Page 18 of The Demon Crown
“Where did they get it?”
Varya shrugged. “I have no idea. The Horde has their contacts, and they gather items from all over the kingdom. They could have stolen it from your very castle for all I know.”
“Oh, they didn’t do that,” he muttered. “I haven’t had this in years. Someone took it from me three centuries ago.”
She choked on her own tongue. “Centuries?”
“Did you not know? My brothers and I are all ancient.” He flashed her a wicked grin. “It has its uses. For example, I spent nearly ten years deep between the legs of a very talented—”
She held up her hand and stared at the ceiling. “I don’t need to hear about that.”
“Why?” He was suddenly much closer, and she could feel his breath against her shoulder. “Are you… jealous?”
Varya grabbed the map out of his hand and rolled it once more. She stared at the ground as she replied, “No, I am not. I just want to get going and if you don’t stop dawdling, we’ll be walking while it’s freezing out and I won’t lend you my jacket.”
“Ah, but last night we already realized how much easier it is to warm each other.”
He leaned a little too close for comfort, so Varya took three very large steps back. It was only a little satisfying that Greed stumbled before she turned and started toward the pool.
“Drink up, demon king. There will be little water on the way, I suspect.”
“We’re not that far from my castle,” he grumbled, but she had a feeling he was only saying that to make it sound better. They were very far from the castle, at least four hours of walking, and he wasn’t at his best.
What should have been a quick journey was sure to turn into a very long one.
She took her own advice and drank as much water as her belly could hold before turning back to him. He gestured behind her at a rock wall.
“Go on then,” he muttered. “If you’re so insistent that we need to start this moment, you can feel the heat first.”
She approached the rock wall, but there was no opening or sliver for her to slide through. There wasn’t even light coming through the stones. What did he expect her to do with this?
Greed grumbled behind her the whole way. Unsurprisingly, he still wasn’t feeling like himself, and he expected this to be a very trying day. If she didn’t want to acknowledge that, it was fine, but he refused to be shuffled around like a child. Or at least, that sounded like what he was mumbling. A lot of the deep guttural tones were difficult to understand.
Then he paused behind her and grunted. “Well? What are you waiting for?”
If she could punch him, this would all feel so much better.
Varya faced him and gestured toward the wall, trying her best not to look ridiculously put out. “There are rocks in front of me, Greed. What do you want me to do?”
“Go through them.”
“How?” she snarled through her teeth. Varya had to mutter to herself not to clench the map in her hand and completely shred it because of the stupid, moronic, asshole of a demon in front of her.
He flashed her a bright grin, as if he knew how much he was getting under her skin. “Just walk through it.”
“Not all of us have magic.”
“I don’t have magic.” He shrugged and started toward the wall of stone. “Demons aren’t real, anyway. You mortals are the ones who insist on calling us that, and it’s rather ridiculous. We aren’t monsters who were summoned out of the deep.”
He turned and waggled his fingers at her, backing toward the stone. He continued to make hand movements like he was casting a spell and then... disappeared through the rock.
“Rat bastard,” she hissed. Had he trapped her in here? Was that the plan all along?
When she saw him next, she would wring his stupid, fat neck.
But then Greed’s head appeared through the stones again, grinning like an absolute lunatic covered in dried blood. “Are you coming or not? I told you, no magic required.”
Completely and utterly confused, Varya stepped closer to the rocks and held her hand up to them. Her hand disappeared as she touched the stones and then reappeared when she moved it closer. There was no sensation of magic or even a spell, but obviously there was one here.
