Lord of Embers(The Demon Queen Trials #2)(13)

He was right about one thing. I

need to learn to be a demon.

d id

And everything he’d said to me tonight filled me with anger.

It’s j u st h ard to h ate someon e you n o lon ger respect at all.

Screw you, Orion.

“Where are we sleeping, then?” I asked with a sharp edge in my voice. “Your place or mine?”

His expression was cold, almost bored. “Yours. I’d rather not be seen with you again. It was embarrassing enough the first time.”

I wanted to scream. “Guess what, Orion? You’re not the only one with a dead family, but you’re the only one using it as a license to be an absolute twat.”

He let out a short laugh. “The thing is,” he said blandly, “I don’t really give a fuck what you think. Apart from our one little tryst, I find you tedious and pathetic. And the truth is, I was only drinking from your raging lust because that’s how I feed. That’s all. I want you out of my life.”

I was so furious now, my entire body was shaking with adrenaline.

“And that lust? That was inspired by your incubus magic. Because there’s absolutely nothing appealing about a miserable twat with interpersonal problems. You know what I think?” I continued. “The world would have been better off if you’d never left the dungeon.”

Stony-faced, he walked past me. The pure vitriol of his words made me feel like my chest was cracking open. I could hardly breathe.





C H A P T E R 7 — R O W A N

W hat. An. Asshole.

So, I was only interesting as long as I fulfilled his incubus lust for sex? Clearly, there was no need to bore him by ever speaking to him again. The miserable fucker could have silence.

I clenched my jaw, trying to master my anger as we walked through the dark city streets slightly west of my parents’ place.

When we finally crossed into Mortana’s old apartment building, the human male who opened the door for me was a welcome sight. He grinned at me. His hair was as red as mine, and a smattering of freckles flecked his nose.

I crossed into the hall, my gaze roaming over the grandeur of the lobby. It was like an ancient, luxurious hotel, the floors tiled with blue and amber. Golden stone arches stretched high above us, and a staircase curved up to the mezzanine, where I’d find my apartment. My gaze drifting upward, I stared at the seductive image of Lilith and the snake curled around her body painted on the ceiling.

I sighed and turned back to the human. “Good to be home.”

He beamed at me. “Lady Mortana. I wasn’t sure you’d return, but I did hope I could tell my girlfriend I’d met you.” He cleared his throat.

“I’ve just started my internship here.” He glanced down at the ground.

“Sorry, I’m not supposed to speak to you.”

Internship. In other words, the demons had convinced him to work for free. Orion would probably point out again that the demons learned their most evil shit from the mortals.

I flicked my hair over my shoulder, like Mortana would. “I suppose you can speak, mortal, since this weird stalker looming behind me isn’t worth talking to.”

His eyes darted between us, and he choked out a nervous laugh.

“Okay, well… ”

It was probably occurring to him that he, as doorman, should reject the stalker, except the stalker was six-feet-plus of pure muscle and ferocity.

“Doorman,” I said imperiously, like Mortana, “don’t worry about that idiot. I’ll have coffee in the morning.” I gazed over his shoulder at a fire extinguisher on the wall. “Did you bring that here?”

The mortal glanced back at it. “Just looking out for this beautiful old building. Since, you know… ” He gestured to me, probably referencing my fire power. I could send this whole place up in flames at any moment.

“Right.” I arched an eyebrow. “Nervous about fires, are you?”

He nodded vigorously. “Mortals can actually die from it. There are no fire alarms, and the building is definitely not up to code.” His voice cracked as he spoke, and he looked at the ground again. “Is there anything else you need, Lady Mortana?”

I cocked my head, studying him. His suit looked expensive, but he hadn’t gotten the hang of ironing his clothes properly because his white shirt was wrinkled. Obviously, he wasn’t used to dressing up. Had I seemed such a mess when I’d been mortal? Shit. I had, hadn’t I?

And that was only a few days ago.

I had a sudden overpowering urge to take him under my wing, to make sure he got paid for the work he was doing. To make sure no one took advantage of him.

“What’s your name, mortal?”

His cheeks went red. “Carl.”

Orion stepped forward, towering over both of us. “Well, this has been tedious as Hell, so we’re leaving now.”

My eyebrow rose again. “You really like that word , don’t

ted iou s

you? Did you just learn it?” He definitely seemed annoyed right now.

And considering how I now felt about him, of course I wanted to run with that.

I moved closer to Carl and leaned back against the desk. “I was actually getting to know Carl here. I think we’ll be friends. He’s You know, in our world, it’s a novelty when someone isn’t a in terestin g.