Page 65 of The Demon Prince

Envy walked around her, leaning down to breathe into her ear, “The real question is, what are you doing here?”

She stiffened. “I’m here to help my people and to help Gluttony at the same time.”

“Is that so?”

It was the truth, in a way. She was here for both of those people, even though it didn’t feel like it sometimes. She wanted both her town and her king to be... happy. In whatever way that took.

Gluttony deserved happiness. She firmly believed that, and she believed that the townsfolk saw him as something other than what he truly was. How to convince them otherwise? She had no idea. Katherine wasn’t the person that came up with all the plans. But she would help. She was good at that.

Envy circled her and then paused in front of her. She had to crane her neck so far back to even look up at him. She hadn’t expected him to be quite so tall. Gluttony was massive, after all. And yet, this brother was even bigger.

He had tired eyes, though. And that softened her. “What do you want from me?” she asked. “I’m here for the right reasons, even if you don’t believe that.”

“I’m not sure you understand what the right reasons are.” Envy reached out for a lock of her hair and the greasy feeling that his touch left behind made her shiver.

Only Gluttony touched her like that. He was the one who curled her hair around his fingers like it was the finest of rubies, and that made her feel good. She liked it when Gluttony touched her.

Not this man she did not know.

Katherine shook off his grip, taking a shuddering step backward. “Please don’t touch me.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t like to be touched.”

“You like it enough when my brother touches you.” Envy trailed along in her footsteps, his eyes narrowing. “You seem to think that there is a connection between the two of you, but I am here to warn you, little human. Gluttony does not make attachments. He does not stay with any of his playthings for very long. You would be wise to run.”

Frozen in fear, she stayed where she was, shuddering as he brushed her hair to the side and skated his fingers over the faint scars on the side of her face. “These are almost impossible to see, you know.”

She did know. But that didn’t mean the others, the more permanent injuries, were as hidden. She swallowed hard, trying to jerk away from him again only to find herself pressed against a table. “I said, don’t touch me.”

“Envy,” Gluttony’s voice lashed out from the doorway. Barely contained rage had him standing there, and his gaze locked on hers. “Let her go.”

“Oh, hush, brother. I’m just showing you that your pet is already broken. You were unaware.” Envy’s eyes flashed green for a moment before he took a step back. With a satisfied expression, he gestured at her. “Haven’t you noticed her limp? She’s good at hiding it. And with those faint scars on her face, I’d guess she’s a lot more broken than she’s letting on.”

This was all falling apart. Everything. Right in front of her while her heart tried to beat its way out of her chest.

She wasn’t broken.

She had gotten away from all that here. Katherine had fought tooth and nail to be someone, and here she was. Sacrificing herself to save her village, with the only man who had ever seen her as a person. And he stood in that doorway, shocked, with an open mouth as he stared at her.

“Kat?” he asked.

And oh, it tore her into pieces.

He wanted to know the truth. He wanted to hear how she’d been lying to him all this time. Who was she to deny him that? Everyone deserved the truth.

Tears stung in her eyes, and she had to look at the floor for the words to come pouring out of her mouth.

“My father was lost after mother disappeared. He thought that maybe she would come back, so we stayed in the same house. Then she didn’t. He went out after her and I was far too young to be alone. I was only eight years old, and I was cold. So I lit a fire in the hearth, but I didn’t realize that the rug was too close after I’d been playing. I fell asleep and woke to the whole house in flames.”

Katherine twisted her fingers together, beating back the memories that threatened to overwhelm her. She didn’t want to think about this. It was hard enough to live it, let alone to tell him that his brother was right. She was broken. And she was a fool.

“Our house had two stories, and I tried to run down the stairs to get away from the flames. I fell down them and twisted my hip out of place, then broke my pelvic bone on the way down.” She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the worst part of it. “But there was no one else in the house, and we were on the outskirts of town. It took a long time for anyone to realize the house was on fire, and I was not awake after the injury. I don’t remember much, but apparently someone came and saved me. I had horrible burns all down the right side of my body along with the broken bone.”

Gluttony took a staggering step into the room. “Katherine.”

Even Envy looked shocked at her words.

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