Page 7 of The Demon Crown

But the sun was already coming up on the horizon, the hazy waves of heat wriggling in the distance, and she knew traveling was a terrible idea.

She needed shelter. She needed... A cave.

Damn it.

Grinding her teeth, she turned to look back at Greed who was still standing in the same spot. His crinkly tail barely waved behind him, his hands limp at his sides as he stared at her as though he couldn’t understand what she was doing. Or why she was doing it.

Stomping back to him, she shoved her finger in his face. “You’re the king of this kingdom, right? So you better damn well know where there is a hidden oasis or something similar where we can wait out the day. Yes?”

He blinked at her, focusing far too much on her finger and going cross-eyed again. “Yes.”

“Are you just saying that?”

“No. I know everywhere in this kingdom.”

“And you know where we are now?” For some reason, she highly doubted that he did.

A snarl ripped out of his chest and he looked like an actual demon king for a moment. “I know where we are, thief. And I can get us somewhere safe.”

“Good,” she hissed. “I didn’t save your sorry ass for nothing, then.”

He turned and stomped away from her, giving her a rather impressive view of his tail. There was a small hole in the back of his pants for it, and she wondered if all his pants were like that.

Why was she thinking about his tail? She had a map in her pants, a three week walk ahead of her, and the demon king was now her reluctant companion!

Varya glanced up at the clear sky and glared at the gods. They were laughing at her predicament, she just knew it.

“I don’t find this funny,” she hissed at them before stomping after the demon, who looked like he was about to fall over.

ChapterThree

He didn’t feel so good.

Greed hated to admit when he felt weak, but right now? Bonescraper had done service to its name. That blade cut through not just flesh and sinew, but magic as well. It had taken all his power away, leaving him feeling limp and shaky.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so wobbly. Even his first memories in this body were of power, strength, and certainty with every step. Now the sands tugged at his feet, making him slip this way and that, and it frightened him.

How was he so weak? Why couldn’t he stand on his own, and instead, felt certain one wrong step would send him tumbling down the nearest dune?

A small body tucked itself under his arm, and the surprisingly strong thief grunted as he leaned his weight against her. It was her duty, of course, to take care of her king. An honor, if he was being honest. No one else was given the opportunity to be this close to him. She should be thankful.

Her expression made him wonder if she was also injured. She looked rather ill.

He hadn’t been lying when he said he knew a cave close by, though. It was an old one. Likely the stuff of legends to her and her people, and it was a shame to reveal its location to an average thief.

Greed told himself that she’d proven her value and worth in stealing from the people who had captured him. That was why it was acceptable for him to tell her, and share this scared place.

But he also knew that without her, he would fall flat on his face in a spectacularly terrible fashion.

Leaning on her a little more, he let her carry most of his body weight toward the cave system that he’d seen hundreds of years ago. Except, once they reached the place, he was certain that the sand had swallowed it up.

“Fuck,” he muttered before taking his arm off her shoulders and falling onto his knees. “This needs to...”

She groaned. The sun was already up much higher on the horizon than he’d wanted it to be, and they were both sweating. Dark splotches coated the green leather armor she wore, and he hadn’t even realized that leather could stain like that. For the first time, the little thief removed the mask from her face and sucked in a gasp of air.

And by all the seven kingdoms, she was more beautiful than he’d imagined.

Greed had imagined a lot, letting his mind play over the possibilities of her looks as she carried him over the sands. He’d seen the coiled tangle of her blonde hair, like strands of gold escaping from her hood. He’d thought maybe she would be stoic and hard, a lean thief who had spent most of her years stealing to keep herself alive. Or perhaps she’d startle him and be much younger than he thought. The strength she had in carrying him this far suggested that she might be younger.

---