Page 17

Chapter

Fifteen

LUCIFER

“ W hen I find her, I want you to do everything in your power to bring her to me. Everyone else has been a failure so far.” I shot a pointed look at Famine, who was still bound to the wall though I’d since gagged her for good measure, then returned my attention to Greed.

She was the most beautiful of the Princes, interestingly enough. One might have expected Lust or Pride, perhaps even Envy, to claim that prize, but it was Greed. My theory was that when she was being created, her nature stole just a little bit more than everyone was given. Although I suppose the reason why didn’t really matter. It was simply fact.

“My Knights and I are ready and waiting, my king.”

So deferential. Just the way I liked my Princes.

“Of course they are. You want all the glory for yourself, don’t you?”

She smirked. “Is there any other way to claim it? Sharing is for suckers and the bleeding hearts. The winner takes it all is a saying for a reason.”

“Oh, how I wish you’d been first to be released. We’d likely already be registering for baby gifts,” I mused.

“There’s still time, my king. I only need to be pointed in the right direction.”

“Yes,” I drawled. “And I think I know how we can do that.”

Her smile stretched. “Of course you do. Shall I leave you to it, then?”

I waved a hand. “You might as well stay and watch. This shouldn’t take long.”

Oh, wait a bloody minute. A beyond brilliant idea sparked to life as I prepared to step into my Merri’s dream. Holding out my hand, I glanced from Greed’s palm to my own. “What are you waiting for? Come on, then.”

“You want me to dreamwalk? My king, I can’t. I don’t have that?—”

“I don’t want you to join me. I simply want to show you what I’m seeing. Two sets of eyes are better than one. Now take my hand before I chain you up the same as Famine.”

Her skin skated over mine, hesitant at first.

“Oh, don’t be so precious. I’m not going to bite.” I grinned at her and snapped my teeth together. “Not yet, anyway.”

To her credit, she didn’t shy away. “If that’s what you require of me, my king.”

Such a good pet.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and reached out to find Merri’s subconscious. We were linked now, so it wasn’t much of a struggle. Before long, she’d be all mine. I was tired of being a figment of her imagination.

The first thing that registered was the sensation of sunlight playing over my face. Next was the flower-kissed breeze. Instead of the beach this time, she’d chosen a blooming garden with a giant house in the near distance. It would seem sweet Merri was tired of the winter weather, her mind craving the warmth of early summer. In fact, I’d never experienced a dream with her in anything but an idyllic temperate location. Perhaps the heat of hell wouldn’t be received as poorly as it typically was for surface dwellers.

Aside from the locale, there was one notable difference to this dream versus the others I’d joined. Merri wasn’t alone.

My lip curled back as an unexpected wave of jealousy rolled over me. My vessel was not supposed to be dreaming of other men. I was her perfect lover. She should fantasize about none other. None.

“The chateau has been my family’s responsibility for generations. I am happy to share any of its history with you, mademoiselle. All you need do is ask,” the handsome Frenchman said as he walked alongside her through the gardens.

“I wouldn’t even know where to start. I had no idea there were islands in France. Certainly not ones that housed places like... this.”

The man grinned at her, nothing but abject lust in his eyes for my—MY—woman. If I could kill him in a dream, I would, but unfortunately for me, he was not real. At least not presently.

“Oh, oui, mademoiselle. There are many.”

“So how did your family come to find themselves attached to this one?”

The swoony bugger, who did not yet realize his days were numbered, wove his arm through Merri’s and led her down a gravel path away from me. “Well, that is a rather long and complicated story. One that I think is best told with a cold glass of rosé.”

“You’d better not let the others hear you planning to wine and dine me. I don’t think they’d take well to adding anyone else to the mix.”

He chuckled. “You do have quite a lot on your... how do you say it? Plate?”

Her laughter twined with his as they wandered farther away.

I made to follow, but the world around me became as insubstantial as mist. The dream had disappeared, which meant Merri was awake and there was nothing to connect my subconscious to hers any longer.

The man’s flirtatious demeanor was burned in my mind even as my throne room came back into focus. “You’d better hope you’re just a character she came up with, Frenchy. If I find you, I will kill you so thoroughly you won’t remember your name as I drag your soul to hell with me.”

“Did you recognize where they were, my king?” Greed asked, drawing me out of my murder plot.

“No,” I said with a noticeable pout. “My knowledge of French islands housing chateaux is sadly lacking.”

Famine made a noise of protest behind her gag, thrashing her head in a pitiful attempt to gain my attention. She was truly the most annoying of her sisters. If I could kill her, I would.

“Do you think it's simply a place she dreamt up?” Greed asked.

I let out a musing hum. “With that level of detail? No, I doubt it.”

Famine groaned behind her gag, struggling even harder against her bonds. I sighed loudly, peering up at the ceiling as I spoke. “What can you possibly want now, Sabine? I know it’s not my attention. That never ends well for you.” She made another pitiful moan that had me looking at Greed conspiratorially. “Never lower yourself to working with a horsewoman. You’ll regret every second of it.”

“Shall I begin researching the inhabitable islands in France?” Greed asked, keeping a fair distance from me as though she worried her question might have been stupid.

It was.

Of course she should start researching inhabitable islands in France.

Famine stomped one foot, her chains rattling as she screamed behind the gag.

Shaking my head, I turned away from the disappointment of a horsewoman and looked into Greed’s eyes with a measured calm I didn’t think I had in me.

“Yes. Go find out everything you can about those islands. Some may be small enough to be privately owned.”

The clink of chains drew my focus once more to where Sabine was restrained. But instead of the bloodied, pathetic woman I expected to see, all I found was empty shackles and a dirty gag on the floor. Famine was gone. She’d abandoned her post. I hadn’t taken her for a coward.

“Well, can’t say I saw that coming.”