Page 117 of The Demon Prince

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.”

ChapterForty-Three

Katherine fought and spat and kicked at Envy as he dragged her away from the town. No one even saw her, because he had somehow cast a spell over them that made them invisible. She couldn’t even see her own hands as she scratched at his arm around her waist, desperately trying to get back to the man she loved.

Gluttony shouldn’t have to face them on his own. He shouldn’t have to deal with the townsfolk who had clearly been affected by these strangers.

Though some part of her wondered if Gluttony had recognized those men. There had been something in his tone, some wandering words and long pauses that made her think he had known who they were. What they were. Clearly Gluttony has his suspicions about what was going on here, and that frightened her.

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