Page 79 of The Demon Crown

Her friends were judging her. Varya knew that. She could feel their stares as she sat with Greed on the small sand dune that was far from the crowd. They were surprised she’d even brought him, let alone taken the time to make the lantern with him. But she’d wanted to, and he’d been so fascinated throughout the entire process.

The lanterns were the last part of the festival, and she’d always done this process with her friends. Their gazes had burned as they watched her teach himtheirways, but how could she do anything else? Greed was trying more than she’d ever seen him try before, and it called out to something in her heart.

He wanted to make her smile. He wanted to make her laugh. By the gods, he’d walked into a crowd of people he did not know, who mostly disliked him, and he’d tried to dance with her!

It was unheard of. And beautiful. And so giving in a way that she hadn’t expected from a man literally named after greed. A man who had claimed to be a spirit of that emotion.

He’d made something in her heart twist and she didn’t know what to do with that. So she’d made the lantern with him, and then clambered up the dune where they had some distance from the others. Because maybe she wanted him to herself after sharing him for hours with everyone else.

“So, what do we do now?” Greed asked, his eyes on the lantern.

“We light the candle underneath and wait for everyone else. Then we let it go, and the desert takes her sacrifice.”

Others were already lighting their candles, so she reached for her flint only to see that he had snapped his fingers and a small spark danced on the tip of his claws. How? She had no idea. Magic was hard to understand like that. But she hadn’t realized he could do more than just change his form.

He flashed her a sheepish grin. “Let me light it.”

“Why didn’t do that while we were in the caves?”

“Well, I wasn’t really myself then, now was I?” He touched his fingers to the candle and then put out the flame on his fingertips. He held the lantern with her, staring into her eyes so deeply her heart raced. “Ready?”

“For what?”

He nodded over his shoulder and she saw everyone else had already released their lanterns. And all the lights that rose into the sky danced behind his head. Those warm eyes made her chest tighten again.

She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to keep riding this feeling of warmth and happiness and joy that came from her people’s love of everything that they did. But was it right to want that? He was a demon king and he would only want to take from her and...

“Varya?” he whispered, his voice low and quiet. “Should we let it go?”

She realized she should let a lot of things go. Nodding, a soft smile spread across her face. “Yes. I think so.”

They released the lantern together, letting it dance on the wind and rise to all the others that hung in the air, spinning and whirling on the eddies of wind that carried them to whatever desert goddess wanted them this time. All her hopes and dreams. All floating there, waiting for a god to catch wind of what she wanted.

Everyone stood, going back to their tents where they would all spend the night. Then they’d get up at the first sign of sunlight and start packing the entire camp up. They weren’t too far from her town, and traveling during the day was still possible.

Now, she didn’t know where to go. Was she supposed to head back to Greed’s castle? That wasn’t home. But the town wasn’t her home either. She’d have to sleep on Altan’s floor again, and that always made her neck ache in the morning.

A warm hand cupped her jaw, turning her to look at him. “Stay with me for the night,” Greed murmured.

“Where?”

He pointed behind them and she realized that someone had set up a tent for them. She hadn’t seen anyone arrive with him, yet Greed’s guards were likely just off in the distance. They were never far from him, even when he tried to slip away.

Chuckling, she nodded. She could give him one more night. Just one.

They stood together as though in a dream. He held her hand as he drew her toward the dark green tent, slipping inside to light a fire in the round brazier on the ground. He had a table and two chairs on one side of the tent, and thick rugs underneath her feet. The rugs all led up to a mass of sheepskins that served as a bed, soft and cushioned with blankets that would keep them warm during the night.

She hadn’t slept through the night with him since the cave. Since she’d curled her body around his big one trying to stay warm.

Sudden nerves clawed at her throat, but she beat them back. This man had tasted her. He’d kissed her within an inch of her life and now was her chance to take what she wanted. Him. She wanted to know what it was like. Just once.

Greed got the fire going and then sat down in the big chair. His legs spread wide, tail flicking at the sand. He had his hands on his thighs, but his eyes watched her with a desire that she knew was only just barely reined in. He wanted her, too. And he wanted her to make this choice.

“Come here,” he said, his voice a low grumble.

And who was she to deny him?

Varya walked toward him as if in a dream. Her feet slid along the sands and she refused to let any more nerves get in her way. She gathered up the bottom of her shirt, pulling it over her head. The sharp hiss of his breath made her feel powerful. Just the sight of her made his lungs wheeze, and that was something she’d never done to another man. Not even when she’d indulged herself for the evening.

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