Lord of Embers(The Demon Queen Trials #2)(14)

terrible person. Have you ever considered that?”

A muscle twitched in Orion’s jaw.

“So, Carl,” I drawled, “sorry my stalker here is in such a hurry. He really doesn’t understand fun at all. Not like us. Tell me, Carl, what are your interests besides smoke alarms and fire extinguishers?”

He swallowed hard. “Are you really interested?”

I shrugged. “Believe it or not, I happen to find fire safety fascinating, so you’re off to a good start. It’s been a while since I’ve met anyone I had anything in common with.”

The growl that rumbled from Orion’s chest was so quiet, I didn’t think Carl’s mortal ears could hear it. Maybe he was just impatient, but I could tell he hated that I was paying attention to the doorman.

Carl shifted from one foot to the other. “My hobbies. Okay. I like making tacos. And I’m an artist, mostly drawing with ink on paper. And I like history, like the witch trials, and beautiful old buildings like this.”

Holy moly, he was like a male version of me.

“I’ve always been interested in the history of the Great Demon War —”

“The Great Mortal War,” said Orion. “Mortals were the enemy.”

Carl’s eyes darted nervously between us. “But that was a long time ago. It’s good that we’re at peace now. We have so much to learn from each other, demons and mortals.”

Orion shoved his hands into his pockets, narrowing his eyes. “Oh, I very much doubt that, Carl.”

Carl didn’t seem to hear him because he was staring only at me now. “You’re the last one, Duchess. The last of the Lilu. I read about what happened to your kind.” His throat bobbed. “That must have been terrible for you.”

I could feel the air heating, and the electric lights flickered. Was that Orion’s magic?

“If you don’t stop talking to this moron,” said Orion breezily, “I will rip out his ribs.”

Carl was paying attention to Orion. He let out a whimper and N ow

stepped back behind the desk, visibly trembling. He glanced at me, his lips pressed tightly together, and shook his head. I understood what he meant—he wasn’t going to open his mouth anymore.

“Orion.” I sighed. “You really should be locked up for the benefit of the rest of the city.”

Schooling my expression, I waved my hand and said goodbye to Carl.

I let out a long, slow breath and crossed to the stairs, still not making eye contact with Orion. He was a much worse person than I’d thought—which was saying something, as we’d met when he kidnapped me and threw me in a dungeon.

My heels clacked over the mosaic floor as I walked toward the sweeping staircase.

I once thought Orion and I were alike because we both wanted revenge. But I only wanted to kill

person.

on e

Orion? I had a feeling he wanted to burn the whole world down.





C H A P T E R 8 — O R I O N

I lay on Mortana’s sofa, staring up at her ceiling. I didn’t have a blanket because you couldn’t exactly ask someone for a comfy blanket after you’d told them you hated them and wanted them dead.

I turned on my side, staring out the tall windows. The canopy of night spread above the pool outside. The window was open a crack, and I heard a barred owl crooning in the distance. On the other side of the pool, the Acheron River rushed past.

Even on the best of nights, I found it hard to sleep. Tonight, there was no way I could drift off.

When I thought of Mortana, it was like inhaling death, exhaling ash.

Rowan was different. Even if I

they were the same person, it

kn ew

was hard not to think of them as the same. When she was around, embers smoldered to life in my chest for the first time in centuries, and I felt alive.

I hadn’t woken with a feeling of dread and known she was here. I’d had a feeling of warmth in my chest, dead charcoal sparking. Without Rowan, my world was cold, silent.

Unfortunately for me, everything about her was a lie. And that was because everything about Mortana had always been a lie, a deception designed to crush my soul.

When I’d seen the star of Lucifer blazing from her head, I’d known.

It had all been a lie—another one of Mortana’s sadistic tricks.

A humid wind whistled through the crack in the window. But that wasn’t what was keeping me awake.

I didn’t trust her, not enough to think she’d tell me

actu ally

Cambriel’s secret, even with the blood oath. Deep down, she was Mortana, and Mortana always found a way out. I’d let her live, but only because I was too bloody weak to kill her.

It was hard not to think of the way Rowan moved, the way she’d touched my skin.

Who was she, really?

She was identical—

to Mortana.

id en tical—

And yet, she’d tried to save me from the bullets in that underground tunnel. Mortana would never have done that.

For a moment, there in the abandoned mansion, I’d been certain it had all been another one of her tricks. I was sure she remembered everything when she’d mentioned the snake, as if taunting me for what I’d done. Exactly like Mortana had, and how could she have known if she wasn’t there?

I rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling.