.

So many words were left unsaid between them. He knew he had to tell her everything that he knew, and yet he wanted to taste her again. He wanted to lay her out on the barren ground that prepared for winter and pepper her frozen skin with kisses until she glowed with heat.

This woman meant more to him than he’d ever imagined. And he didn’t know how or when that had happened.

“Selene,” he said, his voice quiet and whipped away by the wind. “Come away from the edge.”

Her toes curled over the stone as her eyes stared down into the nothing beyond. “I’m not going to jump.”

“Good, because I would follow you.” And he didn’t like the thought of it. He took a few more steps closer and then wrapped his arm around her waist. “I don’t believe Wrath would enjoy the company.”

“Is he really down there?” she asked. “I thought the islands floated around each other. Like planets around stars.”

“Some of them do.” He rested his chin on her shoulder, holding her back to his chest so he could feel her heart beating. Even that wasn’t close enough. “Pride is above us all. His kingdom is the clouds, while Wrath’s is in the underworld.”

“Neither of those sound pleasant,” she whispered. “I don’t think I’d want to be in either kingdom. I want to be here, with my feet firmly grounded.”

That was enough flirting with certain death. He dragged her away from the edge, keeping her pressed against him because he was so afraid that his words would be the end of this. Of them.

“We have a lot to figure out,” he said, allowing her to turn in his arms. “Your mother provided me with a complicated problem and I have discovered I do not know how to fix it on my own.”

Selene looked up at him with those night sky eyes and he almost lost all his breath.

She knew.

Her entire body simmered with sadness and he knew without a doubt that she already knew the words that were about to come out of his mouth. His little moon was so intelligent, he shouldn’t be surprised that she’d figured it out on her own.

“She cursed me,” Selene said quietly. “I don’t know the words or the spell, though. So I don’t think there’s much we can do.”

---