Chapter 13

ChapterThirteen

“Affection,” she scolded as she chased the spirit underneath her bed. “You have to go.”

“I don’t want to go.”

“I know you don’t want to go, but I want to go to bed.” Selene had thought the nightgown would suggest how ready she was for sleep, but apparently the little spirit had no intention of leaving.

It had come into her room for a conversation, or so Affection had led her to believe. In fact, the spirit had stalled for hours on end until it was well past either of their bedtimes and it was still here.

She wouldn’t mind if Affection wanted to stay overnight in her room, but it didn’t stop talking. Ever. It just kept prattling on and on about all the people it had felt affection from, where that affection had come from, how utterly decadent it had felt.

And sure, she’d enjoyed listening to all the stories Affection had to tell. Namely, because it made her wonder just how much of this applied to Lust.

He’d been in a physical form for a thousand years, or so he claimed. Did that mean he wasn’t the same as the rest of the spirits without a body? She could only assume he’d have changed in all the time since he’d taken a body. Being mortal must affect the spirits that took them on. What if he was just like her, and she had missed a very important part of understanding him?

The jumbled mess in her head was almost too frustrating for her to handle.

She had to tame him so the sorceresses would have some claim to power. But the longer she was here, the more she thought maybe the sorceresses were wrong. Then she got homesick because she missed her sisters so much, and the predictability of her life in the Tower. But inevitably her mind drifted back to the afternoon she’d spent on the cliff with Lust and how hard he’d tried to understand her. He’d made her laugh, and he had called her pretty.

Surely that meant something?

“Come... here...” she grunted, waving her arm underneath the bed as she tried to grasp onto Affection’s long, wispy tail.

Frankly, she would prefer to work through these thoughts on her own. It made her nauseous to think she might have softened a bit toward the demon king who wanted to destroy their kingdom. It also made her sick to think her mother and sisters thought so poorly of him when he was trying to do a decent job of things. He was just a damned spirit of lust and nothing about being human made sense to him.

Affection pressed against the wall right in the middle of her headboard, far out of her reach. “I’m not leaving!”

“You can’t stay here.”

“But you’re thinking such delicious thoughts, and what if I told you about them? We could talk tonight about that afternoon in the sun at the edge of the world—”

“We’re not going to do that,” she interrupted, shoving her shoulder against the bed in frustration. “Get over here, Affection!”

The door to her bedroom slammed open and Selene froze where she was crouched. Whoever stood in that doorway was getting a full view of her behind as she wedged herself underneath her bed, and she knew just how sheer this nightgown was. All her clothes kept disappearing from the room every time she left it, and this was the only nightgown left.

Pale, gauzy fabric clung to every suggestion of a curve, even where she didn’t have them. The material tied around her neck, leaving her back completely exposed all the way down to her hips. It wasn’t warm, and it clearly wasn’t meant for warmth.

She intended to bring this up in another argument with Lust while she tried to figure out how to manipulate him into revealing sensitive information about himself, but... Well. She didn’t mind the nightgown. It was rather comfortable and smooth against her skin.

A choked sound erupted from the doorway before she heard Lust mutter, “Under any other circumstances, I would greatly enjoy this.”

Selene tried to stand up, forgot she was underneath the bed, and hit her skull so hard against the frame that she saw stars. Gasping in a breath, she wiggled her way free and turned so her spine was pressed against the side of her massive bed. “What are you doing here?”

“I live here.”

“This is my room.”

He stood in her doorway, silhouetted by torchlight behind him. From this point of view, he looked even larger and every ounce the demon her mother claimed him to be. Those horns glinted in the dim glow, as though they were metallic and sharper than she’d thought. His broad shoulders blocked the entire entrance to her room, and she’d never noticed how thick his thighs were until this moment. He was... Terrifying. And she had to hide her emotions before her mouth watered.

Damn it, she wasn’t supposed to lust after him. She should be terrified of him or hate him. Those were the only acceptable emotions to feel when he walked into a room.

She hadn’t thought he would do this to her so quickly. A demon would try to wear her down, of course. He’d toy with her, force her to endure the constant barrages of his lustful power. But he had done none of that. He’d only taken her on a picnic and asked what her favorite food was.

