Chapter 36

ChapterThirty-Six

He watched as the rays of the sun filtered through the thin slit of her window. Lust needed very little sleep, especially compared to his little human curled up on his chest. She was exhausted, far more than he’d thought she would be.

Perhaps he’d pushed her too far. She shifted slightly, and he smoothed a hand down her back, smiling as she settled against him. She’d started doing that in the first rest he’d given her. Only an hour or so before, he couldn’t help himself. But every time she’d almost woken, all he had to do was touch her before she settled again.

It was different with her.

Oh, the slow slide into her pussy was familiar. The feeling of complete euphoria, though? He’d never been so close to the heavens until this moment. Only Pride could live there, and yet this woman brought him to the very stars.

Why? What was so different about this one? When all others had only scratched an itch or entertained him for a night or so?

The evening they’d spent together had become a feast for his senses. Even now, he felt glutted on power such as he’d never had before. He had always been a powerful spirit, and he’d gathered enough of his chosen emotion to take on physical form. Few spirits were ever so gifted. And still, somehow, there was more power for him to gather from this little mortal who had split him open from heart to soul.

Sighing, he buried his fingers in the soft locks of her hair. Lust had taken his time while she slept, gently pulling apart all the tangles he’d created. He liked the way the silky strands fell through his hands and how lovely they were laid out on her pale back.

He could stay like this for hours. Days. Centuries, if he was being honest with himself.

He’d let the world burn around them and remain in his bed with her. It was the first place where his soul finally felt complete. A soul she was so certain he didn’t have.

She’d breathed new life into him, and now he didn’t know what to do. Because, in a strange way, it felt like this new power wasn’t his at all. It was hers.

Sighing, he tried not to think of what he had to do today. He’d promised she could see her family, and that was partly why he’d let her go. But Lust had seen the writing on the wall.

Minerva wouldn’t let her pet go easily. She wanted Selene in her pocket, and Lust had changed that reality for her. Which meant Minerva would do whatever she could to get Selene back.

He wasn’t sure what she’d do. But he’d seen what sorceresses could do, let alone the High Sorceress herself. There were a great many terrible things that could happen to the woman in his arms, and he’d destroy them all if that would make her safe.

The thoughts frightened him. He’d only been protective of his brothers. They were the few who he connected with, and they felt the same about him. They’d torn the world apart together to rebuild it better than it had been before. This little woman had nothing to do with that promise to the very world itself.

And yet... he would give it all up for her.

Frowning, he shook his head to clear it of those thoughts. He had to focus on the task at hand.

Minerva needed to understand that her daughter was no longer hers. The little foundling that she’d sent to sabotage him would have to be released into the wild. And he’d play dirty, if that’s what she wanted.

Selene had family. Real family. He could find them in one of the villages, bring them together in the way only a god could. And if that meant he had to pay her family off to lie to her that they’d wanted her, then so be it. He would survive that lie. Selene would be happier with him than she would in this horrible, cold place.

And putting off meeting with Minerva was only him stalling the inevitable.

She moaned as he moved out from underneath her, though she didn’t wake. He must have been too rough with her last night.

Lust smoothed his hand down her back, his fingers slipping between her legs just to feel her again. The mess he’d made still lingered, and he’d take care of that when he got back.

A flare of heat sizzled from the base of his spine. But first, he’d bury himself inside her one last time. Just because he couldn’t resist her, even in this state.

He’d let her rest, though. She needed to sleep so he could bring her back to his castle. So he could fuck her on the ride back, then in his garden, then in their bedroom, on the balcony... Oh, there were so many opportunities.

She had much to learn about pleasure, and he wanted to show her all of it.

Dragging the blanket over her shoulders, he made sure she wouldn’t be cold before he left. And then he quickly dressed, so he didn’t do something foolish. Like barricade the door and roll her onto her back.

Lust tried his best not to look over his shoulder at the sleeping beauty, who would never even know he was gone. At least, if he got this over with soon.

Minerva didn’t like to wait. She’d set up this meeting with a letter after he’d returned to town, apparently an attempt at being civil after their rather explosive conversation. If she wanted to play that game, he wouldn’t complain. He didn’t need her permission to stay the night with Selene, after all. And now she would expect to find him outside of her Tower for their meeting. He would relish the look of surprise on her face when she saw him.

