Chapter 25

25

H e still took her to see the sun.

After the way she had sucked his cock like it was her last chance, how could he not? Envy wasn't the first person to enjoy being outside of his kingdom. It always seemed that something went wrong when he was gone.

As much as he wanted to leave with her and let the rest of them rot in that hole in the ground that he had built, he knew he couldn't. That place was one he had built, and he was very proud of what his kingdom had become.

Not to mention, they needed him. The creatures that roamed the lands above their heads were only able to be battled by him. As much as his people hated how he killed and stole their magic, none of them knew what waited for them if they were not careful.

He did, though. And he was the one those shadow creatures would fight if they ever thought to break through the rock and stone.

But for now, he could bring her to Sloth's kingdom again and let her luxuriate in the sun. She'd earned it. More than she would ever know.

It had been a long time since he felt this close to someone. Perhaps that was a foolish thing to even think. She was only connected to him because he was her sexual awakening. She'd never even seen a cock before his, even though she was a grown woman. It made him feel a little uncomfortable, and yet also thrilled that he was the only person she'd ever been with.

It eased the demon inside him. The spirit who had always been one of envy and who desired to claim any and everything that someone else wanted. He hated that someone would ever think they had claim to something he didn't.

Now, he would forever have claim to her virginity.

Of course, he also understood why no one had touched her before him. No one else could without awakening that magical part of herself. The oracle did not rise for him, though, and he was able to enjoy Lilith by himself.

Leaning back on the sands, he watched her.

Like a true lady, she had spread a blanket on the sands and made him conjure a small umbrella for her to sit underneath, so she didn't get too burned. And then she'd set about working on a small embroidery piece that she said would eventually turn into a skirt for herself.

She'd brought embroidery with her.

Embroidery.

He didn't understand why she would go through so much effort. If she wanted an embroidered skirt, he could just conjure her up one. He could even pluck the desire out of her head so it would be as she wished it to be.

And yet, he was also fine with her working on her own. Perhaps there was some small part of her that desired to be creative. Who was he to challenge her?

Envy meandered a small way away, keeping his eyes on her in case something attacked. But it also gave his familiar a few moments with him alone.

Orphe glided out of the sky where she'd been circling them and landed on his shoulder as they both surveyed the horizon. His pet had healed well enough, although there was still a streak of white where feathers no longer grew. She could fly, but there would forever be a strangeness to her movements, now.

"Things are getting worse," she said.

"The old circus master is doing more rounds, I suppose?"

"His name is Lorenzo. He was born in Pride's kingdom, just like her. A noble, if you thought he was lying." Orphe's eyes narrowed on a dust devil that spun to life far from them. "He has a lot more talent and charm than I gave him credit for."

"How many people are following him now?"

"Quite a few."

"I assume they are watching you come and go? If he's as smart as you make him seem, he will not be blind that we are watching him." Which would make killing him perhaps a little harder.

Envy didn't want to walk into the man's home and murder him easily. There wasn't any fun in that. And if there was going to be yet another rebellion in his future, he wanted to make a point that would last a few hundred years. No one, and nothing, would ever stand in his way. They all forgot just how powerful he was. And he was more than happy to remind them.

"They know who and what I am. They do not stop me from watching, though." Orphe turned a troubled gaze to him. "That concerns me. They don't mind that I spy or listen."

"So they want me to know what they are doing, then." He scoffed. "The confidence."

"I'm not so sure you're the one they want." Orphe opened her wings, buffeting his back with the wind of her anger before settling again. "They rarely speak of you. And if they do, it is in the suggestion that you are an obstacle to get around. They talk of her constantly, though."

"Her?" He turned to look at the gold and white creature hiding from the sun. She was pleased with herself, clearly. A small smile decorated her features in the sunlight. She never once looked up at the two of them speaking.

"You took a powerful creature from him. He not only wants her back, but he needs her back. Without her ability to see the future, he does not know where is safe for his people to go. Perhaps even more, it took all his profit away. She was the reason people came to see the circus. They are destitute without her. Already he's gone through most of the money buying new side shows that will draw people in." Orphe shook her head. "He is not good with money."

"So she was his golden ticket back into a life of nobility?"

"It seems that those who serve the oracles live a life of poverty and piety." She shrugged her wings up and down. "He was not interested in such a life."

Of course he wasn't. This Lorenzo only cared about himself. Envy had seen that long before the man had betrayed his oracle.

It was frustrating, however, because it made the man a little unpredictable. Envy wasn't certain whether it was smart to track him down or keep Lilith safe in the castle and see what the man would do next.

"I assume the chimera took up most of his funds?" Envy made sure his intention was clear with his words. "I do not want another in my castle."

"I don't think there are more funds. But the rest of the circus concerns me. They think they can overthrow you. His words exactly are, ‘Bring the magic back to this kingdom'. He's claiming that if you are put six feet under, that all your magic will return to the families you took it all from."

He snorted. "Magic doesn't work like that."

