Page 103 of The Demon Crown

So she slipped her hand into his, and let him lead her into the dark.

ChapterThirty-Six

Greed curved his much larger hand around hers, drawing her closer to his chest like he was in a dream. And maybe he was. This was the moment when he had to prove to himself and to her. They hadn’t wasted their time. She would stay here with him, because she wanted to. Because she needed to. Because he provided for her as no one else had ever done in her life.

And that was the gift he was giving her. A gift that was as self serving as any other gift he’d given, perhaps even worse in the long run. He would make her immortal, and he couldn’t do it without her permission.

He’d thought about it. On the ride back home, he’d let it play through his mind after allowing the spirit to feast on the people in her village.

Gluttony could hold her down for him. His brother wasn’t squeamish about actions that were questionable, at best. And Gluttony would do it if Greed asked him. Together, they would hold her down, forcing her jaw open while Greed had to sit on her chest to keep her still. Then he would pour the soul down her throat, explain away that it would not be that bad. That she would live forever and the spirit wouldn’t affect her.

But she’d be so angry with him. His Varya had always been the woman to make her own choices. She’d only lived for herself this entire life, and he couldn’t take that away from her now. He had to let her know why he was doing this. The reason for all of it.

And that would be the hardest part. Greed hadn’t lied, instead he’d just said nothing.

He drew her away from the arena, toward the massive leaves and jungle beyond. If she only gave him the chance to explain, maybe he could get the words past the knot in his throat. Maybe he could tell her how he adored her more than life itself and he wanted to give her the world on a platter if she’d take him.

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked as they ducked deeper into the oasis.

He didn’t say a word until he’d drawn her to his favorite spot in his entire kingdom. A smaller waterfall, much smaller than it used to be, but the cascading water was a few feet taller than he was. He used to come out here and bathe every single day. Now, he gifted the secret of its existence to her.

Turning around, he caught her other hand in his and held them both against his rapidly beating heart. “Have I ever told you about my brother?”

Varya arched a brow. “You have told me very little about anything, Greed.”

Right. He hadn’t been particularly good about sharing details of his life. She was right in their last argument. He used sex as a shield so he didn’t have to tell her about the darker parts of himself. So he didn’t have to admit that he was a flawed man and she shouldn’t waste her time trying to get to know him. He was afraid of what she’d think if she knew who he was.

None of that came out of his mouth. Instead, he started talking about Lust.

“I went to visit Lust a while ago. The bridge between our kingdoms needed repairs, and I thought it was a good chance to snoop on his life. He had a new... we’ll call her a distraction. At the time. And I’d never seen him quite so riled up. I thought I’d make it more difficult for him, because he’d never been all that interested in women. He used them, tossed them aside, found someone else to please. Itwashis way.”

He looked up, staring into her eyes that were so confused. And he wondered how he was already fucking this up.

Taking a deep breath, Greed continued. “But then I saw him with her. And I’d never seen him like that before. He watched the way she moved, smiled when she talked, softened when she looked at him. This one was different. I didn’t know why. She wasn’t all that different from the countless other women he’d entertained himself with. And then... then she almost died.”

He could still remember it. The metallic scent of blood on the air, the fear that rolled off Lust in waves. It had been a terrible few weeks while he watched his brother waste away to nothing. Lust hadn’t been himself, and that had terrified Greed.

Varya stared at him like he’d lost his mind, and maybe he had. Though her brow at least wrinkled when she heard Lust’s bride had almost died.

He licked his lips. “I saw what that did to him. I saw how it almost made him crumble. This impossibly strong demon king, nearly brought to the very end of his power because of a woman. At the time, I didn’t understand it. I couldn’t. He had fought so hard to be powerful, just as I had, and to throw that all away? All because this woman had been injured... It...”

He didn’t know how to say the next part. Releasing her hands, he drew his fingers through his hair, which likely sent it rioting in all directions.

He must look like an idiot. Standing in front of her, fighting for words, incapable of just saying how he felt, but he couldn’t do it. The words stuck in his throat, knotting up around his collarbone. Greed had spent his entire life becoming more impressive, more terrifying, everything that a warlord should be. He was the raging king who had destroyed this kingdom and then built it back in the image he most desired.

And this woman... right in front of him...

His body moved, pacing before her while his hands moved with his words. “I thought perhaps it was a weakness in him that I simply hadn’t seen, and then the Horde captured me on my way home. I was ready to kill them all. There was plenty of rage left in me after dealing with Lust and seeing that gentle relationship between him and Selene. It made me want to hit something. And it made this awful feeling grow in my stomach that I still haven’t named yet, but...”

He took a deep breath, stopped moving, and froze in front of her. “I met you.”

The words stuck, harder to get out than anything he’d said before.

“And I...”

She stared up at him, her eyes growing wider with every word he said. Each one, ripping out of his chest, tearing free from his body.

“Feel the same way.”

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