Page 129 of The Demon Crown

“Ready?” he murmured in her ear, gently nudging her hair to the side.

“Always.”

ChapterForty-Six

They hunted together, both him and his queen, cutting through the Horde with her family at their side and his behind them. Gluttony was more of a help than the humans, of course. He was much quicker. Just a blur between them and the Horde members as he picked them off one by one.

Greed, in comparison, was a sledgehammer. Just as they’d used against him before, just as they had tried to destroy him, he took them all out. Though Varya showed a few moments of hesitation, he did not. He was more than happy to kill whomever he could.

Though he’d never tell her, it stung a bit that she’d gotten to kill the Horde leader before he did. He wanted to see the man laid out and bleeding at his feet, yes, but he’d wanted to use his blade to saw through tendon and bone. Instead, she had protected herself.

And with that thought came the pride.

His woman was no wildflower to protect. She was the thorn and the arrow, a weapon all on her own that she could throw at anyone who tried to stand before her and her freedom.

He’d never been prouder.

Never been more turned on.

The sight of her covered in blood, fulfilling every fantasy he’d never known he had, was a memory that would never fade from his mind. Not easily, at least.

He wanted her now. He’d want her in a hundred years. And together, with that spirit of adventure bursting with power in her chest, they would rule this kingdom with a little more caution and a significant amount more patience.

Breathing hard, he stood in the carnage and watched as the last members of the Horde fled. His soldiers dragged a few of them off their horses, swiftly delivering their end rather than the salvation they’d hoped to see.

But when Altan and his people readied themselves to get onto those same horses and chase down the others, he called out, “That’s enough.”

They all looked at him in surprise, but he was tired. He had his woman. And the Horde wouldn’t regroup any time soon. A handful of people running for their lives would not affect his kingdom very much.

And he’d send out more scouts to find and kill anyone who admitted to being involved in that Horde. They would find their end one way or another, but it didn’t have to be right now.

Varya staggered over to him, her breath sawing in and out of her lungs as she slumped against his side. She wrapped her arm around him, and that was when he knew what bliss felt like. “You’re letting them go?”

“For a good reason.” He pressed a kiss to her bloody temple. “They’re going to find all the others who weren’t here tonight. They will lead us to the last members of the Horde, the wounded or the old. Perhaps the masterminds of all this.”

“No, that was definitely the man I killed.”

“Then his second in command. Or his third. Anyone who might want to continue this madness when they know damn well I will hunt them for the rest of their days.” He twirled her stiffening hair around his finger. “Let’s go home, treasure. Your people are waiting for you and we have a lot to do.”

“You really don’t want to hunt them?” she asked, leaning back to stare up at him with a pretty little frown on her face. “It seems unlike you to not want to race across the desert to remind them why they should fear you.”

It was. But he’d felt something shift inside him halfway through the battle, and a voice he didn’t recognize had whispered for him to go home. He’d done enough. He’d protected his people, his family, the love of his life. They were together, and he didn’t have to fight anymore if he didn’t want to. There would be another day for battle.

But there were only so many days to see the people who waited for them at the castle.

He sighed, filling his lungs with the fresh desert air, and then nodded again. “Yes, I’m sure I don’t want to hunt them. We’ll need entertainment later. Why would we ever wish our lives to get boring, my love?”

“My love?” she repeated, and her eyes went a little glassy. “Now there are a few words I like to hear.”

And because he couldn’t stop himself, Greed gathered her up in his arms and carried her to his nuckelavee. The beast even seemed rather happy to see her, nipping slightly at the air around her feet as they got on, then mouthing her pant leg as though it wished to taste blood.

Dangerous, monstrous beast. He’d never been happier with the gift he’d gotten from his brother.

Speaking of, Gluttony walked over to them before they could leave. “Go get your castle situated, demon king. I’ll stay here with the others and journey back with those who were also stolen. Some of them are injured, and it will take a while.”

“You’re staying?” Greed said with an arched brow.

“Yes. I think your people could use a demon to watch over them.” Gluttony winked. “And I’m not done with all the bodies here yet.”

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