Page 33 of The Demon Court

“To make me trust you?”

“Yes.” Why did this matter? It didn’t, but oh it did.

She shrugged, her limp arms dangling by her sides. “Well, this isn’t going to help.”

“Being comfortable with each other?”

“Being bare in front of a man I have no interest in. A man who has taken me from my home and forced me to see sights I am nowhere near comfortable with.”

He waved a hand in the air. “Yes, I know. That was a mistake. The past cannot help me win you in the future.”

“Is that what you’re trying to do?” Her words hung between them, shocked and surprised.

He realized that was exactly what he was trying to do. He wanted to win her. And win her trust. “Yes,” he replied after a few moments of hesitation. “I believe it is.”

She looked at him, brows furrowed and teeth chewing at the inside of her lips. “Then... Then I suppose you have to understand that trust takes time. It takes effort.”

“That does not explain how.”

“Time. With me. Spend time with me, get to know me and who I am. Where I came from, know what my story is, or what my favorite color is and my favorite food.” She shrugged. “Care that I exist rather than only look at my body for what it can give you.”

All of that was confusing. Why would he waste that much time on a single person when so many of them needed him? He could go back to his room right now and dive straight into Lara’s comforting body without having to worry about any of this work.

But his stomach twisted, and he found himself asking, “What is your favorite color?”

She stared at him, dumbstruck before stuttering, “B-blue. Ice blue.”

Of course it was.

Snorting, he turned and walked out of her room. Leaving her and her confusing theories about trust behind.

ChapterEleven

Though she’d thought this place would be a bit more of a prison, Selene realized that no one cared if she moved about the castle. The sorceresses had led her to believe that this place would be terrifying. Full of dark corners, cobwebs, straps to hold women down so that men could have their way with them.

But that wasn’t what Lust’s castle was like at all.

In fact, most of it was wide open spaces and natural light. The amount of windows on every wall was worth enough to feed the entire kingdom for two years and there would still be some money left over for more windows.

She thought it was a frivolous expense when they could have just had the small slits in the wall like the Tower had. Sure, cold air got in during the winter, but...

Well. She’d admit it was pretty nice to be warm in the sun even when the winds were a little cold outside.

Maybe there were a few benefits to living in the castle. But she hadn’t explored every corner yet, so there could still be some dungeons in the bottom that she’d missed.

After their conversation, Selene had poked around. The rumors about this place were ripe with decadent sins and monstrous delights. Only the most wicked would come to this castle and indulge in what Lust could offer them.

She’d gone right to the depths of the castle the day after their talk. Someone surely would stop her if they were hiding horrible secrets, and she was certain that someone would. The only thing she’d found were the kitchens, full of a ridiculous amount of servants all bustling about, preparing dinner for what looked like a massive amount of people.

They’d shooed her out of the larder, suggesting that if she was hungry, she should call her servants and they would get her whatever food she wanted. Everyone gave her a strange look, as though she was some poor country dear who didn’t know how to wander about a castle.

She wanted to shout that they had servants in the Tower. She knew how to be a proper lady. What she was looking for had nothing to do with the food in the kitchen and everything to do with a trapdoor that led to the dungeons where poor women were tied up while men in masks looked on.

Except, try as she might, Selene couldn’t find any trap door.

Every day went by where she looked for yet another lie that her family had told her. Or proof of the truth. Everything was so muddled up in her head and it was far too soon for that to be happening.

Her mother had warned her that Lust could turn her mind in a heartbeat. That she needed to be strong for the sorceresses, for her sisters, for her mother. The kingdom needed them to rule. That was why Selene was here.

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