"You and I know it, but they do not. They believe they are saving generations' worth of magic." Orphe spread her wings, getting ready to take off. "If he succeeds, he will take her back. If he fails, he intends to kill her and return to the oracular order to get another."

Her last words disturbed him. Lorenzo might be an unpleasant man, but he hadn't thought he man would stoop that low. Clearly Lorenzo had been abusing the one oracle he already had in his grasp. What right did he have to get another?

Killing Lilith did nothing for the circus. All it did was create another barrier for the man to get more money until he could beg on his knees for them to give him another.

And considering they hadn't saved Lilith yet, he had a feeling that order would just give this man another young woman to torment.

Troubled, he walked over to the blanket on the ground and tried to forget the conversation. He wiped his face clear of any concern and smiled at her with what he hoped was a convincing grin. "Your embroidery skills are impeccable."

She didn't look up at him. Instead, she kept her gaze on the tiny stitches. "You can't let him get another oracle."

It took a few moments for his mind to catch up. "What?"

"Another oracle means he's going to abuse the power even more. He and I were both young when we were paired. Now he has not only experience, but age on his side. Whoever is given to him will be a puppet for the rest of her life."

"How do you know we were talking about that? I thought you couldn't see my future."

She looked up at him with an unimpressed look on her face. "You aren't a quiet man, Envy. If you wanted that conversation to be private, you should lower your voice."

He wasn't that loud, was he?

Grumbling under his breath, he dropped onto the blanket beside her. "Well, if you were listening to the whole thing like a fly on the wall, what are your thoughts?"

"It would be much easier for him if he had another oracle. Children are most likely what he would find in the oracular order these days. It's rare for an adult to be paired with anyone. So he would get a small child who knows no better, only how to control her power." She set the embroidery down in her lap. "My fear is that he would use them. He used me, after all. The herb he boiled was wrong, and it made it much easier to control me. Which means he'll continue to do that, but with a child this time. She won't know. She'll get weaker and weaker, and then she might very well die under his care."

He shouldn't care about that. It wasn't like it was unheard of for people to die in his kingdom. And if he could get the circus master out of this kingdom, then he wouldn't ever have to deal with the man again. It would be easier for Envy to decide to wipe them both from his life.

His gut instinct told him that he should let her die. Lilith was not who he wanted, anyway. He wanted the oracle power that was inside of her. If he let her die, then he could follow this circus master into whatever kingdom the oracular order hid. Then he would have access to all the oracles that he could find.

Apparently, Lilith read him like an open book.

"If you followed him to the oracular order, all you would find are splintered pieces of the oracle herself. Every death would send that power to the other living oracles, which would make them more powerful and harder to kill. There are oracles in every single kingdom spread across all the realms. You could spend the rest of your immortal existence hunting them down and killing each and every one. But would you ever get to the root of this power?" She shook her head. "Even with another thousand years, it is unlikely."

He hummed low underneath his breath. "I wouldn't consider it, oracle."

"You were considering it, demon king."

He was, but that didn't make him feel any better about himself. In fact, all she'd done was make him feel guilty for ever thinking it.

Sighing, he laid back on the sands and laid an arm in front of his eyes to block out the sun. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make me feel guilty for being all that I am. I should be the ruthless demon king who rules this kingdom. The choice to let you die and follow him to your order is the logical one. I am evil, Lilith. I was born to be that way."

Small hands grabbed his forearm, forcing them away from his face so he had to look up into her beautiful eyes. Her cheeks were flushed pink with heat, and he thought there was the hint of a sunburn on her chin and nose. Likely because she hadn't seen the sun in years until this moment.

And still she looked at him with kindness. "I don't think you were born to be evil. I think people expected you to be like that, and so you were. But now you have the choice whether you want to be evil or not."

He didn't want to be anything she didn't approve of. He wanted her to look at him with pride and to feel as though he was doing the right thing.

But mostly, he didn't want to argue with her. He wanted her to tell him that she adored him, and that he had done the right thing. All of that was more important to him than what others thought.

Sighing, he caught her around the waist and pulled her into him. She came with a soft laugh, the giggles bubbling up between them as she braced herself on his chest.

"Envy," she scolded. "I mean it. You aren't all that bad."

"Not all that bad," he repeated. "But a little bad."

"Well, you made me do some bad things with you." Her fingers played over his features, following the line of his jaw and down his neck. The heat in her eyes made him boil alive. "But I'm not complaining."

"You better not." He rolled the two of them until he was hovering over her. "Or I won't do them again."

"Oh please. You can hardly stay away from touching me, just like I can't stop touching you." And she hadn't. Not even while they argued.

He leaned down and nipped at the small of her neck, enjoying the way she yielded to him. In his youth, he would have pushed to fuck her now. He would have wanted to sink inside of her and it wouldn't have mattered that she was inexperienced or that he'd lied for weeks to steal her power.

But now, all he wanted was to kiss her. To linger on the sands and bask in the happy sounds she made as he kissed along her throat.

There was a threat in his kingdom, and they were likely going home to yet another trap. But right now? He was lost in her.

And Envy intended to stay lost for as long as possible.