Her expectations were that she’d condemned him to an uncomfortable night in his carriage. That he’d arrive, half asleep, in no state to talk with her about dangerous things like deals and who would have the castle when all of this was done.

Instead, she’d get an even more powerful version of him.

He slipped through the halls, sneaking past any of the sorceresses who were blinking through the early morning exhaustion. They were stumbling to the dining hall for coffee, most likely. A delicacy that he provided them because no one else could afford it.

Sighing, he slipped out into the courtyard and walked toward the front door. There was only one entrance here. And only one exit.

Minerva stood with her back to him, the icy wind of the mountains blasting her hair back from her face. She was beautiful. Even he could admit that. But she wasn’t nearly as beautiful as his own sorceress.

Tucking his hands into his pockets, he ignored the cold. The power that he’d siphoned off Selene last night would keep him warm enough for days to come.

“You wanted to speak with me,” he said, letting the wind carry his voice to her. “And yet here you are. Waiting for me like you weren’t aware that I was comfortably under your roof all night.”

The sorceress whirled. Her hands raised and eddies of snow gathered at her feet. The wind altered its course to cling to her form, and he knew those icy daggers that hovered in the air were sharp. Minerva liked people to think she’d gotten her position as High Sorceress because she was intelligent. And she was. But she was just as dangerous with her power as she was with that sharp wit.

“Demon,” she snarled. “You are not supposed to be inside.”

“No, I am not.” He held his hands lax at his sides, drawing them up in a shrug. “Yet, here I am.”

“True to your cursed nature.”

“Now, now. That’s not very pleasant to say about your new son-in-law.” He tilted his head to the side and grinned. “That was the plan, after all. Wasn’t it? You gave me your daughter so that you would wriggle your way back into the castle. Such a shame that she’s bent to my side rather than yours.”

He had the distinct pleasure of watching Minerva’s face turn red with anger. She was usually such a beautiful woman, but right now? She was ugly with rage, and that was the most rewarding thing he’d seen in ages.

“I banish you from this Tower, Demon,” Minerva snarled. “If I see you within its walls, I will cut you down.”

“You couldn’t even if you tried.”

“That has always been your greatest fault. For centuries you have underestimated those with power in your kingdom and I will be the first to watch the horror on your features when you realize just how capable we are.”

He shook his head, hands turning to fists in his pockets. “Oh, you are so very wrong. Many have tried to do what you are attempting, Minerva. You are not the first person to think that you can capture me. Neither are you the first to think you could sway me, or find out secrets about who or what I am. Just be happy that you’ve named me demon and surrounded yourself with others who believe the same tale.”

“You know I will not. Asking me to do such a thing is asking us all to deny our purpose.”

“Which is?” He watched the swirl of a small storm gather around her. It made her appear as though standing in the center of a whirlpool with glittering snow and ice floating around her in wide circles. “You think your purpose is to destroy me?”

“My purpose is to rule this kingdom with the other sorceresses. This place was meant to be a Tower dedicated to the people. Our power will bring the kingdom out of a period of debauchery and lust.”

He nodded slowly. “Yes, of course. That is what you would think. But you are all so incessant about that last fact, aren’t you? Lust is evil. My people are feeding their baser instincts when they should be piously begging the world to forgive them for ever having such needs. The people use me as an excuse to do what their hearts desire. Is that what you think, Minerva? You call me demon because you do not want to see it in yourself.”

Her mouth gaped open before shards of ice flew at his face. But she had expected him to be weak when he was not.

Lust didn’t want to play all his cards just yet. He didn’t want Minerva to know that while she had elemental power, he had them all. He and his brothers were more than mortal. They were spirits taken flesh, and that gave them more magic than she or any of the other sorceresses could beg to have.

So he threw up his cloak and let the ice strike it. All the while, he whispered spells beneath it so they melted on impact. She’d think someone had given him an enchanted cloak, likely another sorceress who he had seduced to perform spells in his own castle. Hubris had always been her weakness.

When the sorceress had exhausted herself, he let the cloak fall back down and straightened. “I do not have any interest in whatever madness you wish to spout, Minerva. I am merely here to tell you that the girl is mine. Not yours.”

