Chapter 41

ChapterForty-One

If he found her, Greed was going to kill her. Well, not really. Varya didn’t worry that he’d ever hurt her. The man didn’t have it in him to raise a hand, but he’d roll her up in a blanket and then lock her in a closet for a while.

But she would not stand by and let his army fight on behalf of a people they’d forgotten a long time ago. The castle folk weren’t the same as the rest of those in his kingdom. They saw the world through rose-colored glasses and the protection of their king. And so few of them were lucky enough to even get to work there.

The warriors of Greed were impressive, with years and years of training under their belts. And still they didn’t help her people if they saw them in need. No one did.

The desert people of this kingdom had to survive on their own, with no one willing to help them. And if that meant that Varya had to sneak herself onto a horse and clamber over a few stone stairwells to get here, then that was fine.

She’d covered her face with her old mask. Greed didn’t even know she still had it, and considering how out of it he’d been when he first saw her, she wasn’t too worried. Her hair was hidden underneath a pale yellow hood that would hopefully not roast her alive while they spent hours underneath the desert sun.

They’d find the Horde. She would make sure of it.

Initially, Varya had hoped to get in with a group of the scouts that were headed in the opposite direction of Greed, but she knew one of the Horde’s hideouts, and that was a good place to start. Unfortunately, that meant joining the group right next to Greed.

She kept her head down, making sure that her eyes never lifted to his. Instead, she watched the horizon. Someone would think she was doing her job if they saw her. They’d think she was a damn good scout, ready to find her king’s most hated enemy. This was good. She was a fantastic actress.

“Varya,” the word echoed from beside her, buttery smooth, like silk sliding over her skin.

Damn it.

“Gluttony,” she whispered under her breath, turning away from Greed to look at his brother. Somehow, he’d snuck up on her. “Don’t give me away.”

“Are you trying to give me an order?”

“I will cut off all your hair in your sleep and glue it to your arms,” she hissed. “Don’t try me. I’m going to hunt because I’m the only one who knows where the Horde usually is.”

“Maybe I will join your group, then.” He adjusted himself in the saddle, looking very much like he was uncomfortable. “One knows I don’t wish to be in the sun any longer than required. Did you know that my kingdom rarely has sunny days? It’s always slightly overcast and misty. Absolutely beautiful.”

It sounded horrible to her.

Varya made a face, wrinkling her nose and shaking her head before she replied. “You’re trying to distract me. Are you going to tell Greed?”

“Of course not. But he’s going to find out sooner rather than later.”

“Not if you don’t tell him.”

“He’s already halfway into his battle form, little thief. Do you think he won’t smell you?” Gluttony tapped his nose, then pointed a clawed finger behind her. “You’d best get a move on. He’s already in a hunting mood, and I hate to think what he’ll do when he realizes you aren’t safely tucked into your bed.”

Shit, she was in so much trouble.

Varya cast a glance over her shoulder and she swore she saw Greed’s nostrils flare. Like he had scented her on the wind. Maybe it was time for her to get going.

Kicking the sides of her horse, she sped away from the others, forcing her beast to run faster until she was at the head of her scouting party. Perhaps that gave her away, but she knew the direction to go. Anyone who tried to tell her otherwise was an idiot. None of them knew this kingdom like she did. Not a single one.

The scouting party veered to follow her, and the only time she looked back, she saw Gluttony had joined their group as well. The idiot. He was going to give her away far more than her own actions.

Why would Greed’s brother join a random party if there wasn’t something interesting going on? He wasn’t the type to just randomly do what he wanted, and what he wanted was to not be here at all. Which meant she had very little time. She had to get them on the right track, and so she did.

Varya led them across the dunes for half a day. She charged through the sands, the hooves of her horse beating in time with her heart. She could do this. She could remember.

And she did.

Varya brought them right to the heart of where she had first found the Horde. Where she herself had picked up on their trail to bring her to where she’d met Greed.

