Chapter 11

ChapterEleven

Though she’d thought this place would be a bit more of a prison, Selene realized that no one cared if she moved about the castle. The sorceresses had led her to believe that this place would be terrifying. Full of dark corners, cobwebs, straps to hold women down so that men could have their way with them.

But that wasn’t what Lust’s castle was like at all.

In fact, most of it was wide open spaces and natural light. The amount of windows on every wall was worth enough to feed the entire kingdom for two years and there would still be some money left over for more windows.

She thought it was a frivolous expense when they could have just had the small slits in the wall like the Tower had. Sure, cold air got in during the winter, but...

Well. She’d admit it was pretty nice to be warm in the sun even when the winds were a little cold outside.

Maybe there were a few benefits to living in the castle. But she hadn’t explored every corner yet, so there could still be some dungeons in the bottom that she’d missed.

After their conversation, Selene had poked around. The rumors about this place were ripe with decadent sins and monstrous delights. Only the most wicked would come to this castle and indulge in what Lust could offer them.

She’d gone right to the depths of the castle the day after their talk. Someone surely would stop her if they were hiding horrible secrets, and she was certain that someone would. The only thing she’d found were the kitchens, full of a ridiculous amount of servants all bustling about, preparing dinner for what looked like a massive amount of people.

They’d shooed her out of the larder, suggesting that if she was hungry, she should call her servants and they would get her whatever food she wanted. Everyone gave her a strange look, as though she was some poor country dear who didn’t know how to wander about a castle.

She wanted to shout that they had servants in the Tower. She knew how to be a proper lady. What she was looking for had nothing to do with the food in the kitchen and everything to do with a trapdoor that led to the dungeons where poor women were tied up while men in masks looked on.

Except, try as she might, Selene couldn’t find any trap door.

Every day went by where she looked for yet another lie that her family had told her. Or proof of the truth. Everything was so muddled up in her head and it was far too soon for that to be happening.

Her mother had warned her that Lust could turn her mind in a heartbeat. That she needed to be strong for the sorceresses, for her sisters, for her mother. The kingdom needed them to rule. That was why Selene was here.

Maybe she needed to go visit other towns. Her mother had been so adamant that the kingdom was suffering. Their purpose was just and true. Selene wouldn’t have been sent out into a prospering kingdom simply because her mother wanted power.

She paused while brushing her hair, staring into her own reflection in the mirror. She had more conviction than this. A few weeks in a castle should not change her opinion of her own people.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She hadn’t called for anyone to attend her, but these servants were incessant! She knew it was because Lust had allowed her mother’s rumors of their upcoming marriage to spread. Why, she had no idea. Her dismissal of him had embarrassed the man in front of all his people.

If that hadn’t gotten him to reconsider all this, she didn’t know what else would.

At some point soon, she needed to find him. To apologize and simper and do all the things that her mother would tell her to do. After all, she’d been the idiot who had angered him when she was supposed to be getting him under her thumb. Or at least getting him to ignore her so she could snoop around for the truth.

He just made her so angry! Why did he seem to think it was acceptable to startle her rather than welcome her?

“Come in,” she called out.

She watched in the mirror as the door slid open, but no one stood on the other side. Frowning, she twisted around and searched the floor for a misty substance. Affection had been visiting her often, although the poor thing had only gotten more weak lately. It refused to explain why it was having a hard time even rolling across the floor.

“Affection?” she asked.

She heard the faint sound of someone clearing their throat, but... What was going on?

Standing, she smoothed her hand down the dark bodice of her gown. The high neckline was stiff with gold embroidery, trailing down into long sleeves that almost covered her hands. The tight waistline accentuated the hourglass of her shape and draped in lovely, stiff pressed lines all the way to the floor. It was one of her favorite gowns, and she wore it only because Lust would hate it if he saw her.

Gathering up a handful of her hair, she twisted it over her shoulder as she sighed and walked toward the door. “I told you all, I have no need of assistance. Thank you for offering, but I’m perfectly capable of dressing myself.”

She meant to slam the door shut and lock it. Curiosity, however, had other plans. She should stuff that emotion into the lake with the rest of them, but she still poked her head out and glanced to the left down the hall. Nothing. Of course not.

Yet again she heard someone clear their throat and she looked the other way. Lust leaned against the wall next to her bedroom door. He had his ankles crossed, broad shoulders leaning against her wall while he completely ignored her. He stared down at his fingernails, then splayed his hand wide.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Hmm?” He looked over at her, pretending he had no idea she was there. “Oh, there you are.”

She wanted to grind her teeth. Unfortunately, this meddlesome demon was a little too aware of everything around him, and he’d notice. Instead, she forced herself to smile. “I take it you were looking for me?”

