Chapter 7

ChapterSeven

He barely made it to the castle on his own two feet, and Greed felt rage simmering the harder it got. He was a god, damn it, a demon king! He should be able to walk across the sands for a few hours.

Instead, he was the slow one. He made the mortal stop more times than he could count, so he could catch his breath. She was quiet about it at least, but her pinched expression and unimpressed gaze rankled.

He wanted to keep moving. It wasn’t like he was trying to stall getting back to his home, where he could gather up all the energy he needed from the countless greedy subjects who lived there. All that energy would transfer into power and he would be back to himself in no time.

Back to the man who could sweep her over his shoulder and then show her what she’d been missing by ending that kiss. The memory still burned through him, giving him all the fight that he needed so he could keep trudging through the never-ending dunes.

“We should stop again,” she said, her eyes skating over his body before looking up at the moon. “And maybe try to make a fire.”

“With that?” He gestured around them. “There’s nothing here but sand and dust, treasure.”

She rolled her eyes at his antics. “Why are you calling me that now? I almost prefer thief.”

“That’s not what you said last night.”

“I said a lot of things last night that I shouldn’t have.” Her eyes were cutting and barbed like a cactus as she glared at him over the mouth of her mask.

He’d thought it was a silly addition to her outfit. What need did she have to wear a mask? They were out in the desert without another person around them for miles. Who was going to see her face?

But then sand blasted him in the face as the wind picked up. And again. And again. So many times that even his cheeks had reddened as his natural healing abilities failed him. Like the magic inside him was tired of healing the same damned abrasions over and over again.

It was a rare moment for him to hate the kingdom that he’d taken. Greed enjoyed this place, and he’d spent most of his days watching as the greenery had faded into the desert, as the relentless sun killed anything that tried to live. He admired the people who were still here for their hardiness and stalwart desire to stay alive no matter the costs.

But right now? Right now, he hated this kingdom with every fiber of his being.

“We’re not stopping,” he grumbled. “We’ll reach the castle soon enough.”

And not quickly enough for his liking. But he knew it was just over two more ridges. That’s all it would take.

Greed staggered, falling to one knee in the sands before hauling himself back upright. He could keep going. He would. Nothing would stop him from getting home and having a warm cup of mead in one hand, and the tiny waist of his woman in the other. They’d fall back on the furs together, bellies finally full and alcohol warming their blood. She’d trail her hand down his chest, her palm soon meeting—

Said woman wedged her shoulder underneath his and gave him something solid to lean against. Teeth grinding, the muscles of her jaw flexing, she started them forward at a much quicker pace.

“Why didn’t you say the castle was right here?” she grumbled.

“Because you should have been able to see it.”

He could. The glittering lights of his home had been in the distance for some time now. But perhaps her mortal eyes could not see as far as his. Or maybe she just didn’t see as well in the dark.

Ah, that was it. She wrinkled her nose and looked up at him, her eyes tracking his in the moonlight. “Your pupils are so wide I cannot see any color.”

“The benefits of being a demon, I suppose.” Greed wanted to admit the whole truth. He wanted to let it spew out of his lips so she would be the only person who understood that he wasn’t really a demon at all.

He was a spirit. A wispy creature of emotion and light that fed off humans, and somehow had taken flesh with his brothers. He’d been given a chance at power and he’d taken it over and over again until he had finally been awarded this form. This kingdom. And everything that lived within it.

Greed squeezed her tighter against him. That included her. She was also in his kingdom and he had been gifted her as sure as if she’d been wrapped in a bow. And now he would keep her.

Even she was breathing hard as they crested the first hill. And he felt her sharp gasp as she caught sight of his home. The oasis he’d built it in was massive, larger than any other in the kingdom. His home stretched even higher above it, with tall spires and bulbous circles at the peaks where he fit so many of his favorite rooms. The castle looked for all intents and purposes like it had grown out of the sand itself. It glowed bright golden in the sunlight, and even at night was an impressive building.

The grounds flooded out from the castle like a jungle. The tall trees and endless water sources were all sprawled around his home as if the castle itself fed them. Usually he could hear the bright sound of many-colored birds that flew over the treetops, but they were all silent now in sleep.

Somewhere in all that green were the stables that held his most prized possessions. The nuckelavee were stolen from Gluttony’s empire, but they bred very well in his kingdom. Many feared the skeletal horses, their hide stretched over their bones like leather. But if treated right, they were the fastest mounts in all the kingdoms.

A huffed breath from his companion interrupted his thoughts. She shifted him higher, wedging herself more firmly beneath him before asking, “So what do you miss most about all that... that.”

She repeated the last word like it explained her thoughts about his home. How could she not see the beauty in it? He’d been nomadic, like many of his people, for years before casting aside his warlord mantle to live here.

“Bathing,” he muttered. “With warm water rather than icy runoff, that would flay the skin off anyone else who tried to linger there.”

She snorted. “Bathing? Of all the luxuries you have in that castle, the warm water is what you miss most? Even I have that in my home. That’s very little to be proud of.”

“Ah, you mistake me. You asked what I missed most, not what I’m most proud of.” He could almost feel the heat in his eyes flashing at the thought of his collection. “I have items in that castle that would make you gasp in awe, treasure. Soon you’ll see them all.”

And he would have her wear them. Diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, all dripping from her form as she wore nothing else. He’d dress her in the finest of silks if he wanted her clothed. But he didn’t. He thought she’d be better bare for a while yet.

After all, he enjoyed looking at his collection with nothing standing in his way. For the first few weeks, she’d have to endure. And then he would let her dress as she wished. Even if that meant putting this horrible leather armor back on.

“What’s gotten you all riled up?” she muttered as they crested the last dune.

