Chapter 19

ChapterNineteen

Gluttony kept himself away from her after that. He refused to be the person who used her, nor did he have any desire to feed off her again for a while.

Which, in itself, was strange. He’d never felt the hunger ease. Not once. There was always some lingering darkness that bubbled up inside him, whispering that he needed more blood. Needed to feed.

The only time that had even remotely quieted down was after... Well, Larissa. And he didn’t think about her because it was a terrible thing in his past and Gluttony was trying very hard to not believe he was a monster. Right now, he just wanted to be a man. For Katherine.

Kat.

A soft smile crossed his face even as he peered down at the substance that had thus far bested him. Just the thought of her made him feel a little better. He could sense the blush that burned in his cheeks, and when was the last time he’d blushed? He hadn’t ever felt like he could do so, physically that was. And now, he blushed all the time.

It had nearly been a week since he’d fed from her, and he still felt more like a person than he had in years.

Lifting a beaker, he gave it a swirl while watching the smoke slowly turn white. It was a start. Not a fix, per say, but a start toward figuring out what it was.

She had given him not only a few wonderful days of freedom from his own vices, but she’d given him the space to actually work on this. And she’d cleaned his lab from top to bottom, making everything so much easier to find and access. Truly, she was a gift.

And he was the monster who had to keep her. But he would make sure she lived the best life she could.

If he got stuck thinking about her smile or the way she tilted her neck just so, then that was all right. He’d gotten somewhere already with his alchemical investigation, and that was enough, wasn’t it?

Until his door busted open so hard he heard the beakers rattle.

“What are you doing?” he scolded, spinning on his chair and whipping off his glasses in anger. “You know better than to... to...”

Ah, shit.

It wasn’t his lovely Katherine with all her wild hair and sparking green eyes. Instead, he had another monster now inside his castle, which he had most certainly not agreed to.

His brother was far more massive than the illusion let on. Envy stood a full head taller than him, broad and wide across the chest, with thick tree trunk legs. He might even be larger than Greed, now that he was taking up all the space in the laboratory. His full head of wavy dark hair was cropped short, unlike Gluttony’s very long locks, and there was the faint shadow of a beard that suggested Envy hadn’t shaved this morning. Unusual for him. He usually was more aware of his looks.

Envy stood with his arms crossed over his chest, a critical look in his eyes as he surveyed his surroundings. “This looks different from how it used to.”

“Yes, it does. It’s clean.” Gluttony placed his glasses on the table so he didn’t break them when he clenched his fists. “What are you doing here?”

“The brothers and I have decided you need a babysitter. You aren’t working hard enough or fast enough, Gluttony. We’re concerned about this new weapon, and so far, you’ve been unimpressive.” He grinned, sharp toothed and a little too aggressive for Gluttony’s liking. “If I don’t find something I like, then I will take this project from you.”

As if Gluttony would ever let him. This was his chance to be something more than what he already was, and Gluttony refused to let it slip through his fingers because Envy didn’t know how to leave things alone.

“Everything is going well. It’s been fighting me a bit, but I’ve already made progress.”

“Have you?” Envy leaned in, trying to peer over Gluttony’s shoulder. “I don’t see any progress. I just see a mess of beakers.”

“Magic won’t fix this.”

“So you say.” Envy lifted his hand and a green flame burst to life around his fingers. A new trick, but Gluttony remembered parlor magic when he saw it. “Perhaps you should admit your defeat, brother. There are many others who know how to manage alchemical solutions.”

“You?” He snorted. “You know nothing beyond magic. Everything has been given to you, Envy, or you took it when you wanted it. Of all our brothers, you are the least likely to figure out this puzzle.”

There it was. The flare of dark green in Envy’s eyes, the bubbling of his skin as creatures writhed beneath his flesh. “Really? That is only how you see it, brother. Perhaps I should take something of yours to prove myself, then.”

“Now you sound like Greed.”

