Page 13 of The Demon Crown

He arched a brow. “What did you take from the Horde, then?”

He had her there, and he knew it. She’d stolen not only the map, but would steal countless artifacts that were listed on it. And then she’d stolen him. If Varya got any more tense, she feared her muscles would start spasming. He had no right, no right at all, and would it be such a bad thing if she delivered him with a few additional bruises? No one would know which ones she’d caused.

The infuriating man snorted. His eyes flashed that bright yellow again. “Every demon king is different. You’ve heard the rumors, I’m sure. Lust has his horns. Gluttony, his claws. I have a tail. All of us are a bit... different, yes?”

She should walk away. But her curiosity had always gotten the better of her. So instead, she stood there like a moron, dripping water out of the creaking leathers that were likely ruined. “I know the rumors.”

“Then I’ll admit to you, and I have never admitted this to anyone, that the rumors are true. Lust can use those horns as he wishes, but he also has another form. Gluttony can no more retract those claws than a leopard can its spots. And me?” He grinned, his teeth a little too sharp. “I’m more animal than you’d ever think. Tread carefully, little treasure, or I’ll gobble you up.”

Her face heated. The hairs on her arms raised, and she didn’t know if she was turned on or terrified.

“What?” she hissed. “Gobble you up? What are you, a children’s story? Ridiculous!”

She stomped away from him, muttering about foolish men and their attempts at being anything other than idiots. And she swore she heard him laugh at her.

It would serve him right if his fever came back. He could get back to his makeshift bed on his own.

ChapterFive

He didn’t like admitting the little mortal might be right, but... she was right. He’d thought bathing would help the fever. The water in that pool was certainly cold enough to ease the heat in his body. But then all of that had backfired.

His fever was worse. The night time chills and sweats made it difficult to sleep, and throughout all of it, the worry battered through his skull.

Why wasn’t he healing?

He and his brothers had always healed faster than the mortals. He could suffer through a sword wound and continue fighting. By the end of the battle, he’d be covered in blood, but never with a scratch on him.

Damned Bonescraper. The knife was somewhere. He’d forgotten what he’d done with it, but he needed to throw it off the edge of his kingdom. Let it sink into the darkness where the monsters lived. At least then it couldn’t hurt anyone else like this again.

Or any of his brothers. The last thing he needed was to unleash a weapon like that upon his own kind.

If only he could heal a little quicker. He’d felt a bit better in the stream, but then he’d gotten worse. How did one heal when they were in a mortal body? This body had always given him trouble, but never like this. Greed knew he and his brothers were closer to mortal than spirit these days, but this was ridiculous.

Rolling over again, he heaved a sigh and tried to curl up tighter. If he dragged his knees in toward his chest, maybe he could contain the heat he was losing. And if he wrapped his arms around his chest, then that felt a little better. Of course, it made his heart do some strange beat and race, but maybe that was just the side he was lying on. If he rolled...

“Would you stop?” a voice hissed.

Right. He wasn’t alone. He had a very unwilling partner in all of this, who was insistent that she would stay on the far side of the cave. She was so far away, he could only see the faint glow of her foot in the moonlight.

“Stop what?” he asked, his teeth chattering. “If there was a warmer part of this cave, then I would find it, woman.”

“Don’t call me woman.”

“It is what you are.”

“I am more than just my sex,” she snarled. And then he swore he heard her mutter something about heartless demons, thinking the world revolved around them.

Ah, but arguing did warm him up a little. A shiver shuddered through his spine, but he found his lips curling into a smile. “I’m sure you are. A woman who steals from dangerous men, then carries her king to safety, and now... I’m not sure what you’re doing in the shadows over there, but I do hope you’re having fun.”

“I swear to all the gods, I will walk over there and step on your throat until you stop breathing.”

A zing of pleasure arched up from the base of his tail, so powerful he wasn’t certain if it was pain or desire. He groaned, low and deep in the back of his throat, “I wish you would.”

The rustling sound of leaves moving made him wonder if she’d rolled away from him. Maybe he’d pushed their argument too far. He wouldn’t be surprised at all. She didn’t seem to enjoy talking about sex or anything of the sort.

Except then he heard the rustling from right behind his head and froze when he felt the touch of a hand around his neck. Eyes blinking open, he stared up into her angry expression. Not her foot, but her hand, wrapped around his neck like a collar.

“Don’t test me, demon,” she ground through her teeth. “There is nothing I would like more than to leave you here on your own. No one would find you. And if they did, then I would be long gone.”

---