Chapter 42

ChapterForty-Two

Gluttony awoke many mornings later with a pit in his stomach and a sense that something terrible was going to happen. It wasn’t a sensation he got often, and one he had learned long ago to pay attention to.

Such an unfortunate feeling when he woke with Katherine in his arms. Yet again. His beauty had never once disappointed him in the morning, because she knew how much he enjoyed waking with her cuddled in his arms. Sometimes, he even woke with her reading a book on her side while he’d wrapped himself around her in his sleep.

He’d counted his blessings for too many days. Round and round the world went, bringing them closer and closer to the next moment that would test their happiness. And he was no fool. He knew there would be another moment.

Lying there with a naked goddess draped across his chest, he knew today was that day.

Gluttony carefully slipped out from underneath her, arranging her body so she would be comfortable in his absence. This was something he had to pursue on his own. A feeling he had to chase, even if it felt like the world was ending while he did it. But it was not something she could help with him, and he knew better than to involve the innocent.

Getting dressed felt like he was preparing to meet his end. And maybe he was. Maybe he was the sad soul who walked toward the end of his life after only just been given a blessing of a woman.

He followed the feeling through the halls as if he were stuck in a dream. But it wasn’t a dream when a portal appeared at the end of the hall and his brother stepped through it.

Envy.

Though usually put together well enough, this time his green-eyed brother was disheveled. His hair stuck up in all directions, his shirt was on backward, and he was breathing hard. As though he’d cast a spell too quickly and drained more of his energy than he should have.

“Gluttony,” Envy wheezed. “You’re still here. Good, that’s... good.”

“What happened?”

His brother stared at him, hesitating as though what he was about to say was too terrible for him to even voice. “I heard... A rumor.”

“About?”

“Your kingdom. There are people here who wish to start an uprising and they have... Well, it sounds like they’ve gotten a pretty good foothold. The spies I’d sent out said it sounded like they were going to attack the castle very soon and I wanted to make sure that it didn’t happen today. I wanted to...” Envy blew out a long breath and ran his hands through his spiky hair again. “You know why I’m here.”

Of course he did.

The brothers didn’t get involved in other kingdom’s affairs. Envy wasn’t here to cause trouble for Gluttony or to help him fight. The only reason that Gluttony himself had helped Greed was because he had been forced to be there through it, and he’d wanted to feed. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have helped. It was against the code they had created long ago.

Unfortunately, there were other people involved in his life now. There were more people who needed to be looked after.

Namely, one.

“You’re here for her,” he breathed. “Of course. Thank you, brother. Keep her safe until all this unfolds. If something should happen permanently to me...”

“I will keep her safe.”

“Thank you.”

Gluttony would make sure that she was set up well. She could have everything that he owned and more. He’d give her the kingdom if he thought she might want it, but after everything that was going to happen soon... Well, she might not want to be here for a few lifetimes, at least. But then she could come back.

That’s what he would do. He would pledge his kingdom to her, but only after all of this had boiled over. Envy would be sure to see it happen. If anything happened to Gluttony, he thought Katherine might fight tooth and nail to free him. Eventually, at least.

For now, there might be centuries of pain waiting for him.

He couldn’t fight his people. He knew that. There were people here who had instigated the attack, and those people he would kill for what they had done to his home. But the people who fought with them?

They were right.

That’s what stung the worst. They’d been his people for centuries now, and they knew that he deserved to be punished.

Perhaps he was no longer a monster, but he had been one for a very long time. He had been the creature who plagued and tormented them for years upon years. He was the one who had haunted their nightmares and the creature who had devoured his people whole. And before that, he had drained them dry. He had eaten and consumed until there was nothing left.

Perhaps he deserved this. But Katherine did not.

Envy strode forward and clapped a hand to his shoulder. They stared into each other’s eyes, two monsters who knew that they were going to eventually get what they deserved.

“I will take care of her, brother.” Envy enunciated each word carefully. “She will be well cared for in my kingdom.”

Katherine’s voice sliced through the quiet moment. “Your kingdom of stone? I have no interest in going back there, Envy. And your brother should know better than to make decisions for me.”

Oh, she was mad.

More mad than he had ever heard before. He could almost feel it searing through the air as she strode into the room. She’d put on one of her most simple gowns. Just a plain brown thing did nothing for her coloring, but she had never looked more beautiful to him.

For this was the avenging queen he had claimed her to be. She strode into the room with a single purpose, and unfortunately, the battle in her eyes was all for him.

“How dare you?” she snarled before shoving his chest surprisingly hard. “You know that I will stay with you. I plan to be with you, for all time. If they come for you, then they come for me. That is the promise we made to each other, you insufferable man!”

“I will not risk your life—” he started.

“It is not yours to risk.” Katherine drew herself up straight and tall, the muscle in her jaw jumping as she ground her teeth and glared. “It’s my life. My choice to risk it if I wish. You do not decide for me, demon. And that is the end of it. Do you hear me?”

He wanted to fall on his knees before her and beg for her forgiveness. He wanted to kiss her boots and tell her that he would do anything for her. His queen. His everything.

Instead, he merely bowed his head. “Understood.”

Envy looked back and forth between them with wide eyes. “Have you both lost your mind? You realize what an attack on a demon looks like, don’t you, madwoman? They will not only come with pitchforks and fire but also with sword and bows. They will burn this entire castle to the ground with you in it. They do not care in the slightest that you were once one of them.”

“I understand that. I have already been the target of their cruelty once before.”

Gluttony couldn’t take his eyes off her as she glided across the room and stopped in front of him. She stared at him, her face screwed up and her eyes squinched as though she were staring into the sun. “You are not alone any longer, demon king. Do I need to remind you of that again? I am here for you, with you, and always will be. Through hardship and pain.”