And though they were no longer there, signs of life remained. Fires that had recently been extinguished. Food that hadn’t quite gone rotten yet, and footprints. Hoof prints. Items of belongings that proved they would return.

She’d known she was right. But this victorious feeling, this thunderous pride in her chest that only bolstered the spirit inside her? This was what she lived for.

“Adventure,” it whispered in her mind. “Oh, it’s so glorious.”

And it was.

Oh, it so very much was.

Varya picked through the Horde’s belongings with the other scouts, trying to find some hint that would tell them where they had disappeared this time. But quickly, there was another presence following along behind her. A presence that made her stomach twist and roll.

“Varya,” Gluttony said, standing behind her like a wall of fucking ice. “You know he’s going to show up soon. If you want to remain anonymous, then you need to go.”

“What I need to do is find out where they are going,” she snarled.

“There are other scouts for that.”

“And they’ve never been as good at my job as I am. I will find out where they are and I will be the one to hunt them down.” She whirled on him, her heart in her throat as the words poured out. “They hurt me, Gluttony. They hunted me down like I was an animal and they threatened to rape me. They almost would have, too, if it wasn’t for that stupid snake that Greed fought off. The same snake that saved me and I don’t... I don’t know how to get through these memories without being the one to hunt them down.”

And there it was. The thoughts she’d tried her best to bury so deep inside her that she wouldn’t ever remember them.

But their voices still came up in her mind. They still slithered into her thoughts, even when she was lying in Greed’s arms. Words of other men who wanted to take, just like Greed wanted to take.

Perhaps he saw how wild her eyes were, or perhaps he felt more for her than she’d ever thought. But Gluttony approached her like he might a wild animal, his palms raised for her to see, every movement slow and calculated. “You know I didn’t know that.”

“I don’t care that you don’t know.” How many women had suffered the same fate? Or worse?

“And you don’t have to. But I need you to hear me when I say this, lovely thief, that was not your fault. They did not leave a stain on your skin when they did it, nor do they likely even remember their transgression.”

They were the same words that Greed had said when she’d glossed over what had happened to her. She hated that the Horde probably didn’t remember her. But she wanted the leader of the Horde to never forget her face.

“I want them dead,” she snarled again, her teeth bared in a snarling grimace. “I want them to know what it feels like to be so afraid, even if they don’t have to suffer like I did. I want to see it in their faces when they realize I was the one who returned. Even if they don’t recognize my face, they will know my rage.”

She saw something twist on his expression, a wild look that mirrored her own as though he, too, wanted to know what that would be like. “Does Greed know this?”

“I glossed over it and we moved on,” she hissed. “I didn’t tell him the details, nor does he know how much it has affected me. Don’t you think I realize what he would do if he heard the truth? If he knew their voices were still in my head even while lying with him? He would tear this entire kingdom down until there wasn’t even a grain of sand left. He cannot know, Gluttony.”

“He should.”

“He won’t.”

But Varya’s wild thoughts stilled as Gluttony stood right in front of her, his hand outstretched for her to take. “But he should, Varya. You need to tell him so that he truly understands why you have to be here.”

And with that, she broke. Snapped like a string that had been held far too tight.

She couldn’t keep the emotions in her chest, the ones she hadn’t really felt since it had happened. They bubbled up inside her, pressing against her lips and tongue until they poured out of her body in a great heaving sob.

She reached for him, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding onto the only person who could hold her. To his credit, Gluttony didn’t touch her back. Perhaps he feared she would tense up, or be thrown back into those dark memories. But she didn’t think he would make her feel like that. Not really.

Instead, she grabbed his arms and wrapped them around her shoulders. He wasn’t touching her in any dangerous way, and she knew who he was. No dark memories could even come up, anyway. They hadn’t raped her, they’d just threatened it and somehow that had still cut through her mind. The fear of what they could have done plagued her. The dreams of what they might have finished if she hadn’t slipped away after that snake interrupted them… It consumed her.

