Page 8 of The Demon Prince

Katherine tried her best to unlock her legs, but they just... wouldn’t. Every bone in her body felt like it had stuck in place. How long had she been crouched here?

With that thought, the rush of pain came as well. Wincing, she tried her best to straighten her body, but the creaking and clicking sounds gave her away. Grace ducked underneath her arm, gently easing her upright and taking all of Katherine’s weight when she couldn’t stand on her own.

“You know better,” Grace scolded as she put Katherine to bed. “What in the world has gotten into you? Too many hours at that almshouse, I reckon. I told Alexander to not put so many hours on you while the rest of us were sick. I told him that hip of yours couldn’t take it, but why listen to the trained healer? I’m not the one who runs the almshouse, he is.”

She finally found her tongue. “Grace, I’m fine. It was a nightmare, that’s all.”

“You’re not fine, and you’re staying here today.” Grace pointed at her with a rather severe look. “If you move, that hip of yours will stop you from doing it. So I know I don’t have to tell you to stay put. However, the only reason you’re allowed to get up today is to get more ice. Do I make myself clear?”

Though she hated to admit Grace was right, Katherine wasn’t certain it would take her weight at all.

So sullenly, she nodded. Grace flitted around her for a while, scolding her for a few more minutes until Katherine was as comfortable as she was going to get and then Grace left for work.

Leaving Katherine alone, staring at the window and wondering how much of last night her mind had conjured up.

And how much of it had been real.

ChapterFour

This need was an addiction. Gluttony knew the word for it, at least the word his brothers used. He had a better one.

Obsession.

Gluttony didn’t have to drink blood. He could exist without it and had for many years of his life. And it wasn’t just anyone’s blood that called to him. Sure, he would take whatever was offered, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed it. But sometimes there was a certain blood that was just so divine that it swallowed up all rational thought. He could smell it, suck it into his nose and in his throat until he tasted a bit of that elixir.

Addiction. Obsession. The same meaning but one word made him feel slightly better about himself.

Leaning back at his desk, a rarely used piece of furniture in his home, he pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to convince himself that he was all right. Gluttony didn’t need blood. He didn’t need to go back to that poor woman’s window, where he could scent her on the breeze.

He wasn’t a stalker. This was just any other night where he had to look into the substance that could be used to attack both him and his brothers. He needed to figure out the reasoning for it, or maybe there was another alchemical recounting that could tell him where to go from here.

And yet, no matter how far he tried to guide his mind, he always landed back in the same place.

Her.

“Get a hold of yourself,” he growled. The sound of his own voice did nothing, however, and he finally snapped.

Slamming his palm down on his desk, he conjured up the small disk that could connect him to any of his brothers. A simple call would help. Maybe. He’d always called the same brother, who always answered no matter how many times he called in the middle of the night.

The magic zinged, fraying through the realms until it delved underneath the stone of the second kingdom. Envy’s home was a pile of rock, after all. His people had tunneled deep into the earth, creating a mountainous home worthy of the dwarven legends of old. Envy had burrowed so deep that it was difficult for even magic to get through it.

And then there he was. His brother. Shimmering to life in a blue light, glowing on the other side of the desk and seated just as Gluttony had expected him to be.

Envy was strange compared to all the rest of them. More human, if that was even possible. Perhaps because he had one of the baser emotions, like Lust, who also appeared almost human at first glance.

Envy had dark inky hair like Gluttony, but he was infinitely more broad. Square faced, strong featured, his eyes cut through everything and anything that stood before him. Top that with his shoulders that were so wide he barely fit in a chair, and the thousands of tattoos that covered every area of his body other than his face, neck, and hands? The man was terrifying and otherworldly. It fit his kingdom, though, and his people knew better than to test their terrifying king.

Tonight, however, Envy didn’t look as intimidating as usual. He had a glass of something in his hand, probably mead, knowing his brother, and his eyes were a little foggy.

“Late night for you, Gluttony,” Envy said, his words slightly slurred. “I thought you were supposed to be fixing our problem.”

“It’s no small problem to fix.”

“And yet, you were the one who grabbed the task.” A bright flash of emerald made his brother’s eyes glow even through the projection. And there it was. Envy.

Of course, his brother had likely thought he would get the esteemed role of figuring out what this new weapon was. Envy, after all, was more in touch with magic than the rest of them. Even Pride, although his eldest brother, wouldn’t ever admit it.

His brother’s downfall was that Envy wanted what he didn’t have. He didn’t care what it was, like Greed, who collected rare objects and artifacts. Envy wanted what others had, period. If it was just a speck of dirt on their shoe, he would take it.

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