Page 114 of The Demon Prince

Katherine had never been in here before, but it was a rather cozy and small library. The walls were ringed with shelves that were filled to the brim with books and cozy loveseats that had cushions clearly worn by many people throughout the years. There was the perfect leather seat waiting for them by the window, and it was the largest one she’d seen still intact in this castle.

The metal lines that crossed across the glass did nothing to stop her from seeing the family of kelpies outside the window. A mother and three foals, an impossible feat considering kelpies usually only had one child. The sight drew her to the window as though she were under a spell, pressing her hand to the glass and watching the happy family kick their heels in the sky and canter about.

They were so precious, even with their sharp fangs glinting in the dim light of the day.

Her heart squeezed in her chest and she remembered that this was why she’d given up her life. This was why she was willing to take any risk for this kingdom. Because she loved it so much. Even the dangerous monsters who lived in the shadows. She could still see the beauty in their kelp covered hair and ignore the blood that coated their hooves. She didn’t care what they ate or hunted. She only cared that they existed.

And that was why she’d come to this castle in the first place and put herself in danger with a man she had been so certain was a demon.

Now, here she was, standing in front of a window watching the beasts of the swamp when she should be screaming at them to leave and then rushing to the town to tell people to run. And she wasn’t flinching at all when a demon walked up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

In fact, she leaned back into his warmth as he rested his chin on her shoulder and held up a book for her to look at.

“Shall we?”

She glanced down and snorted. “These are children’s stories.”

“They are fairytales,” he corrected. “And they are all quite good. I’m particularly curious to hear what you have to say about the story of the beast and the young woman who is forced to stay in his castle.”

“Sounds familiar.”

He bit down lightly on her neck, but hard enough to make her arch back into him for a moment before he was pushing her toward the loveseat. The leather one that looked out the window, so she could still watch the kelpies as they played.

Gluttony sat down first, then imperiously waved his hand for her to join him. When she tried to sit beside him, he grabbed her by the hips and made her sit down on his lap. With both his arms wrapped around her, Katherine was reminded of just how safe she would be for the rest of her life.

She leaned into him, enjoying the heat of his body as she watched the outside moors come to life. Night drifted into the sky like someone gently tucked the world into bed. The sound of Gluttony’s murmuring voice relaxed her muscles as he read to her from the book of fairytales, spinning webs of wondrous adventures and women who overcame all the odds to beat back the nightmarish hoards that attacked their homes. Stories of women who were warriors and who fought tooth and nail to get what they wanted while kings bent a knee to them.

His low voice sent goosebumps dancing down her arms and she wouldn’t have it any other way. He kept her warm, safe, tucked into his body with his chin resting on her shoulder while he read story after story.

The wisps burst to life outside their window. Skittering in giant waves of light that seemed to make patterns on the other side of the window.

It was almost a perfect moment. She didn’t know what else could make it better, only that she was so in love with every single moment of this. So in love that it made her heart ache.

Tracing her fingers lightly over Gluttony’s forearm, she interrupted him mid sentence. “I love you,” she blurted out.

“I know you do.”

“I don’t think you know how much.” It was bursting out of her, like she was too full of the emotion. “I love you very much and if anything happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do. I don’t think I could keep just going on.”

“You could.” He set the book on her lap and used his free hand to trace her jaw. “And you would. For centuries, now that you are immortal as I am. There has never been any question in my mind that you were the princess in my story. The avenging queen who came riding to my castle to tell me that I was a terrible king who had forgotten the use of my kingdom. You have changed the way I view everything, Katherine. And soon I will use you to help me decide how to make this kingdom a better place. How to convince my people that I care again.”

She searched his gaze, hoping this was the truth. She wanted nothing more than that.

“Do you mean it?” she asked, quietly. “Do you really mean that you want to change this kingdom so that we all may live better?”

“Of course I do. I have wanted to do it for many years, but I was lost in the how and the why.” He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “But you are resting today, Katherine. You have done the impossible and taken a spirit into your form. You are changing now, whether you want to believe that or not.”

“I can feel the changes already happening.” She wiggled in his lap, trying to face him more directly. “But now, I want to know what I can do with it. How can I help my people? What plans we must make to do all this—”

Gluttony tightened his arms, pinning her to his body. “Listen to me, my dear love. You are going to rest and not push yourself while you discover what it means to be the host of a spirit. And then, tomorrow maybe, we will talk about this.”

Wilting against him, she knew there was sense in what he suggested. Even if she didn’t want to listen to him. “Fine,” she muttered. “Where were you in the story?”

“The queen had just cornered the king with a sword to his throat.”

“Oh, right. This is my favorite part.” Tilting her head against his shoulder, she leaned into him and let herself soak in the sound of his voice and the music of crickets outside.

Because while there was a lot they could fix, right now, she could bask in him.

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