Page 47 of The Demon Court

Gritting her teeth, she hardened her expression and nodded. “I will do my best, Mother. You trained me well. He has a fascination with me, of that there is no doubt. He’s moved me into his bedroom as well.”

“Then seduce him.”

She felt the blood drain out of her face. “Everyone tries to seduce him. He is Lust. There is a better way of gaining his admiration than by trying to be like all the rest.”

“Do what it takes. I see little movement thus far.”

And with that, Minerva severed the connection. The little bird in her palm stared up at her with bright, dark eyes, and then it burst. There was no blood. No gore. Just a pile of feathers in her hand where there had once been a vibrant creature.

“Oh,” she whispered. “That’s why they sent you.”

Her mother had wanted to remind her how fragile life was. And she wanted to viscerally make that point.

She reached underneath her hair and gently touched the black mark on the back of her neck. The spell they had cast was supposed to protect her. But would it? Could magic like that protect her when her mother’s intent to threaten was so clear?

Mist pooled underneath the door and a little spirit soon joined her in the room.

Affection had gotten a little larger since she’d seen it last. There was a faint hue to it now as well, a bright yellow ball that collected in its center and stretched as it moved.

“There is no affection for that woman in you,” it whispered, gathering around her feet. A single feather drifted down through the air and landed on its head. “She is not kind.”

“No, she is not,” Selene agreed.

Her mother had never seen the use of kindness. Selene had barely even realized kindness existed until they’d started having their outings. She was only allowed out with the older girls at first, and then she’d realized there was another type of person out there.

Bending down, she sat on the floor with her back to the wall and gathered Affection into her arms. The mist felt a little heavier today, much easier to hold.

“When I was little, I remember the first time I saw a mother with her daughter. They were in the Sapphire Falls market. I don’t know if you’ve ever been. But the entire town is surrounded by waterfalls. Her daughter had fallen into one of the pools at their base, and the little girl was crying because her new dress was wet. It was horrible to see, and I knew that her mother would scold her. I hated being scolded.” Selene smiled, staring off into the distance like she could still see them. “Instead of yelling, her mother waded into the water with her and sat down in the cold. They splashed each other, and suddenly the little girl lit up like nothing bad had happened.”

“How wonderful!”

“It was. And I wanted to feel the same way. I went home with my mother and sisters that night and tried to see if I could get my own mother to play with me like that. She didn’t want to.” The happy feelings from the memory faded into the bitter cold of the Tower. “But every time I went to any of the markets, I always made sure to recognize the kindness there.”

Selene had kept all those memories like precious gems. Locked away for a time when she was alone and could feel without fear.

The frigid lake inside her was near to bursting from her afternoons with Lust. But if she opened it up just a little, maybe it wouldn’t all come rushing out.

One by one, she pulled the memories and their emotions out of that frozen state inside her heart. The affection from those memories filled her up with warmth and a bubbly happiness that she’d almost forgotten.

Affection’s eyes, deep in that mist, grew wider. The yellow coloring spread throughout all of its mist until it turned into a little glowing ball in her lap. “Oh, my. There’s so many of them!”

“I know people think I’m cold,” she whispered, smiling down into the golden light. “I know people think I can’t feel. But I can. And I do. I feel very deeply and I remember every memory that makes me feel like this. I keep them all, you see. Tucked away for moments when I cannot see anything but darkness. These are the memories that bring me back to the light.”

Not her mother’s grace or her life in the Tower. None of those memories made her feel anything but the icy cold that always tried to lock her up again.

Affection enjoyed her memories, it seemed. It babbled in her lap as it flicked through each and every one of them.

“You saw a circus?”

“I did,” she said with a soft chuckle. “It was a long time ago, but the performers were so talented. My favorite was the—“

“Fire-eater!” Affection interrupted. “His flames stretched up to the sky like a dragon, and his throat glowed. He winked at you, and it made you feel like the only girl in the crowd watching him. He was so impressive!”

“He was.”

Again, the spirit moved through her mind, and strangely, she didn’t care anymore. It didn’t feel as though the spirit was forcing itself into her, as her mother had always warned her with hauntings. Affection was respectfully peering into her mind so it could experience something new. Or perhaps only what it looked for.

Selene let the little spirit have its fun. It didn’t get to feed often, or at least, that’s what it said. And she could easily imagine that affection was hard to find in a castle like this.

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