Page 95 of The Demon Crown

“A dinner he’s requested you to join him at.” Ivo looked down at the clothes sadly, then back at her. “He’s going about this all wrong, isn’t he?”

“He is.”

“But you’ll stay this time?” He seemed almost hopeful.

“I don’t know.”

A flicker of hurt in his eyes made her heart sting. “He said you’d promised to stay this time. That you wouldn’t run and we wouldn’t have to track you down.”

Making sure the blanket was tightly wrapped around her waist, Varya padded over to his side and placed a hand on his arm. “I’m not running because I don’t like this place or the people in it. You see that, Ivo, don’t you? There’s just so many other people I can help.”

He nodded, but the little furrows between his brows made it seem like he didn’t quite understand. “Greed mentioned that you know... that I... Morag and I... That we’re...”

“Spirits,” she said for the poor, stuttering man. “You were spirits, you mean? You aren’t anymore. I look at you and I see so much more than just a spirit of loyalty.”

“It is still who I am at my core.”

She patted his shoulder one more time and then turned him toward the door. “Then turn your loyalty to more than just Greed. You have an entire kingdom who could use your help, Ivo. You and your sister could make a difference that stretches so much farther than your original master.”

A spark lit in him. She could almost feel the magic that glowed at his fingertips as he stood in front of her door, then squared his shoulders. “You think we can do that?”

“I think you can do anything you put your mind to.”

Then she closed the door and dressed herself like the good little doll she was. Varya’s movements were slightly wooden, aching as though she had been placed back in a prison she didn’t wish to be in. Greed had... Oh, he didn’t realize that what he was asking of her was wrong. And that was part of the problem, wasn’t it?

He wanted to keep her safe. He wanted to keep her, period. Varya had always wanted that, hadn’t she?

She’d wanted to be the person who just one man couldn’t keep his hands off of. She wanted him to be consumed by need for her, and that he’d do anything to keep her safe. She’d told herself countless times in her life that all she needed was one person. One. That’s all.

Now she had him, and it didn’t feel right. None of this was perfect, yet. What if it was never perfect? What if she was so broken by all these years of being on her own that she could never get what she wanted?

The dress coiled around her neck, flowing out from her waist like the petals of a flower. The gems sat heavy on her collarbone and chest, while the bangles felt like shackles around her wrists. She just wanted... something.

Damn it, how was she supposed to tell Greed what she wanted if she didn’t know the answer to that herself?

She made her way out of the room and down the stairs as Ivo guided her to a new glass bubble she’d never been in before. This wasn’t the ballroom. It was a much more intimate setting that was all readied with a small dinner, a much smaller table, and a smug-looking demon king waiting for her.

Just seeing him made her cheeks burn red, but she knew this was the only time she’d be able to pin him down. To tell him what she needed, and how it was going to happen around here.

If she didn’t force him to have this conversation, then they never would. She’d drown in his kisses and his touches and their shared needs and then wake up years later to realize that they didn’t even know each other. Or worse, that they’d never even tried.

Varya sat down and he poured her a glass of wine. Saying nothing. Just looking at her with those smoldering eyes as he licked his lips. And damn it, her mind had already gone down the same path his had. All it would take was a single movement on her part. Just a slight flick of her fingers and the tie at the back of her neck would crumble. This dress would slither down her body, pooling in her lap until she wore nothing but gems and gold. Just like he wanted.

She could see it in his heavy-lidded eyes and the way his finger carefully stroked the edge of his wine glass. He wanted her. She wanted him. He saw no problem in fucking their way through the years until they grew bored with each other.

Taking a deep breath, she folded her hands in her lap. “How was your day?”

He blinked at her. “My day?”

“Yes. How was your day?”

“I...” Again, he blinked at her, confusion spreading across his features. “Why do you want to know how my day was?”

“It’s a question people ask each other. We say what we did, how we felt during the day, who we saw.” Varya reached for food to put on her plate, but her mind didn’t recognize what it was that she touched. Were her hands shaking? They were, damn it.

Through all of this, Greed hadn’t moved. Nothing other than his eyelids. “My day was... fine.”

“That’s good.”

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