He looked at her, and his eyes widened in shock. “Oh, that’s a terrible expression. Stop doing that.”

“What?”

Lust waved at her face. “Whatever you’re doing with your face.”

“I’m not doing anything odd. I’m just smiling at you.”

“That’s a smile?” He curled his lip. “Stop it. Right now.”

“I’m not...” She sighed and let the fake smile drop. “Fine. What do you want?”

“We’re going. You’re dressed well enough.” Though his eyes skating up and down her body clearly said otherwise. “I suppose you’ll be... warm.”

“Oh, please. You hate the dress, that’s why I picked it.” Selene crossed her arms over her chest. “Where are we going? I dislike surprises.”

“Of course you do. You’re no fun at all.” He held his hand out for her to take. His fingers were long and stronger than she’d thought they would look. Lovely hands, really. “You were the one who said I needed to work on you trusting me. And now I am asking you to do just that.”

“You have given me no reason to trust you.”

“And I have given you no real reason not to, either.” He waggled his fingers. “I promise not to shave your head, force you to remove your clothing, or otherwise startle you. Not today, at least.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

Selene glared down at his hand. But the hand wasn’t the problem. His sudden change in demeanor was. Why did it matter to him if she trusted him? He had a hundred, probably a thousand, other women who were happy to warm his bed.

He didn’t need her at all. But right now, she’d caught his attention, and that was exactly what she was supposed to do.

So even though it made her skin crawl to touch him, she slid her hand into his and nodded. “Fine. But not for long.”

“You have appointments, I take it?” He grinned and that damned expression made a shiver travel down her spine.

Not a bad shiver, either. Angry at herself, she snarled, “No, I just don’t want to spend much time with you.”

“Ah, the sorceresses sent me a snarling wolverine for a bride. And here I was thinking your mother sent you to me planning to seduce the demon king.” He tucked his finger underneath her chin and forced her to look at him. “Is that what you’re trying to do, little moon?”

“Seduce you?” she snorted. “That’s the last thing I want.”

Confusion rippled through those expressive eyes. “That’s what I thought you’d say. How strange. Never you mind, though. I would like to spend time with you, and the idea of seducing you is rather abhorrent to me as well. Follow me, and I promise to keep my hands to myself. Unless you ask me to touch you.”

“Not going to happen.”

“Never say never, darling.” He winked at her again, only to then drag her through the halls.

He said nothing after that, and Selene had to rush to keep up with his long legs, so she was rather quickly out of breath. They raced through the castle like someone was chasing them. She couldn’t understand why, but it made the entire situation feel rather uninhibited.

No, that was wrong. He made it feel like they were breaking the rules, and her heart raced at the thought.

What was he doing to her?

She kept her mouth shut until they left the castle and approached the edge of the kingdom. She’d known that it existed near his castle, but she hadn’t thought it was this close.

The edge of their home plummeted into the darkness. Into nothing. She could feel that oppressive madness that lingered beneath. That feeling was the reason so few people ever got close to the edge. A part of their brain knew something existed deep in those shadows that wanted to devour them.

And Lust was continuing closer and closer.

She couldn’t take it anymore. Selene tugged hard on his hand, and her fingers slipped through his grip. She immediately took five enormous steps away from the devouring darkness. “Are you going to throw me off the edge? Is that your idea of an afternoon well spent?”

He looked back at her. The smile that split his face didn’t make her feel any better. “While I’ll admit, throwing you off the edge would end my problems, that was not my plan for today.”

“I have no interest in getting closer. I know what waits at the bottom.”

“Do you?” He arched his brow. “I was under the impression only my brother knew the answer to that. So go on then. What do the sorceresses know is at the bottom?”

Her heart pounded in her throat, panic clawing its way up her throat. “Darkness. Madness. It has many names. But it is hungry, always hungry.”

Lust almost looked disappointed. “Ah, so the same old rumors everyone else knows. I’ll admit to being as curious as the next about what is actually down there. And Wrath is so tight lipped, he’d never tell me. He barely wants to share how his kingdom is doing, let alone the secrets of the realm.”

It was the first time she’d heard him speak of his counterparts. She realized this was her moment. If she could keep him talking, then maybe he would reveal some innate weakness. All it would take was for her to poke at this moment and see just how much he’d reveal.

“Wrath?” she asked. “Is he your older brother?”

“Older?” Lust’s chest puffed up at the question. “We’re all the same age. You mortals are so obsessed with years, but after a thousand of them, they stop mattering so much. We came into our physical forms at the same time. Five seconds doesn’t matter.”