“We are very similar.” A snake poked its head out of Envy’s collar, black and iridescent in the overhead lights. It coiled around his throat, lifting its head and flicking the air with its tongue. “That is why we’re not allowed anywhere near each other. Or had you forgotten that?”

No, he hadn’t. Gluttony remembered the last time Greed and Envy had been in the same room. The two of them nearly destroyed each other, ripping and tearing at the very fabric of the world until the mortals around them had all fallen to their knees in anguish.

It was a hard memory to suppress. It was one of the first times he’d realized just how much pain they were causing their people. They were gods playing at a game, not realizing that there were humans in the middle who were getting hurt.

He hadn’t wanted to be a god like that. Not then, and not now.

“It’s hard to forget that night,” he muttered, turning back to what he knew. Beakers and solutions and alchemical messes that might explode in his face. At least it wasn’t his brother looking at him with disappointment in his eyes. So certain that he would find Gluttony lacking, yet again.

“And your... problem?” Envy asked, though his voice betrayed what he meant. “I suppose you’ve taken care of that as well?”

“I have.”

“How did you take care of it?” Apparently, Envy had no plans to let this go. And when Gluttony didn’t respond, Envy prodded more. “You took care of it, didn’t you? You said you were going to get it out of your system or ignore it. You know you cannot afford any distractions while you are working so hard.”

Working so hard. The thought was laughable. Gluttony wasn’t working any harder on this than he had any other project. All he wanted was a few quiet nights with the lovely little thing who had captured his attention. He didn’t want to be here, in front of Envy, trying to justify his choices to a brother who had never truly been there for him.

“I took care of it.” Setting his hands on the table, he stared down at his fingers and willed his claws to go away. “I have no reason to lie to you, Envy.”

“You have no reason to tell the truth, either.”

That was it.

Gluttony stood, whirling on his brother, ready for the fight that Envy apparently wanted. His claws sliced out of his fingers, and his eyes cast a red glow throughout the beakers. His brother, to his credit, was ready to fight as well. That snake hissed next to Envy’s ear, and more of those black tattoos rippled underneath his shirt.

If they weren’t careful, they would set this entire room ablaze with their fight. And maybe that would be for the best. They’d destroy the substance that had been used against them. The demons would have to fight the mortals, as so many clearly wished for them to do.

It would be over. All of this could end and then Gluttony would return to his quiet existence, with only Katherine to keep him company.

Such a future would truly be divine.

The door opened again. This time both of them froze as they stared at Katherine. She walked backward through the door, her hair twisted up on top of her head, with a riotous mass of curls tumbling down her back. In the week since he’d fed, she’d gained much of her health back. And so it was with rosy cheeks and a bright smile that she turned around.

He watched it all unfold before him in slow motion. Katherine startled seeing his brother. The tray in her hands swayed and then fell, twisting toward the ground with the glass vase she used to carry water back and forth between the rooms. The two glass cups fell with it.

She gasped, Envy reacted. They both moved toward the water that cracked against the ground long before either of them could grab it. But then he saw some twinge in her face, a reaction that had her shuddering, stuck in a single position when Envy ran right into her.

His behemoth of a brother didn’t even try to pull his weight. He just plowed into Katherine with all the force of a bull, and she was thrust backward.

He watched her arms pinwheel as she tried to catch her balance, but she was going to fall. She was going to fall right onto that floor, now littered with sharp glass shards and water that would only make her slip more.

Gluttony had never moved so quickly. He lunged forward, uncaring of the glass shards between him and her. He just had to make sure she didn’t get hurt.

It was only a few brief moments when he didn’t have her in his arms, but he caught her. And then she was right there, looking up at him with those bright green eyes, shock radiating from every pore of her body.

His arm was banded around her back, but he had forgotten to put his claws in. To his horror, he could smell her blood. Somehow, when he’d grabbed her around the waist, he had sliced through her clothing and into her back. Though she didn’t react like she’d been injured, he had failed to prevent her from being harmed.

She didn’t deserve to bleed in front of his brother. And he hated knowing that she was.

