Page 15 of The Demon Court

Together, they snuck past their sisters and skittered up the stairs. There was only one part of the tower where they could survey the great hall. And that was five stories up on a tiny balcony that was meant to be decorative. Selene had the faint worry that maybe their weight would make it bend, considering they’d been children the last time they tried this.

But the two of them tucked behind two equally large green bushes that some gardener had placed to make it look more decorative and less like a mistake that a balcony had been left here at all.

They couldn’t stop laughing. Both of them were breathless from their sprint up the stairs to make sure they were hidden before anyone entered the great hall beneath them. If they weren’t careful, they’d be caught. And they both remembered what happened if they got caught.

“Your skirts,” Ursula said at the end of a giggle. “They’ll see your skirts!”

Selene yanked her skirts closer and perfectly timed as the front doors of the Tower banged open.

“High Sorceress!” Lust called out. “I know you’re in here, and I believe you were expecting me.”

She’d recognize that voice anywhere at this point. Those deep tones were... well. Delicious.

Ursula squirmed in front of her, eyes wide in shock as she mouthed, “Is that him?”

She nodded because she couldn’t say “What do you think?”. Ursula already rocked to the rhythm of his footsteps, without realizing that her body knew what his power asked of it before her mind had caught up. Even Selene could feel it.

Warmth dripped from his words and then surged out of his body. Right now, it was only the faintest hint of his power. Just the soft touch of strong hands digging into tight muscle. Hands that certainly would put her entire body at ease if she would only let him.

The feeling was a trap. She knew that. Her sister knew it. All the sorceresses in this entire place had to know it, but what were they doing? Plodding along with his magic.

He’d already gotten them under his thumb and none of them even knew it yet. Her mother had better have a good plan.

She leaned around her plant to see Minerva walking down the stairs. The great hall was actually the center of the Tower. The giant circle was bare until it reached the stairwell that wrapped in a coil throughout the inside of the building. Every room was only a small part of a larger circle, every floor proving the absolute delight of architecture within which they lived.

The white walls, ceiling, floors, and stairs were meticulously cleaned every single day. Sometimes by younger sorceresses who had yet to come into their power, sometimes by the few servants they kept on staff.

Her eyes moved to the demon king. He stood in what could have been royal regalia, or could have been his traveling outfit. A black corseted top with a black shirt underneath. Dark pants that clung to his thick thighs and tightly cupped what was between them. A gold cloak over his shoulders kept him warm from the chill, and it was metallic. It even reflected the light.

Minerva had chosen a much more classic outfit. Her black gown clung to her form. Even in her fifties, she was stunning. All hips and tiny waist and smooth steps that made her look as though she were gliding across the floor.

Selene remembered thinking she was the most beautiful woman in the world when she was young. Now, seeing her mother standing before Lust, she thought she had been right. They fit. The two of them were otherworldly in their looks, and she felt horribly drab in comparison.

“Wow,” Ursula whispered. “Look at them.”

She was. And she hated every second of it.

“To what do we owe the honor of welcoming our esteemed demon king?” Minerva asked, a little too close to Lust for it to be a surprise visit.

“You know why I’m here,” he replied with an arched brow. “You practically laid her out on a banquet table for me.”

“I did no such thing.” Was she... flirting with him?

Selene looked over at Ursula and watched her sister shrug. Flirting wouldn’t make sense, but Minerva knew what she was doing, so... surely this was the plan?

But then Selene felt another pulse of lust. She buried it deep, already concerned with the limitations of her power. Ursula squirmed again next to her. Her sister bit her lip, eyes focused entirely on Lust now.

“Come now, Minerva,” he said, tsking his tongue against his teeth. “Neither of us has time to play games.”

“And what game do you think I’m playing?”

“The woman. She’s one of yours.”

“Yes, and if you want her, then I’m afraid you’ll have to beg.”

What was her mother planning? Jaw dropping open, Selene almost stood up from behind her bush. Her mother certainly couldn’t expect a demon king to beg for her daughter. Could she?

Minerva wouldn’t give her up. Her mother wouldn’t send her off with the demon as if she was property to be bartered? They’d wanted him here, and that was the end of what she was supposed to do.

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