“Selene will never be yours,” she hissed. “She is my daughter. I raised her for this purpose and she will never back away from it.”

“She already has.”

“Then she will remain here and learn again what it means to be a foundling,” Minerva spat. “The old ways run deep in that girl’s heart. You will never be able to trust her, Demon.”

Ah, and there was the rub. Perhaps he never would be able to trust her, but damn if he wouldn’t enjoy chasing her for the rest of eternity.

“Perhaps not,” he agreed. “But even a week here, two, a year or more, would not turn her gaze away from me. You underestimate just how connected we are now, Minerva. Your plan has failed. So leave the girl alone and look for another to enact whatever plan you think will work next time. I don’t want to destroy the Tower, but I will do it if I must."

A slow smile spread across her face, and for the first time in his life, Lust felt fear. Oil slick and ill omened, it slithered down his spine as though a snake had wrapped around him and squeezed.

“I would advise you to not get too comfortable with your new pet,” she said. “She is mine, Lust. If I cannot have her, then no one can.”

He did not enjoy fear. He thought it would be interesting to experience a new emotion, but no. It was terrible.

Lust stepped out of her way and gestured for her to return to the Tower. “I will give you a few days with her. That’s all. Then I will come back for what is mine. I do this to prove she was never yours, Minerva. She was just waiting for me.”

That sly grin never shifted from Minerva’s face. “We shall see, Demon.”

And he hated that he watched her go. He hated how his stomach twisted and his heart thundered in his chest, irregular and worried.

Minerva was intelligent. She had more to this plan that he’d expected and even though he knew there were countless experiences for him to draw upon, he couldn’t let go of the thought that he’d missed something. And if he had? Then he was the fool, after all.

Stepping back into the snow, he started away from the Tower toward where he’d told his man to wait in the carriage. They’d return to the nearest town, at least to get out of the cold and fill their bellies before he returned for Selene. Then he would never let her go again.

“Demon!” the hissed whisper came when he was but a few steps from the Tower.

Turning, he looked back to see a woman with long hair, white as snow, and skin that glistened like a black pearl. She waited for him to make eye contact with her before she rushed forward and pressed a letter into his hand. “Don’t tell anyone that you saw me.”

And then she rushed back into the Tower and slammed the door in his face.

Strange.

But when had sorceresses ever made sense?

Bemused, he continued his journey. Perhaps Selene had heard that he was being sent away again and wanted to give him her goodbye. Though he doubted it, the soft thought made his heart twist in his chest. It was stupid to miss her when he’d just gotten out of her bed. But he did.

The letter unfurled in his hand, the wind wrinkling its edges as his eyes scanned the unfamiliar handwriting.

Mother never wanted to let Selene go. You have ruined that plan and she will stop at nothing to get her back. If Selene does not play by her rules, there is a tattoo on the back of her neck. It was placed there to ensure nothing changed and that Mother’s will would always come to life.

It’s a spell, Demon. A nasty spell that will kill her.

Please let her stay here. Let her come back into the fold. We will find another way for her to become a sorceress, like the rest of us. I promise. I will do anything I have to to keep her alive.

Don’t let her die because you had to defy our mother.

It’s her death or your lust.

Anger surged through him. And suddenly he realized why Wrath claimed that he was the most powerful of all their brothers.

In this moment, he could have torn apart the entire kingdom. Bit by bit. Lust would rip it to shreds and listen to all the screams as the people who had denied them both peace to be with each other. He would wrap his claws around that bitch of a High Sorceress’s throat so he could hear her screams. He wanted to destroy her.

Lust wanted Minerva to know what it felt like for this fear to run through her body. Would she not be able to think or breathe, either? He wanted her to know that if she laid a single finger on the woman, he... he...

The thought drew him up short. And though his fingers had turned into claws, ready to tear into whoever dared stand in front of him, he had no idea what to do with these thoughts.

He was lust. That was all he felt.

Until now. Now he felt so much more, and the raw edges of that reality nearly sent him to his knees.

Overwhelmed and bitter, he veered away from the carriage and made his way to the snowy edge of the kingdom. And he stared into the darkness below his feet until night came. This time, he swore there were knowing eyes staring back at him.