A god of the desert had saved her life, and she didn’t even know how to thank it.

Gluttony sighed, his cheek resting on top of her head for a brief moment before he pulled back to stare down at her. “You have to tell him.”

“You’re not supposed to be nice.” She wiped her cheeks with her hands, annoyed at the raw feeling beneath them. She was probably red-faced and snotty. This was not the way she wanted to face Greed. “You’re a demon king. All of you are supposed to be terrible people.”

“Ah.” He nodded, then flashed her his fangs. “Would it make you feel better if I bit you?”

A choked laugh rumbled out of her mouth. “No, not really.”

Another voice interrupted them, one which made all the muscles in her body go slack. “If you’d said anything else, treasure, I’d have to kill my own brother.”

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

Greed had found them. Of course, it only took a few moments for him to get to this section of the desert when he should have been half a day’s ride away from them all. He would have come right away as soon as he heard there was even an inkling of the Horde.

And now he’d caught her in his brother’s arms, teary-eyed and joking.

Just great.

Gluttony’s arms tightened for a mere moment and he hissed in her ear, “Tell him everything, Varya, or I will.”

She saw the tension that rode on Greed’s shoulders. He hated that his brother was touching her at all, let alone holding her so intimately. And she knew she had to tell him. But here? Right now? She couldn’t.

But the demon king who had his arms around her had different plans. He shoved her toward Greed, a little too hard, so she stumbled toward the man who would always be her undoing.

“Varya needs to speak with you, brother.” He gave them both a meaningful stare. “Now.”

Rounding her shoulders, Varya turned toward Greed and resolved herself to a long, terrible conversation that wasn’t... right. It didn’t feel good. But she had to tell him, and he needed to know. “Can we talk?”

Some of the aggression leaked out of his body and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, drawing her against himself with a watchful eye on the man behind her. “Of course, treasure. Anything for you.”

He might not want to say that after she told him everything. But that was her own fear to get over.

Varya followed him to a more private part of the encampment in the sands. She sat him down and then let the words pour out of her mouth. Reminding him of how they had captured her, how injured she’d been. And when she got to the words they said, the words that continued to echo in her mind, Greed had stood.

He prowled in front of her, tail lashing, hands curving in and out of claws. “I will kill them all,” he snarled. “I will rip out their hearts and mount their skulls in our castle.”

“Greed.”

“They dared? In my kingdom? They know what I will do to them. Death will be a mercy by the time I’m finished. They will greet death a hundred times before I let them fall into that dark oblivion.”

“Greed,” she tried again.

His hands flexed into dark claws. Was he somehow larger? Again?

“I will tear into them.” His voice deepened in a low growl that brushed along her spine. “I will rend flesh from bone and then I will feast upon their blood. I will bathe in it before I return to you, queen of my heart.”

Queen of his heart?

All the worry and concern bled out of her body. Varya walked up to him, not caring that his claws slashed through the air around her in anger. She walked right up to his chest and buried herself in it.

His arm came around her without thought, even as he continued to snarl and growl and mutter about death. But his arm around her shoulders and his hand on her waist were infinitely gentle, as though she were the only thing he cared about.

And she wondered if maybe she could get used to this. Being the center of someone’s world, and loved so much that even in anger, he didn’t hurt her.

“Thank you,” she whispered against his chest. “For believing me. For wanting to fight for me.”

He froze in her grip. “You’re welcome.”

“I’m not the first woman they’ve done that to. I’m just one of the lucky few who escaped.” She shuddered. “It could have been so much worse, Greed. But for the sake of all those other women who didn’t get away, I want to be there with you. To fight. To kill a few of those fuckers, and I need you to let me go with you.”

She felt him melt in her arms. He curved around her even tighter, drawing her ever closer as his sigh brushed through her hair. “My treasure, if it will make you happy to kill them, I will present you their throats and hold them as they bleed.”

She’d never heard a more romantic declaration of love.