A few drops of bright red fell from the tips of his claws, the soft sound of them striking the pool of water hitting his ears. Carefully this time, he gathered her a little closer to his chest and stood them both upright.

Her mouth was still slightly open, and her breathing a little ragged. “Gluttony,” she said, as though she didn’t know what else to say. “I’m... I...”

Envy interrupted them. “So this is how you fixed your problem? I told you to get rid of her!”

Of course, that made Katherine look at him with wide, stunned eyes. “What?”

“I’m not getting rid of you,” he replied before glaring at his brother. “You almost hurt her.”

“You are getting rid of her, now,” Envy said with a menacing step forward. “She cannot and will not stay here. She’s a distraction from what you’re supposed to be doing. Did you really believe any of us would let you keep her?”

“No one is keeping her,” Gluttony growled. Then he ignored his brother, gently running the back of his finger down her cheek because he couldn’t seem to get his claws back in. “Are you all right, pet?”

“Pet?” Envy repeated with an aggressive snort.

But even Katherine ignored his brother, having eyes only for Gluttony. Her tiny hands pressed against his chest and he felt like the world was only the two of them. “I’m fine.”

“I cut you.”

“It’s not the first time.”

Envy tossed his hands up behind her and groaned. “Not the first time? Gluttony, what have you gotten yourself into?”

Ignoring his brother—although it was starting to get a little harder now—he brushed his fingers down her back. Katherine’s dress was cut in three places. He’d been too careless with her.

There were bandages up in her room, and that would be enough to get her through the next couple of hours for him to deal with his brother. Then he could at the very least put the balm on her. Or stitch her if she needed it, but he could not do that when his damn claws wouldn’t go down because his brother was far too close.

Grinding his teeth, he forced himself to let her go. “Return to your bedroom, pet. I’ll come up in a while. I just need to get rid of our unwelcome visitor.”

But his Katherine was far too brave. She patted his chest and turned to Envy with a soft smile on her face. “Nonsense. I’d have to be blind not to see this is one of your brothers. Which one are you?”

Envy eyed him over her head, one of his brows raised in surprise. “Envy.”

“It’s lovely to meet you, Envy. I’m sorry I ran into you. If you’d like something other than water to drink, I can bring it?”

“Wine.”

Over his dead body. “You don’t have to bring him anything, Kat. You are not a maid.”

“I’m going to bring him wine, and I’m going to bring the bandages back with me.” Her gaze watched him as he winced, but then she surprised him again. Katherine reached out and put her hand on his chest again, gently nudging him back. “You’re not wearing any shoes, Gluttony. You’ve got glass all through your feet.”

He looked down and realized he did. There were shards sticking straight out through the top of his foot where he’d rushed to get to her. He hadn’t even felt it in the moment, but now he was standing in a puddle of his own blood.

“Damn,” he muttered. “That’s going to take a while to get out.”

“I’ll do it. I work at the almshouse, remember?” She smiled at him, all confidence and poise, even though he knew she must be shaking at the realization that she was surrounded by demons.

Sighing, he waved her off. As if he needed to give her permission to slip out of the room as he hobbled back toward his table. The damned glass did hurt, surprisingly more than he’d expected.

“Really?” Envy broke the silence first. “You not only kept her around, but you brought her to the castle? What were you thinking?”

“That I didn’t wish to be alone any longer.” He reached for a pair of tongs and rested his ankle on his knee. Picking out the glass would take time, but at least the pain would prevent him from trying to attack his brother. “And that she smelled divine.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“I’m tired of being so lonely.” He looked Envy in the eye. “Aren’t you?”

And there was the slightest flicker in his brother’s gaze. Almost as though Envy felt the same way, or perhaps that he was upset Gluttony had found someone who would stay.

It was rare to find a human who could stand them. And Gluttony knew how short her life would be in comparison to all that he would survive.

Still. He wanted his brother to understand why he was doing this.

Envy gave him a little nod. “I hope you know what you’re doing, brother.”

So did he.