Page 13 of The Demon Court

A frown creased the captain’s already lined forehead. “Is she a threat, sir?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

Another voice interrupted them, slithering up from the floor. “She’s not a threat and you know it!”

Affection took its time rolling over the table, knocking over a few chess pieces they used when they were talking about the towns. The pieces each represented a town or a figure they were keeping an eye on.

He stared down at it in exasperation. “I told you to go away.”

“Well, I would if you weren’t wasting time.”

“Me?” He jabbed a finger at his chest. “Wasting time?”

If Affection had a face that was easier to be seen, he swore it would have frowned at him. “Yes, you. You’re missing the details that are right in front of your face! The details someone already told you!”

“What details?”

“The fabric.”

“Yes, I’ve seen it.” He grabbed it again, shifting it closer to the spirit. “Her perfume has nothing to do with finding her. The blood on it won’t help us track her down unless you want to hire a sorceress and frankly, I have no interest in them.”

“That’s the detail!” Affection undulated in front of him, the mist rolling in a happy dance. “The detail you missed!”

He had no idea what it was prattling on about.

At least, until his captain took the fabric from him and smoothed it out. The man shifted it into the light, stretching the fabric so a hidden detail in the folds revealed itself.

A rune. Sewed into the fabric for protection. He’d seen enough of them to know how to read the sorceresses’ language, but not enough to do the spells himself. That magic was entirely their own.

Groaning, he slapped a hand to his forehead and hissed out a long curse. “She’s a sorceress?”

Affection leapt on the table and scattered the remaining chess pieces that were still standing. It did a quick circle along the edges of the wood before returning in front of him. “Yes! Your footman already told you that, and you just forgot.”

“Silver Thread,” he muttered, baring his teeth in a glare.

His captain made the same disgusted sound and then tossed the fabric onto the table again. “You still want us to track her down?”

The problem was yes.

He did.

ChapterFive

“He’s coming!” her sisters whispered.

The words bounced around the chamber outside her room. She hadn’t heard of anyone approaching the Tower, but Selene had hidden herself as soon as coming back.

The problem with her power, or the second of her powers, really, was that she couldn’t keep all those emotions underneath that icy lake forever. They had to come out. And knowing that he would follow her here had meant that she had to let it all out so there was room for more.

It was in those moments that she realized two problems.

The first was that his power was immense. She’d felt nothing like it before, and she’d encountered a few witches who were very proficient in manipulating emotions. Apparently, they were not anywhere near the talents of a demon king.

The lust that he’d poured into everyone at the tavern, during the festival, even when he passed by her on the road, all poured out of her at once. It struck her like a sledgehammer to the head, soaking her immediately and turning every touch into something horrific.

There was no pleasure to be found in that much lust. Only pain.

Wool was difficult to wear. She found it scratched too much against her skin, the sensation both pain and pleasure until it mixed into an overwhelming sensation. Her sheets touched her so much that she couldn't sleep. She couldn’t stand because the wind brushed against her nipples and made the sweat cool on her body. She couldn’t think other than to endure because no amount of orgasms even touched it. Nothing satisfied.

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