Page 22 of The Demon Prince

“And if you’re looking for staff, I fired them all long ago.” They were too much of a temptation in the middle of the night, but he had no intention of telling the spirit that. “There is a village nearby. You could go to that place to feed if necessary.”

It rolled to a stop before his front door and seemed to look through the wood before it started wriggling underneath.

“Where are you going?” he asked, watching until it was at least halfway wedged underneath the worn wood. “You know, you could just ask me to open the door.”

If a dark ball of black could give him an unimpressed look, this one managed. It almost sounded like it gave him a little huff of frustration before disappearing out his front door as well.

Amused, he stared at the door for a few moments before deciding he’d follow it. Last time, the spirit had led him to her door. Surely that was a good enough reason to trust it again?

He opened his door only to find the mist had gathered so close to the edge that it had left mold in its wake. When was the last time he’d made even an effort to clean his home? This castle had once been beautiful. Though it had taken quite a bit of work to keep it that way.

All his dead gardens looked rather sad in the dim light of the morning. He hadn’t even realized it was morning until this moment, and then he saw movement past the gate.

A young woman’s form appeared in the mist. The white swirls clung to her waist and fingers, dragging her away from the hellish nightmare of his home. But she continued forward with a rather unique gait. And oh, she was lovely. All that red hair glowed in the morning light, framing her face in a riot of curls that exploded around her head as the mist made them even more frizzy.

His heart stuttered at the sight of her. Gluttony truly hadn’t expected her to come. Why would she? He’d threatened her, lurked outside her window for days on end, even let himself into her room when she hadn’t wanted him there.

He’d thought she wouldn’t keep her end of the bargain, and he would survive the disappointment. If she didn’t want to know he was watching her, he could be more discreet.

But here she was. Like a candle glowing in the middle of a darkened room, drawing him ever closer to her light.

He walked down the pathway through his dead garden as though in a dream. And she stood just outside his gate, waiting for him to unlock it with a disgruntled expression on her face.

“You don’t have a butler?” she asked, brows furrowed in confusion. “Or did you know I was coming?”

“I don’t. And I didn’t.” He unlocked the chain that kept his wrought-iron gate closed and wrenched it open. Gluttony winced at the ugly squeal before blowing out a long breath. “Come in.”

She eyed him, still frowning, and clearly unimpressed. “Why don’t you have a butler?”

“I have no staff in the castle.”

“Why?”

She was the first person to ever ask him that. And he was so surprised that he blinked a few times before honestly answering, “I didn’t want to harm them.”

And his Katherine, brave as she was, blinked up at him before saying, “All right, then.”

She walked past him without a single ounce of fear. Just strode up through the path, barely giving a glance to all the dead plants around her, and up to the front door of the castle. Stopping there, she turned around to look back at him with a lifted brow. “Are you coming?”

Yes.

No.

Maybe, he wasn’t really sure how close he should get to her. He wanted her so badly that it hurt. This brave woman who had no fear in her at all.

Clearing his throat, he resolved to be the better person. Today, he could pretend he wasn’t a monster, so he didn’t scare her away. He could pretend that he wasn’t the nightmarish creature who had destroyed her home and, likely, her life.

But then he walked up to her side and smelled blood. It didn’t even reach his thoughts that it clearly wasn’t her blood, it wasn’t honey and wine, nor did it relax him. Instead, it sent a spike of fear right through the back of his skull, tailed only by infinite, dark rage.

Slamming a hand to the door beside her, he leaned down and breathed in deep before baring his fangs in a snarl. “You’re covered in blood?”

She swallowed. “I am.”

“Who do I have to kill?”

ChapterNine

Katherine had taken such a long time getting to the castle. Not because her hip was hurting. She’d made certain to stretch out the stiff joint and warm it for a few nights in a row so she could make the trek. Her slow pace was entirely due to the nerves churning in her belly.

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