Page 8 of The Demon Crown

He hadn’t expected an angel to stand before him. Smooth, pale skin, her cheeks flushed red from exertion and heat. Pretty pink, plush lips and sharp brows that were already drawn down in anger. Her golden waves were weighed nearly straight with sweat, just brushing past her collarbones, but she was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen.

He had to have her.

The greed in him, that emotion that he’d lived his entire life with, flared harder than it ever had before. He knew this feeling. It was the same one that he always got when he saw an object that no one else had. Something unique. Something specific that no other person would touch again. He had to take it. He needed it to be his, and that fierce flame roared through him the moment he saw her face.

She cut him a scathing glance. “What?”

He shook his head, trying to clear what he was certain was a dumbfounded expression off of his face. “We need to dig.”

“We need to what?”

He gestured at the sand, the world suddenly spinning. “The caves are down there.”

She looked at the ground, clearly not believing him one bit. And when was the last time someone hadn’t believed him? “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“How long has it been since you’ve last been inside?”

“A while,” he grumbled. Honestly, he didn’t know. Greed hadn’t been on this side of his kingdom in the better part of a hundred years, and he couldn’t remember if he’d visited these caves the last time or the time before that.

Of course, they didn’t have much time. He felt the rumblings underneath their feet long before he sensed their presence. The Horde had woken from their slumber, likely much quicker than this little thief had anticipated.

“We need to hurry,” he added, then glanced over his shoulder at the hazy horizon. The sun was already well above their heads. Sweat turned into a river between his shoulder blades and he wasn’t exaggerating how difficult it had become to stand. “Your friends are awake.”

“Friends,” she snorted. “What friends do I have that you’re aware of?”

“The ones you stole from.” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder as he met her gaze. “They’re coming.”

All the blood drained from her features, leaving her bone pale. He hadn’t expected that. Most people had that expression when they looked at him, not someone else.

He was almost insulted.

“Fuck,” she hissed before dropping to her knees and scooping the sands with more vigor than he’d thought she would still have after trudging all this way. “Are you helping or not?”

“Not.” He scanned the horizon before putting his hands on his hips and glaring at her. “You’re not afraid of me, are you?”

“You wouldn’t be either if you could see yourself right now, big guy.” She huffed out a breath and turned in the opposite direction. Crouched over the sands, using both her hands to scoop it all between her legs, she rather looked like a dog.

That shouldn’t be as attractive as it was.

“But you’re afraid of them?”

“I absolutely am.”

“Why?” He crouched, wincing as the wounds all along his back and sides stretched, splitting open again.

“You would be too if you knew anything about them.” Her fingers hit stone, so it wasn’t exactly the right place to dig. Still, she scrabbled over it like it would have some secret button to press before starting over at another spot.

“They are weak and small.” Greed moved, so he was in her line of sight again. “You watched me kill one of them, and you still do not fear me more than them?”

A little growl rumbled in her throat and she glared at him with all the anger of a lioness. He’d never seen something more pretty, nor anything he’d wanted to claim more. When they were done with this, when the night had fallen and they’d returned to this home, he would keep her. He would dress her in all the rare gems and clothing that he’d gathered over the years. And she would be his greatest prize.

She wrinkled her nose. “Would you stop looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you want to eat me,” she muttered, then let out a little sound of victory as she found the opening to the cave.

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