Chapter 33

33

E nvy hated letting her do this on her own, but he knew better than anyone what had to happen. In this case, it was that the people who hunted her had to feel like they had the upper hand. They had to grab her, tear at her pretty flesh with their fangs. Soon enough, though, they would discover why it was so foolish to fight against their king.

He and his brother stayed in the shadows. They were far enough behind her that no one would question what they were doing, and they didn't look like Envy or Sloth. He'd cast an enchantment over them to ensure no one would recognize them.

"Did you have to make me so ugly?" Sloth grumbled yet again, his eyes on everyone but Lilith. "You know I'm usually the handsome brother. I'm unused to so many people glancing over at me as though I am nothing better than a farm boy."

And honestly, that was the exact template that Envy had used for his brother. A farm boy who had seen plenty of hours of work, which made him seem even less of a threat. Everyone who looked at Sloth would think he was one of them. A hardworking individual who had seen too many years of hard labor.

"That's the point," he hissed back as he tried to keep track of Lilith as she meandered through the crowd. She hadn't been telling anyone prophecies just yet, but he'd seen the way the crowds looked at her.

People knew who she was. Whether that was because they had gone to the circus and seen her powers in person, or if they had just heard of the oracle who their king had captured, it didn't matter. People knew her. They looked at her. And those covetous gazes made him see red.

"I know the point is to make me hard to notice, but why did you get to be the more handsome of the two of us?" Sloth complained again, even as he stepped in front of Envy's view and made it almost impossible to see Lilith.

"Would you focus?"

"Look at you! You're the wise man with the silver streaks in your hair. Women have been taking glances at you the entire walk here. Why is that?"

Because he had chosen someone who looked kind. Because he had met this man once in Lust's kingdom and noticed that even though he was older, everyone still trusted him. The man had radiated some sense of comfort that other people believed.

Grumbling under his breath, he walked around Sloth and continued to follow the woman he suspected might be the other half of his soul. "Just be happy I didn't make you a woman."

"Now that I wouldn't complain about. I wouldn't mind being in the skin of a woman for a few days. Knowing what it's like to have breasts? That is only a pleasure, my brother."

"I highly doubt you would agree with that once you'd walked a mile in their shoes," Envy said, then lifted his hand for his brother to be silent. They were approaching the town square. If he knew his Lilith, then this was where she would make her move.

Unfortunately for all of them, if she did, it would make everything complicated. The square was full of people. He wouldn't be able to keep her protected if he had to shove everyone out of his way, and he intended to if someone tried to grab her.

The problem was that everyone was so closely packed together, it was hard to see any faces he might recognize. The circus performers were easy to pick out of a crowd. But not today. There were so many people in this crowd wearing cloaks. Most likely because they were getting close to the winter season of this kingdom, and there was a chill in the air today.

He could conjure a few warm gusts of wind and force everyone to overheat so much that they had to remove their cloaks. But would that be suspicious? Lorenzo and all his cronies would know what was happening, and they'd scatter.

"Don't do anything stupid," Sloth said, as though he could read the thoughts that were going through Envy's mind.

"I'm not planning on it."

"If you do something stupid, they'll know we're here. Lilith was right, you know. This is a one-time deal. We can only use her as bait once before they realize what we're doing."

He knew it was the truth, but damn it, having Sloth be the voice of reason grated on his nerves. He didn't want to be that person who flew off the handle, but the moment he saw Lilith bend down and start talking to a young boy, all the warning bells went off in his head.

Something wasn't right. He could feel it deep in his bones. Either Lorenzo knew what they were doing or he had prepared for this moment. There were too many variables. Too many people.

"Why did she pick a crowd?" he muttered, stepped through a group of people to get closer to her.

"Because while it is easier to hide in a crowd, it is also much harder to run." Sloth shrugged and grabbed an apple from a nearby cart. At the woman's cry of outrage, he handed her a gold coin that was far too much for an apple. Probably too much for the entire cart's worth. "I like your woman. She's smarter than the others."