She bit her lip to stop her smile. “So you are younger than him.”

“Five seconds,” he snapped. “It’s not enough to make him older than me.”

Oh, she couldn’t help herself. Selene tilted her head back and laughed. The idea was so ridiculous that he’d argue when it shouldn’t matter at all. He and his brothers were hundreds of years old and they somehow still argued about who was older?

And when she stopped laughing, she saw he had the strangest look on his face. It had softened him. His eyes slightly crinkled at the corners, his lips parted, his gaze looking at her not with hunger but with something else entirely.

“What?” she asked, breathless from her laughter.

“It’s just...” He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“No, I want to know. You’re giving me a very strange look, Lust. You were the one prattling on about gaining my trust. You can’t then keep things secret.”

She held her breath as he looked back at her. Why was this so important? It felt like she had to know the answer, even though there wasn’t a proper reason for her to push him.

He shook his head and muttered, “You’re rather pretty when you laugh. It took me off guard.”

Now she was the one who was speechless. Who was supposed to be seducing who, here?

Selene licked her lips and then gave him a little nod. “Ah. I... Well.”

He stared at her a few seconds longer before seeming to shake himself free from his thoughts. “Come. It’s not much farther, but I did want you to see the edge.”

“Why is that?” Selene would take any distraction at this point. She didn’t want to think about why her palms had turned sweaty or why her face had reddened at the mention of how pretty she was. She wasn’t, she knew that. He’d already made it very clear that he thought her plain.

Lingering on these thoughts wasn’t good for either of them. She needed to keep herself separate from her emotions.

“I was researching how to trust people, and the book I read specifically mentioned that a good trust building exercise is doing something that both excites and frightens you.” He held his arms out wide. “There is very little that I fear, and certainly less that both of us fear together. The edge seemed like the obvious choice.”

“Ah, right. Obvious.” Selene rolled her eyes, but then slowly walked over to the edge with him.

Someone had set up a small quilt blanket with a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a little wicker picnic basket.

“Lust,” she said as they approached it. “I think we’re interrupting someone. We should go.”

“Indeed.” Ignoring her words, he sauntered over to the quilt and lifted the bottle into the air. “It is a good vintage, though. Would you like a taste?”

“Not of someone else’s wine,” she hissed. “Put that down.”

“It’s already opened.” Twisting the cork, he poured himself a glass and then lifted it up toward the sun. “And it’s a rather lovely view. Wouldn’t you agree?”

She took a split second to look at the view and realized, yes. It was. Though the edge was right there and terrifying, there was also a lovely view of the other side of his kingdom. The island wasn’t a perfect circle, and the warped perimeter meant she was looking right at a jagged wall of bright pink roses that grew haphazardly into oblivion. Even the air smelled of roses as a soft breeze toyed with the ends of her hair.

Oh, but it was lovely here. A perfect place for a secret meeting between two lovers sneaking away from their duties in the castle. The romance of it all wasn’t lost on her, and she didn’t want to ruin this moment for anyone.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. A strand of her dark hair blew in front of her face before she glanced back at him.

And there it was again. That expression was as though someone had struck him before he shook his head. “Good, I’m glad you like it. Now, would you enjoy a glass of wine, or should I pull out whatever the servants packed?”

“Are you saying...” She gestured at the picnic blanket. “Did you do all this?”

“Is it that surprising?”

“It is surprising. You hate me.” Selene also pointed at the quilt. “And that looks handmade. You’re more the type to drag out the best silks and velvet pillows, not caring how you ruin them in the dirt.”

“Yes, well. The quilt, I’ll admit, was Affection’s choice. Not mine. It looks moth-eaten and drab. But Affection assured me that you would appreciate the effort.” He looked away from her, out over the darkness toward the nearest kingdom that floated in the distance. “And I don’t hate you, Selene. I don’t think you’re here for the right reasons. But your words made me realize that while you don’t trust me, I don’t trust you either. If we are going to be stuck with each other, then we should work on that.”

“But why?” she asked again, the question burning in her chest with a need to understand. “Why does it matter to you?”

He opened his mouth, closed it, then rubbed one of his horns with his palm. “I haven’t gotten that far into it, really. It’s a gut feeling, that’s all.”

And she supposed that was good enough for her. Selene sank down on the quilt and gestured at the bottle. “Pour me a glass, then. What are you expecting from this afternoon?”

“Conversation.”

“About?” She took the offered glass and tried to guess what he wanted to know.

“What’s your favorite food?”

Why did he... She snapped her jaw shut and answered, “Cherries.”

“Cherries,” he muttered. “Of course you’d like a food difficult to find this time of year.”