“Thoughts and dreams.” Greed paused at the peak, breathing hard and knowing that they were about to walk into a hornet’s nest. “Listen, the guards can be a little much with new people. I need you to stay close to my side while I deal with them.”

“I’m not going to do that,” she said with a snort. “I can handle myself.”

“I know you can. But this is my castle and my rules.” He turned, keeping his arm around her shoulders so she was drawn in tight against him. Greed skated his fingers down her ribs and, oh, he enjoyed the little shiver that traveled down her spine. “I think you’re going to enjoy those rules, though. There’s a heat in you that you haven’t fully explored yet, treasure, and we’ll both enjoy figuring out what it is that you desire.”

She was so distracted by his mildly unwelcome touch and the heat that flared in her body that Greed stole the map back without her noticing. She didn’t sway in his arms as he had hoped, obviously under his spell. But of course she didn’t. His little thief kept her spine straight and her hands braced against his chest. Holding him away from her, or trying, at the very least.

But he’d gotten his powers back enough to be more formidable than her. Tucking the map into the waistband of his pants, ensuring it was flat against his skin and hidden from her eyes, he turned them back toward their new home.

“Come,” he murmured. “You are going to love this place. I’m certain of it.”

What woman wouldn’t? She’d see every beautiful inch of his home, fall under its spell, and then she would never want to leave. Why would she return to whatever squalor she lived in? This place was so much better and had so much more to offer her than anywhere else.

The thief marched him all the way to the front door of his castle, her arm around his waist and her breathing ragged. He worried perhaps the amount of armed guards would frighten her as they waited on the other side of that door.

Greed turned, something twisting in his chest that felt suspiciously like he cared that she might be afraid. He cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look at him. “You are with me, and that means you are safe. Yes?”

A shadow flickered in her gaze. “Of course. I know.”

And, oh, how he relished that feeling. She trusted him. She’d put her life in his hands by saying that, knowing that he would keep her safe. That felt... good? Better than good. It felt like he was feeding off her trust in the same way that he fed off her greed.

Though he felt no more powerful, nor did he feel like he was healing any faster, he still felt his chest puff up with pride.

“I will,” he repeated. “I will keep you safe.”

The doors opened to reveal the armed guards on the other side. There were plenty of them. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he warned her about the manner in which she would be greeted. At least thirty men and women stood in front of them, all armed to the teeth and wearing matching feral expressions of hatred.

And at the front were his two most prized guards. Twins, almost as tall as he was, easily six and a half feet tall. They towered over the others, their hands on the swords at their hips and their eyes missing nothing.

“My lord?” The man on the right asked. He was Ivo, and his twin sister was Morag. They were deadly beings who had more secrets than he could count. And yet, he trusted them with his life without question.

“I am fine,” he replied, pulling his arm from the thief’s shoulders. He needed to stand on his own two feet in front of his people.

Greed refused to be seen as weak. Not in front of them, and certainly not in front of anyone else.

Other than the thief, apparently. He had been weak in front of her and... safe to do so.

The thought blistered in his mind, festering as it grew into something he was uncomfortable and unfamiliar with. Was he safe with her, too? In the same way she was safe with him?

Impossible. A woman didn’t offer safety. A new collection piece did nothing other than exist on the shelf where he put it and gather dust once he was bored with the item. That was how he lived his life.

Morag stepped forward, her eyes flinty and her mouth pressed into a thin line. “We have words to speak with you, Greed. Those people who attacked us were unlike any other we’ve met before.”

“I know. I have seen them.” He started forward into his home, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “I do not know who they are, but my companion here has information. Perhaps if we start asking about, we might find more. Send out scouts, if you have them to spare, and inquire about a group calling themselves the Horde.”

“What companion?” Ivo asked. And Greed watched his guard’s eyes skate around him before a frown furrowed his brows. “Are you feeling well?”

“What do you mean, what companion? She’s right here.” But he turned and she... wasn’t.

The thief was nowhere to be found. Turning on his heel, he marched back to the front doors that surrounded his keep and found her footprints still lingering in the sand. Footprints that led back to the dune they’d just clambered down.

Wicked creature. She thought she could drop him off to safety and then disappear? He’d never let her go that easily.

A grin on his lips, he turned back to Morag and Ivo. “Ready my mount. We’re going hunting.”

“Are you so sure that’s appropriate?” Morag gestured up and down his body. “You look...”

Worse for wear, he knew. Greed had never felt so weak in his life, but he was not about to let this woman get away with his heart dangling from her fists as she laughed into the wind. That thief was staying here. Right where he wanted her.

“Get the nuckelavee ready,” he snarled. “I will not let her get away.”

“Can you even ride?” Ivo circled him and then grabbed the base of his tail.

The pain that lanced up through Greed’s spine made him hiss and spin, grabbing his own tail out of his guard’s hands. “Don’t touch that.”

“It’s very broken.”

“I’m aware!” Greed snapped. He also knew that riding would be more painful than anything he’d ever endured in his life. Even Bonescraper hadn’t hurt so badly, and damn it. Had he lost that blade again? He’d forgotten that it had existed while he stared into eyes the color of sapphires.

He was such a moron around items he wanted to keep. Greed saw something shiny and new and the entire world fell away in those moments.

“Damn it,” he hissed, stalking back into the oasis of his home. “She’s gotten away, and it’s all your fault!”

Ivo and Morag shared a look before they made their way after him. Neither of them said a word as he marched up the massive front stairwell that led toward his castle, only to pause and pat down the back of his pants.

No crinkle.

No paper at all.

“That little thief,” he hissed. Greed turned to stare out at the dunes that surrounded his home, not even his eyes catching a glimpse of a figure in the distance.

She’d not only escaped his grasp, but she’d stolen her damn map back.