No. This wouldn’t do. She could not be having these thoughts while he stood there, staring down at her with a similar expression on his face.

“It’s not your room anymore,” he said gruffly. “Get up.”

Her jaw fell open. “What do you mean, it’s not my room?”

“You’re being relocated.”

“Where?” Selene grabbed the edge of her bed and yanked herself upright. She didn’t care if he could see too much of her. This was the space he’d given her and she quite liked it. “I’m not going to a new room. This one is fine.”

Something in his expression hardened, and a man she’d never seen before took his place. Lust suddenly stalked toward her, his head lowered and his shoulders stiff. He didn’t even look at her as he pinned her against a post on her bed while a wall of servants entered her room. Not a single person looked at her as they began to pack up all her belongings.

“Lust?” she asked again, trying to sound at least a little quieter. “Why are you taking all of my things?”

Was this the moment that he threw her into the dungeon? She knew she shouldn’t have trusted him. The bastard had lulled her into a false sense of security and now she would see the real him.

Lust continued to herd her further away from the others. Her spine struck the wall, and she glared at him. He’d left her no choice but to hope she could save herself from whatever dastardly plan he was now enacting.

“I’m fine in this room,” she repeated. “I don’t need to move.”

His head tilted, like a falcon sighting its prey. He stared down at her, and she noticed that his eyes had changed. They were entirely black, no whites in them at all. A demon watched her and a thread of realization wove a new tapestry within her soul.

She wasn’t afraid of him. She didn’t have to stuff that emotion anywhere, because she’d never feel it again. Even with him hulking over her, his shoulders heaving, his horns pointed directly at her, and his eyes black as night, she wasn’t afraid. She couldn’t fear him after she knew there was a sensitive man in there who found her laugh pretty.

Maybe she was a fool. Maybe she would put herself in even more dire circumstances if she followed her gut. But she couldn’t stop herself.

Those black eyes called out for her to see him. To understand that something had happened, otherwise he wouldn’t have walked into her room like a storm and ordered her around. He’d promised he wouldn’t do exactly this.

Selene dared much to lift her hand between them. She gently placed her palm on his chest, feeling the thundering of his heart underneath her touch. It felt very much like calming a raging stallion who could stomp her out of existence with his hooves.

“Trust,” she whispered quietly, so none of the servants would overhear them. “Remember? We’re working on trust.”

Those dark eyes deepened, and the faintest swirl of violet danced inside them. “This has nothing to do with trust,” he rasped.

“It has everything to do with trust. Tell me what is happening, Lust. You cannot barge into my room, take all my things, and not tell me where I’m going or why I’m leaving. I need you to tell me what is happening.”

He shook his head, those horns moving dangerously close to her face. “He is coming, and I cannot keep you safe this far from my own rooms.”

“Who is coming?”

“It does not matter,” he snarled. “You are moving.”

She’d gotten a bit out of him, but Selene wanted more. She needed more to understand why he was so angry, and she didn’t know if she wanted to see what would happen if she pushed him.

Why not? Why not take the risk? Maybe this was the leap they needed to take before she could get through that thick hide of his.

Selene wasn’t kidding herself. She wanted to touch the rough bristles of day old growth on his jaw. Her palm ached to feel if it would abrade her skin and spark fires that trailed throughout her entire body.

She moved her hand up, past his throat, ignoring how he seemed to arch into her touch for a moment before glaring at her with even more power in his gaze. Then she placed her palm against his jaw and gently spread her fingers. Selene scratched at the rough beard while letting out a low breath. All these riotous feelings had to go. She had to hide them away from him.

It was as if he knew. Lust tilted his face into her palm, his eyes shuttering closed as he pressed a soft kiss to her skin.

“Tell me,” she urged one last time. “I cannot help you if you do not tell me.”

“You cannot help me at all, little moon. You will remain safely hidden away while my brother visits, and he will not see you.”

“Your brother?” A flicker of unease made her stomach churn. “Which one?”