"You haven't met the others."

"I've met the women our brothers have chosen. Selene gives me goosebumps. That woman is so full of witchy magic that it makes my skin crawl." He shuddered. "And Greed has too much fun with Varya, causing all that chaos."

"You haven't met Katherine yet, then. She's smart." Although, nowhere near as smart as his Lilith. He supposed he was a little biased, though. He thought Lilith was better than all of them combined.

"Ugh," Sloth said.

Immediately, all of Envy's hackles rose. "What? What is it?"

He peered through the crowd, trying to find the danger that Sloth had seen. But there was nothing. Just Lilith stooped down to speak with the little boy and no one even looking at them. Of course, there were a few side eyes of people who recognized her. But no one that he would consider to be a threat.

"That look on your face," Sloth said before making a fake gagging noise. "That's disgusting. You're so deeply in love."

Envy scoffed. "I'm not in love with her."

But he was. He could feel it deep in his bones that life would never be the same without her, and if he had to lose her, then part of him screamed he should follow her into that oblivion even though he didn't have a soul to do so.

Shock chased the realization and his knees went weak with horror. He... couldn't be in love. Sure, the demon kings had realized long ago that they could feel some semblance of emotions that weren't their own, but never anything this deeply.

It wasn't possible for them to love. He grabbed onto the nearest stall, trying very hard not to keel over as he realized he'd been wrong and that he himself had fallen prey to the emotion. For what else was love then, not wanting to live without the other person in his life? Even if that meant she had to be part of his life from afar, he would take that over not having her at all.

It hurt. It ached. Every part of him that clicked into place as he admitted the feeling to himself made his entire body hurt. He wanted to rip at the beating traitor in his chest, but that would deny himself the sweetest fate of all.

He'd do anything for her. And that was so much better than serving himself as he had for a thousand years.

"There it is," Sloth muttered, biting into the apple obnoxiously loud. "Hurts, doesn't it? Sinks into your skin as you realize you have to protect someone who doesn't want to be protected. Her life is her own, and it's not yours to tell her what to do with it. Unfortunately, this almost means that you might have to watch her die. What a shitty existence."

It was shitty. Because even now, as he stared at his brother, all he could think about was her safety. That his love, his little woman, was going to be in his life for the rest of hers.

"But she's mortal," he whispered.

"Apparently, there are ways around that. The longer they're by our side, the longer they live. I wouldn't know." Sloth tossed the half eaten apple onto the ground. "Mine ran from me and then she died. So don't let her get too far from you, brother. You'll need her close."

Shit. Speaking of. They'd been talking far too long.

He whirled, looking for her. And for a moment, he thought he'd lost her. He could see that she wasn't with the young boy anymore, nor was she with the mother. But then he realized that Lilith was still in the same spot. The other two had just left.

He saw her bright head of pale hair standing next to someone that he recognized. Lorenzo himself stood with her, talking a little too close. Just close enough to make all the hairs on his body rise and his teeth bare in anger. That man had no right to be anywhere near her, and certainly not that close.

A low growl echoing in his throat, he stepped forward to interrupt them, only to have Sloth grab him by the back of the shirt and force him to stay still.

"What?" he snapped.

And then Sloth slapped the back of his head. So hard that it rocked him slightly forward. But when he lifted his head again, he saw his brother's concern.

The performers in the circus had surrounded them. There were enough of them to be concerning, but not enough that he would consider them a real threat.

He placed his hand on his thigh, the place where he had the largest of his tattoos. He hadn't taken the harpy out for a very long time, mostly because her screams made his ears bleed. But if these performers thought they could back him into a corner, or that they had seen all of his tricks, then they were very wrong.

But the fire eater stepped forward, her bright red hair flaming in the fake sunlight. She stood far too strong and confident before the man who would kill her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Lorenzo is just having a friendly chat with her. He won't kill her," she said.

"That's been the whole point of every attack, or was I mistaken?" He arched a brow. "Your so-called master wants to kill her and get himself another oracle because he couldn't keep her under his thumb."

