Page 137 of The Demon Court

The three of them meandered down the halls, toward the room where Lust had rarely left. The healer was already leaving, closing the door gently behind herself. She started when she saw the three of them, but relaxed the moment Affection’s glowing light touched her.

“Hello,” the healer said. “I’m afraid there have been no changes. Her spine is in a state unlike anything I’ve seen before. Her ribs are shattered, and the back of her skull is no better. I’m shocked she’s still alive.”

Lust ground his teeth. “She’s a fighter.”

“Apparently an impressive one at that.” The healer gave him one last nod. They’d gotten very acquainted with each other the past week, and he had a significant amount of admiration for the woman who had gone above and beyond what she had to do for Selene.

And then Lust watched as his brother and Affection stepped into the room he hated walking into.

Because he knew what waited for him inside. He knew how horrible it was. She laid on that bed, too pale, like snow. Her dark hair fanned around her head, perfectly smooth because he brushed it every morning and every night. Just in case she woke up, so she’d still be comfortable. Her hands rested outside the blankets, but he tucked them in at night so she wouldn’t get cold.

And still, she didn’t wake. She was so broken, and there was nothing he could do to fix that.

He strode into his nightmare and stood beside her, looking down at those pale features and the smudges of bruises on her cheeks.

“I’m still surprised she’s here,” Greed murmured, as though any noise might wake her. “Her sisters were rather rabid about keeping her.”

“They couldn’t have healed her any better than I could.” He brushed the backs of his fingers over her forehead and then arranged a dark curl away from her face. “She’s where she needs to be.”

Affection’s hand laid over his, just above her head. “She said yes.”

“What are you even talking about?” he asked. “What is she saying yes to?”

The glowing light receded from his dear friend’s face. Affection appeared more feminine in this moment, soft around the edges with a kind smile for him. “It has been a great honor to live with you for such a long time, Lust. I got to see you become this person and I am so proud of you. All that energy given to me from you and her, I’ve been holding onto it. Just in case. And now is the perfect time to use it.”

“To heal her?” He shook his head. “Spirits cannot heal, Affection. We have magic, but not that kind.”

A glittering gemstone dripped down Affection’s cheek, like a tear. “I can heal if I’m inside her.”

“And then what? The wounds will reopen the moment you leave her.”

His mind caught up with what Affection wanted to do, and it made his heart squeeze in his chest again.

“No,” he muttered, drawing his hand away from them both. “I won’t lose both of you. No, you will not try to do this hair brained attempt to save her. Possession? It doesn’t work. Two people cannot exist in the same body. It will either be you or her.”

“And so it will be her.” Affection looked down at Selene’s pale face and smoothed its hand over her cheek. “She has always been kind to me. I wish to do this for her now.”

“I will not allow it.” But he could do nothing to stop it.

Greed banded his arm around Lust’s shoulders. He was forcefully held in place as he watched his oldest friend lean over Selene and press its lips to her forehead.

“Please,” he tried begging. “Don’t make me choose between the two of you.”

“It’s not your choice,” Affection replied with a bubbling laugh. “This has been an adventure. All this time by your side, and I have seen the world with you. I know you don’t think you’ve been given enough time to appreciate me, but none of us ever gets that. I have experienced so much and I have seen you fall in love with her. It’s my greatest honor and best purpose to bring her back to you. To show you how much I love you, every day, for the rest of time.”

“Affection,” he said, his voice catching on a sob. “Please.”

But he didn’t know if he was asking the spirit to stay or to save her.

Affection smiled and then curled up beside Selene. With a quiet sigh, it whispered, “Give her time. There is much to heal.”

Then it rested its head on her chest, gathered her hand up in both of its own, and its glowing light sank beneath Selene’s skin.

ChapterForty-Six

“You’ve made a remarkable recovery,” Sirona, the healer, said, packing up the last of her things. “When I saw you awake this morning, I have to admit, I was surprised.”

“As I am,” Selene replied. Her voice was still a little scratchy, but she felt... good. Better than she had in years, which was a strange enough experience after near death.

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