Sinners' Kingdom #1: The Book of Lust (Complete)

41

We were not, in fact, in a cave at all.

In my mind, we had been entombed in a drafty, towering cavern filled with ice-cold water that had never seen the light of day. I could have sworn I could even smell the salt of the rocks, and hear the echoes of my voice around the stalagmites poking from the water, bouncing against the curving walls of stone that surrounded us. I had already mapped the whole place in my brain and was ready to get rolling, butterfly stroking out of that place for the exit like Ariel on steroids. So what if I had been transported to a dark and dank water world, and so what if I was still naked and freezing and bruised? Where there's a will, there's a way. I knew exactly what I was headed and how to get there. Oh, I was ready for anything.

Except this. Being blind, that is. It turned out we were actually thirty feet from a balmy beach shore, and it was only cold because it was still in the dawn hours in this part of the world, wherever we were. It would warm up soon, Lust promised, and there were bound to be inhabited settlements on the island somewhere so I could rest comfortably. If not, deserted islands had their uses, too. He would find food, drinkable water. If he couldn't make or find shelter, he would use his body to shield me from the elements. Everything would be fine.

Except I was still blind and couldn't even make it up the beach without falling on my face.

"Stop. Leave me alone, I'm fine."

"Sable —"

"I just need something to wear. Literally anything. If you don't see people around who can lend me clothes, then —"

"Take this."

It wasn't soft. The fabric that draped itself around my shoulders before sliding up my arms was light but tough, though not quite scratchy. After Lust carefully let down my arms and closed the edges of the garment around me, I lifted my elbows to test the looseness. Free, nice. But the bottom of it pooled and dragged on the sand on top of my feet. Way too long. And where had this thing come from, anyway?

"Is this your robe?" I asked.

"Yes, it is."

"Then what are you wearing?"

"I need nothing. Are you warm?"

So he was naked? That didn't bode well for me. "I've seen you summon your clothes out of thin air," I said. "Can't you just make more?"

He chuckled. "Oh, my magic doesn't work quite that way. But no need for concern. I've never been overly fond of clothing anyway. As long as you're taken care of, my love. Though you'd warm up faster with my body heat, if you'd only..."

"No. Not a chance."

"Then we can only wait until you dry off and warm up with the sun."

"Oh, well. Tough shit."

"I'm at your disposal, my love. You only need to say the word. Just one..."

It was ass-kissing, which was mind-blowing because demons didn't ass-kiss. Imps and other demons of weaker class might do it if they were at the mercy of whatever powerful witch had them in the palm of their hand, but what was I going to do to Lust? I was chained to him by the tabula rasa agreement. Any ill I did to him would turn back on me too, by the laws of the most ancient magics in existence.

The same applied to the reverse. If Lust ever did anything to maliciously hurt me, the tabula rasa would punish him right back. Even Princes couldn't escape those chains.

Which was how I knew —

"Stop!" I snapped when Lust tried to pull me toward him again. "Just quit it! If this is supposed to be your way of apologizing, great, I get it. Now we need to move on. Do you even know where we are? Or where to go next?"