"He doesn't want to kill her any more than the rest of us want her dead. She was part of our family and if she is willing to join that family again, then he is willing to let her live." The fire eater clasped her hands, as though already begging him. "I'm asking you now, Envy. Please let her live. Let her come back to her family, because we are the only ones who understand her. You couldn't possibly know what she needs. But we have lived with her for countless years. We are her family, and we have always taken care of our own."

"Lies," he hissed. "Ask your master why she has been so weak. Do you believe it was because the tea she was meant to drink drained her of her abilities? He's been poisoning her for years, keeping her under lock and key to make him money. She remembers, now. And with a clear mind, she has chosen me."

A few of the bigger men from the circus stepped forward, and he could see their intent. Then, over their shoulders, he saw Lorenzo make his move.

Envy saw red the moment that man's hands touched Lilith. Then he felt every part of his body burst into flame as the circus master dragged Lilith through the crowd.

His woman wasn't going willingly. Though she didn't appear to be struggling too hard or screaming for help, she was still tugging back against his grip. Maybe she was afraid to make a scene. Maybe she was trying to make sure that Envy didn't do something stupid. But he was going to do something stupid the moment he saw her being yanked out of his sight.

"I'm only going to tell you all this once," he said in a low growl. "If you leave right now, I will let you live. If you do not, I'll rip your magic out of your body and swallow it whole. Then I will tear you apart. Piece by piece. I will watch the life drain from your eyes and then I will gift her your skulls."

They didn't even react. None of them were so much as terrified by what he was saying, and they should have been quaking before him. They should have fallen to their knees and begged for his mercy and yet... they did not.

Sloth's hand came down on his shoulder and Envy's guts twisted yet again with the knowledge that something terrible was about to happen. Something he could not control and something he had not expected.

"How do they know who we are, brother?" Sloth asked, his voice pitched low as he prepared himself for a battle.

"I do not know."

It was a good question, and one he would figure out as soon as they were screaming beneath his feet.

He didn't have time to yank out the tattoo before the performers launched their attack. But they forgot that while he had creatures to battle for him, he was also a fighter himself. His illusion upon his and his brother's forms fell away the moment he lunged. Double swords in his hands, he sliced and hacked at any meat that stood before him. He was careful around the villagers, though. Careful not to touch his own people, who had not betrayed him. Those who remained loyal would get a reward as soon as he was done with this.

He and Sloth both fought, their swords glinting in the sunlight as the circus people seemed to multiply. Screams echoed through the square, and countless of his innocent villagers fled the area. He hoped they would all get away unscathed, but he knew there was a chance someone would get hurt in all of this.

That worry made him careless.

That fear made him take a step in the wrong direction and white hot fire spread in a sharp line across his belly.

Hissing out a curse, he glared at the man who had cut him. It was one of the male shifters in the circus, and already his yellow eyes gave him away as one of the lycanthropes that should have stayed in Gluttony's kingdom.

But then a voice rose above the others, amplified by magic and filling the town square. "Look at the demon king, already trapped. What a shame."

Envy's gaze sliced up to where Lorenzo stood on a stairwell, with Lilith in his grasp. The man looked all too pleased with himself, even from this far away.

"When I get to you," Envy snarled, "I will cut out your tongue."

"I'm sure you would love to try. But you thought the chimera was the only trick I had up my sleeve?" Lorenzo lifted a bottle in his hand and then tossed it onto the ground. It shattered in a plume of gold dust that glimmered in the dying light. "Good luck. You're going to need it. I doubt you'll survive, but if you do, we'll already be gone."

Envy shouted as Lorenzo dragged Lilith away, but then he froze as a sound filled the square. An echoing growl. A hissing bang. And then the golden dust gathered itself up into a serpentine form that grew larger with every passing second. The circus performers fled the area, their laughter filling the air until Envy and Sloth stood alone.

Staring up at the massive golden dragon that opened its jaws and roared.