Page 44 of The Demon Prince

“That is the real reason,” he replied with a soft chuckle. He ran a hand over the back of his head as if she could ever really hurt him, before turning back to his table. “I am uncertain what this substance is, and it’s been fighting with me every step of the way.”

“The black smoke?”

He nodded, trying to get his head back into the same place it usually was. Clear-headed. Capable of seeing straight through any material and knowing what was in it. But this smoke continued to evade him.

“Have you considered it may be magical in origin?”

“I’ve tried all the spells that I know of, and my brothers are also researching it.” Too much information, he reminded himself. She didn’t need to know what it was. She only needed to have something to do.

With that in mind, he picked up a pair of metal tongs and handed them to her as well.

“So it’s definitely not magical, then?” She moved, leaning past him to pick up another beaker and organizing them next to each other. To his surprise, she had organized them correctly. Both of them were magical in origin, spells that he’d funneled into beakers before they overheated the glass. “You aren’t lacking in knowledge that’s holding this endeavor back, I assume?”

“You truly enjoy thinking the worst of me.”

“I’m merely asking if you missed something, that’s all.” She smiled at him and he felt like the entire ceiling had ripped open and let the sun pour in. “I often watched the alchemists when they came into the almshouse. They were quite certain they always knew the correct answer to every question they had, but I often thought perhaps they were missing things.”

“Such as?”

“How human bodies work. How people think. What they should consider when they were trying to cure a person’s sickness. Most of the times they thought they knew what was wrong long before they even spoke to a patient. It was frustrating for the sick person, who often had an idea of what might be wrong. And instead, they were told they were wrong without the alchemist or healer even asking how they felt. It often delayed the healing process considerably.” A tiny wrinkle appeared on her brow.

He paused again, curiosity peaking from her expression. “And you thought you knew better?”

“I was certain I did.” Then she bit her lip and shrugged. “In most cases, at least. Sometimes they were right. But when they were wrong, it was always to the detriment of the patient.”

“Interesting.”

And it really was. She had become an object in his mind, an obsession. And honestly, he would have seen none of her flaws even if she waved them in front of his face. He would take them all. Beat him, try to murder him in his sleep, shove a knife in his throat. He didn’t care what she did to him as long as he could drink from her veins.

But now, he was faced with the reality of an actual person. A thinking, breathing, intelligent woman who tempted him more than he’d realized possible.

Katherine’s brows drew down again, and her glare seared right through him. “You’re looking at me like that again.”

“I...” He cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the table. “You are surprising, pet.”

“Am I?”

“Most women who come here have no interest in learning anything about the castle or myself. They had their desires. I gave them what they wanted in exchange for my own desires. I am... I find it difficult to know what to say or do with you.” Speaking of which, he handed her a small glass vial that was empty but didn’t need to be on his table.

She took that as well and then rearranged it on a table nearby. It was so easy for her to see where to put things, and even the tongs had gone to the waistband of her pants as though she was well aware that he’d need them again soon enough.

“I see,” she replied, when she reached his side again. “It’s rather difficult to speak with people and have them in your space when you’ve never had that before. Is that it?”

“That is part of it.” The other part was how badly he had to focus to not stare at the throbbing pulse at her neck, but he supposed she didn’t need to hear that.

“Then I don’t wish to distract you any further from your work. I can find something else to do in this giant castle.”

She moved to take the tongs out of her waistband, but he stopped her with a hand around her wrist. Holding her in place so she didn’t... Just didn’t.

He swallowed hard. “You don’t need to do that. It’s rather nice to have someone else around. I don’t mind it.”

“But it makes you uncomfortable.”

He stared up into those bright eyes and felt himself shatter a little. He didn’t want to be alone anymore. Couldn’t she see that? Even though he knew he and his brothers were monsters, and they had single-handedly ruined this entire realm, and torn apart the kingdoms, so they would never come back together again... He only wished he deserved an ounce of her attention.

“You make me nervous.” He shook his head and started again. “Stay. Please.”

Could she see inside his head? She stared at him as though she could, peering through the very vestiges of his soul before she nodded. “If you’d like the company, I can stay.”

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