“Greed.” He inhaled deeply at her wrist, and she had to grit her teeth against the flood of warmth that burned through her body. “He wants to see you. He’s heard that I may get married, and of all people to find out, he is the worst one.”

“Why?” It took everything in her not to snatch her hand away from him. His kiss felt too good. His beard scraped against her skin so delicately and it... it...

Lust’s eyes opened again, flashing to hers with an intensity that stole her breath. “Because he will take you from me, sorceress. You are unique. The only one of your kind to ever be unaffected by our power and so he will want you. He will steal you away, and I will let no one do that.”

Oh.

When had anyone wanted her that much? Her mother had always made it clear that Selene wasn’t to leave, but not because her mother liked her. In fact, Minerva didn’t like anyone but herself. She’d made Selene stay in the Tower because of her powers, nothing more than that. Ursula might have wanted her as a sister, but she’d still let her go. Everyone let her go when there was nothing left to wring out of her.

Everyone except him. And it made her shudder to know that someone wanted to keep her. Her soul lit up with a thousand fireworks, but it was wrong to feel this way for him. She’d have to keep this close to her chest. If he knew how she felt when he said he wanted her?

Selene worried he’d never let her go if he knew how much her body ached to hear him say that again.

“You don’t even like me,” she said, trying to cover up what was happening, or she’d lose herself. Right here. Right now. “Having someone kidnap me would be the answer to all your problems, wouldn’t it?”

He met her gaze, and she felt as though he’d stabbed her. The anger radiating through him shook her palm. “You’re not getting out of here until I answer the questions I have about you, little moon. Don’t think you can appeal to my brother’s good nature and leave this place. I can assure you, the life he would give you is nothing like the life I offer.”

“And what do you offer me?” She swallowed hard. “A life of captivity? Of you telling me what to do and how to do it?”

He brushed the backs of his fingers over her cheek, that horrible black color draining out of his eyes. “I offer you all that you’ve ever sought. Luxury, comfort, and pleasure so deeply felt that your being will unravel in my arms. All you have to do is let me.”

If he knew what a temptation that was, Selene feared what he might do. She feared what she’d let him do.

Instead, she pulled them both back to reality. “We both know that will never happen. I’m not interested in you. And you are not really interested in me.”

“You speak for me?”

“I do. You are only intrigued by who I am because of what you cannot compel me to do. I stand apart, as something other, and that makes you wonder what you missed. Where you went wrong. How all that power of yours could possibly be denied by a little slip of a sorceress who has no more power than the mere ability to conjure light. You are interested in me for what answers I can give you, not because you care for me or who I am.”

The words were meant to be an arrow into his chest, but she found her own heart hurting. It was the truth, though. They both knew it.

He sucked in a deep breath and then took a step away from her. The space between them filled with ice. He jerked his head toward the servants. “They are bringing your items to my room.”

“Your room?” She shook her head, stuttering, “I-I don’t think I’ll be staying there. We aren’t even married yet.”

“And for all you know, we never will be.”

A few of the servants looked at him with that declaration. Their eyes lit up with the potential for gossip before they quietly went about their work. All her items were already packed or filling someone’s arms to take elsewhere.

To his room.

“No,” she replied. “I will not stay in your room with you. That is hardly appropriate, and as I said, neither of us are really—”

He pointed at her, and the words died on her lips.

“You do not speak for me, sorceress,” he snarled. “You should have been in my room from the very first night here.”

“That would have been barbaric of you.” She tilted her chin up, wanting him to see her defiance. “I deserve my own space. A refuge.”

“From me?” He placed his hand over his heart, fingers spread wide, before a grin spread across his face. A grin she didn’t like at all. “You do not get refuge from the man you claim you wish to marry, sorceress. You will be in my room every night. In my bed. At my side. And you will learn your place in this castle once and for all. Do I make myself clear?”

Fingers twitching at her sides, she gave him a nod.

He imperiously held out his hand and then twitched his fingers for her to follow him. “Then come.”

Lust left the room so confident she would follow him into the candlelight and flickering shadows that he never looked back. If he had, he might have noticed how she stooped one more time beneath the bed to gather up a suddenly exhausted little spirit before venturing into the dark halls.