Page 52 of The Demon Prince

There it was. The flare of dark green in Envy’s eyes, the bubbling of his skin as creatures writhed beneath his flesh. “Really? That is only how you see it, brother. Perhaps I should take something of yours to prove myself, then.”

“Now you sound like Greed.”

“We are very similar.” A snake poked its head out of Envy’s collar, black and iridescent in the overhead lights. It coiled around his throat, lifting its head and flicking the air with its tongue. “That is why we’re not allowed anywhere near each other. Or had you forgotten that?”

No, he hadn’t. Gluttony remembered the last time Greed and Envy had been in the same room. The two of them nearly destroyed each other, ripping and tearing at the very fabric of the world until the mortals around them had all fallen to their knees in anguish.

It was a hard memory to suppress. It was one of the first times he’d realized just how much pain they were causing their people. They were gods playing at a game, not realizing that there were humans in the middle who were getting hurt.

He hadn’t wanted to be a god like that. Not then, and not now.

“It’s hard to forget that night,” he muttered, turning back to what he knew. Beakers and solutions and alchemical messes that might explode in his face. At least it wasn’t his brother looking at him with disappointment in his eyes. So certain that he would find Gluttony lacking, yet again.

“And your... problem?” Envy asked, though his voice betrayed what he meant. “I suppose you’ve taken care of that as well?”

“I have.”

“How did you take care of it?” Apparently, Envy had no plans to let this go. And when Gluttony didn’t respond, Envy prodded more. “You took care of it, didn’t you? You said you were going to get it out of your system or ignore it. You know you cannot afford any distractions while you are working so hard.”

Working so hard. The thought was laughable. Gluttony wasn’t working any harder on this than he had any other project. All he wanted was a few quiet nights with the lovely little thing who had captured his attention. He didn’t want to be here, in front of Envy, trying to justify his choices to a brother who had never truly been there for him.

“I took care of it.” Setting his hands on the table, he stared down at his fingers and willed his claws to go away. “I have no reason to lie to you, Envy.”

“You have no reason to tell the truth, either.”

That was it.

Gluttony stood, whirling on his brother, ready for the fight that Envy apparently wanted. His claws sliced out of his fingers, and his eyes cast a red glow throughout the beakers. His brother, to his credit, was ready to fight as well. That snake hissed next to Envy’s ear, and more of those black tattoos rippled underneath his shirt.

If they weren’t careful, they would set this entire room ablaze with their fight. And maybe that would be for the best. They’d destroy the substance that had been used against them. The demons would have to fight the mortals, as so many clearly wished for them to do.

It would be over. All of this could end and then Gluttony would return to his quiet existence, with only Katherine to keep him company.

Such a future would truly be divine.

The door opened again. This time both of them froze as they stared at Katherine. She walked backward through the door, her hair twisted up on top of her head, with a riotous mass of curls tumbling down her back. In the week since he’d fed, she’d gained much of her health back. And so it was with rosy cheeks and a bright smile that she turned around.

He watched it all unfold before him in slow motion. Katherine startled seeing his brother. The tray in her hands swayed and then fell, twisting toward the ground with the glass vase she used to carry water back and forth between the rooms. The two glass cups fell with it.

She gasped, Envy reacted. They both moved toward the water that cracked against the ground long before either of them could grab it. But then he saw some twinge in her face, a reaction that had her shuddering, stuck in a single position when Envy ran right into her.

His behemoth of a brother didn’t even try to pull his weight. He just plowed into Katherine with all the force of a bull, and she was thrust backward.

He watched her arms pinwheel as she tried to catch her balance, but she was going to fall. She was going to fall right onto that floor, now littered with sharp glass shards and water that would only make her slip more.

Gluttony had never moved so quickly. He lunged forward, uncaring of the glass shards between him and her. He just had to make sure she didn’t get hurt.

It was only a few brief moments when he didn’t have her in his arms, but he caught her. And then she was right there, looking up at him with those bright green eyes, shock radiating from every pore of her body.

His arm was banded around her back, but he had forgotten to put his claws in. To his horror, he could smell her blood. Somehow, when he’d grabbed her around the waist, he had sliced through her clothing and into her back. Though she didn’t react like she’d been injured, he had failed to prevent her from being harmed.

She didn’t deserve to bleed in front of his brother. And he hated knowing that she was.

A few drops of bright red fell from the tips of his claws, the soft sound of them striking the pool of water hitting his ears. Carefully this time, he gathered her a little closer to his chest and stood them both upright.

Her mouth was still slightly open, and her breathing a little ragged. “Gluttony,” she said, as though she didn’t know what else to say. “I’m... I...”

Envy interrupted them. “So this is how you fixed your problem? I told you to get rid of her!”

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