His throat tightened, and though he tried to swallow the emotions down, he couldn’t, really. Not when she looked at him with those big eyes that made him want to sink into their warm gaze. “I forgot.”

“Don’t do it again.” She turned her glare to Envy, who even took a step back. “Is there anything we can do to prevent this from happening?”

“We could give Gluttony over to them.” His brother pointed at him before turning a little pale at the sight of Katherine’s anger. “They aren’t going to stop until they have him. That’s the point of a mob, little human.”

“I don’t care that it’s the point of a mob. They are humans. They can be reasoned with.” She looked at him, that glare burning through his chest. “Well? What about you? Do you have any good ideas?”

He thought Envy’s idea was a rather good one. They wanted Gluttony, and they weren’t going to stop until they had him. So he might as well join them.

Which... “At the very least, we should prevent them from getting to the castle. So, I suppose, it would be best if we met them at the village.”

“It’s a start,” she muttered before clapping her hands. “Let’s get on with it, then. We can talk about our plan along the way. If the two of you can’t come up with something, then I surely can.”

And so he found himself walking down the boardwalk with his brother and the limping love of his life, knowing that he had to do something drastic. But without the emotional response that he deserved this, Gluttony was more focused on why they were attacking now.

Of all times, why now? There were plenty of strangers in town to instigate it, but where had they come from? And why were they so focused on a demon king, when there were countless slum lords and shitty mayors doing more work than him?

This was the answer he needed to discover.

“No, I’m not going to allow them to rule themselves,” he rejected.

“Well, what about offering them free passage to other kingdoms?”

“Then this kingdom would die and there would be no one left living in it.”

“You could at the very least offer them restitution for their troubles,” she muttered. “Maybe a few free passages a year? Something along those lines.”

He grunted and saw Envy watching the road with a more calculated expression. His brother knew where this ended, just as he did. Bloodshed, fire, and the death of good people on both sides.

In this case, the only death he feared was hers.

The closer they got to the town, the more he could hear their anger. The town that Katherine had grown up in was the largest in his kingdom, and it wasn’t that big. Spread out over miles upon miles, there were few places where people could live outside of this one. Most couples only had one or two children, and thus did not replace themselves very often.

His kingdom had been dying for a very long time.

Fire bloomed in the distance. Countless sparks of light that illuminated in anger and rage. There were so many people waiting for them in the town center, nearly a hundred of them all ready to destroy and conquer.

And they all turned as one the moment they realized he was there. He watched their eyes go wide and their faces pale as he stepped out of the shadows, all darkness and red eyes. Likely the creature they expected from a storybook, not the king who ruled their kingdom.

One man stepped forward, and though he was shorter than the others, he watched Gluttony with a spark of bravery that was admirable, if foolish.

“So the monster comes out of his hiding place,” the man called out. “You are the one we are hunting, demon. You make this too easy for us, and I have to wonder why. Are you here to kill us all?”

“I am not.” He stepped further away from his companions, hoping that the distance would make them harder to notice. “I am here to reason with you.”

“Reason?” the man scoffed. “The time for reason is long past, demon. You have haunted our home for far too long.”

Katherine’s voice soared through the air. “This is not your home, stranger! Perhaps you should be the one we question.”

A slight rumbling started in the crowd. Others might have thought the same, but hadn’t been brave enough to say it. Who was this man who appeared out of the night with so many others?

Gluttony hummed low in his throat, “I have wondered the same thing for many nights now. I do not know you. Nor do my people know you. So, where have you come from?”

“Does it matter?” the man said, and he swaggered forward as though he didn’t care that Gluttony’s claws were sharp and his reach was long. “You are the monster who has destroyed so many lives. We are here today to take back this kingdom.”

“There is none other who can rule it.”

“We can rule it. It will be the first kingdom ruled by mortals and mortals alone. We will make this place a haven for all who wish to run from the demons that have plagued our homes for much too long.” His voice lifted at the end, a shout of triumph and a roar of confidence. The people behind him echoed the words, shouting along with him in a wordless cry that echoed throughout the kingdom.

And this was when Gluttony realized something was terribly wrong.

Greed’s kingdom had been overrun by men and women who thought they could do the same. These people were strangers here, and yet they had easily incited this coup.

He looked over at Envy and said, “Get her out of here.”

Katherine shouted a quick, “No!” before his brother scooped her up.

He knew, if he survived, that Katherine would want to kill him for this. She would yell and scream and likely hit him over the head with a book if it was within reach. She would accuse him of trying to take his own life while protecting hers, but... Well, he wasn’t all that worried about dying.

It would be a good reprieve from everything that had happened in these long years. A painful reminder of why he had taken this form in the first place. But Death? Ah, he would not meet Death in this lifetime or the next.

Envy dragged her away as Gluttony allowed his claws to come out of his hands. Already he saw the world through a tinge of red. “Who are you, stranger? Really?”

The man seemed all too pleased with this new development. “You see how the monster prepares himself to fight? He never wished to speak with us! He only wanted to look like he was more human than before. He only wanted to pretend.”

“I want to know who you are and where you came from.” He pointed a long claw at the man and then gestured to the people behind him. “I will pull them all apart. One by one. Finger by finger to discover where you came from and what your plan is. But you are in the wrong kingdom, stranger, to play games like this.”

The man just grinned. “Why’s that? Do you believe your people to be so weak as to not be able to kill you?”

Gluttony arched a brow. “No, my people are strong. But I am endless, and I will find out who you are long before you kill me.”

The man faded into the crowd, that grin on his face never budging. “We’ll see about that, monster. After the bloodbath ends.”