Page 130 of The Demon Crown

A slither of revulsion quaked through Greed’s body before he nodded. “Do nothing to make Wrath more mad at us, yes? I have no interest in turning this into a battle between myself and the Underlord.”

“Underlord,” Gluttony repeated with a chuckle and a shake of his head. “I like that one. Maybe that’ll stick.”

He watched his brother waltz away, and he wondered yet again if they were all wrong about Gluttony. The man was dangerous, but they all were. Perhaps Greed was the most bloodthirsty brother after all, considering he held a woman in his arms completely doused in blood and he’d never wanted to fuck her more.

Varya turned in his arms and cupped his cheek. “You have the whole town in the castle?”

“Eating me out of house and home, I’m sure. They’re probably stomping through the gardens right now and stealing all my treasures.” He turned his face into her palm and kissed the center of it.

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“I have the only treasure I need right here.” He tightened his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her lips before urging the nuckelavee forward into a speed that battled the wind.

They didn’t stop for anything, although Varya fell asleep in his arms a few times. And he took the opportunity to bury his head in the crevice between her neck and shoulder, breathing her in. Even though she smelled like metal and death, there was still her scent underneath it all. Still his queen, his bride, his reason for life now.

Ach, he’d almost lost her. Again.

Greed promised himself he would never let her go like that again. But that new voice in his head whispered that he would. If he had to let her go for the good of the kingdom, yet again, then he would do it. And then he would battle to have her back at his side.

This was proven the moment they arrived back at his castle. Hands helped Varya get off his mount and then the people swarmed him. More people than just the town he’d saved. Some of his own workers from the castle, and somehow more. Women and men who commended him for doing what needed to be done. They wanted to know if he’d succeeded, if he’d driven off the Horde for good.

“The Horde is gone!” he shouted, his words carrying through the courtyard and Varya’s blue eyes matching the vivid sky above them as the sun came out. “The Horde will no longer torment you. But hear me now. I have neglected my kingdom for too long. When I first came here, I thought the only way to indulge your needs was to turn this into a warring kingdom full of thieves, bandits, and murderers. I see my folly now. I see that my kingdom is full of good people who, yes, will steal from others, but mostly those who see the light. You honor your gods. You honor me. And for that, I will never again forget that you are here, and that you are mine.”

The cheer that rose settled everything into place in his chest. And all that he’d been missing and searching for, all that suddenly appeared in front of him. All within reach.

Varya smiled and grabbed onto his neck, drawing him down so she could whisper in his ear, “Celebrate with your people. I need to bathe, eat, and sleep. But join me when you can, my king.”

The old him would have said fuck the rest of them. And a part of him wanted to throw anyone aside that dared stand between him and Varya when she looked like that.

But another part of him wanted to enjoy the energy that filled the oasis with these people in it. They were alive and well and so damned thankful for it that he couldn’t deny them a day with him. Neither did he wish to.

He reeled her in for a searing kiss that would likely plague the both of them for the rest of the day, and then he sent her on her way.

Greed indulged himself. His people. He fed them and gave them all the stores of alcohol in this place, but it didn’t matter. Their lives were what he treasured now. Each individual person gave him a reason to be who he was, and to keep his kingdom flourishing as only he could. He’d make more trades, with more kingdoms, to bring food and wine to this place. He could replenish it.

Just a single one of his magical artifacts alone would have been enough for a full year of food to feed his kingdom. And now? He wasn’t as afraid to part with it.

He did not know how long they celebrated because soon they were all so swept up in the celebration it was almost impossible to know what the time was. He knew his brother returned with the missing villagers and that started the festivities all over again, even though most of his people were barely able to walk in a straight line.

But he watched them with a sense of peace and happiness, grinning at Gluttony as his polished brother joined him.

“You look almost sweaty,” Greed said, handing over a mug of ale that they’d found deep underneath his castle.

“Shut up,” Gluttony muttered before downing the entire mug. “You have no idea how much of a pain in the ass it was to drag all those wounded people through the desert. And here you are, looking like you haven’t bathed or done anything at all since you got back. Are you the king of this kingdom, Greed? At all?”

“I am.” He gestured toward the people surrounding them. “This is my proof.”

Gluttony snorted, rolled his eyes, and then stilled as he stared at Greed. “You’re... different.”

“Exhausted.”

“Different.” Gluttony frowned at him, his eyes skating over Greed’s entire form before he snorted again. “Was this what it felt like when you’d seen Lust had changed? Here I was, thinking that both of you were idiots and yet I’m the one feeling jealous. You’ve got a new calling in life, brother. After a thousand years, I suspect that’s a rather welcome change.”

Had he?

He brushed a hand down his chest, not quite certain he had changed that much. But then he thought back to the voice in his head, the one that had urged him to come here and the one that had told him to stay while Varya went to bathe. The same voice that had told him he couldn’t leave quite yet, not when there was more he could feed them and more drink to be had.

“Well, damn,” he muttered before finishing his mug. “Here I was thinking it was love that had made Lust change. That he’d gone and found himself a woman who made him want to be better and I was the idiot for it.”

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