Lord of Embers(The Demon Queen Trials #2)(5)

I snatched the hook from the pavement and, with the last of my energy, slashed the congressman’s throat. One quick swipe to his jugular, and his agony was over, his screams silenced. He fell to the ground, his body burning as the flames blazed higher. The other demon hunters screamed, stumbling over themselves to get away from me. They took off at a sprint down Gallows Hill Road.

The last of my magic drained from my body, and my legs felt weak.

As bile climbed up my throat, I stepped past the burning body. I hoped the rain would put out the fire soon.

Mouth dry and body cold, a horrible thought struck me. I’d just killed a congressman. Lit him on fire and slit his throat. Right here, in Mr. Esposito’s driveway.

Holy

. I wanted to lie down on the ground, but if I stuck fu ck



around, I’d be arrested. What’s more, if I went to the hospital or called an ambulance for myself, I’d be arrested.

Dizzy, I found myself shambling toward the road. I couldn’t survive without medical help.

A voice called out from behind me, and I turned to see Mr. Esposito standing in his doorway, his figure hazy through the black smoke curling off the congressman’s body.

“I’m sorry!” I blurted, unable to manage a full explanation.

Coughs racked his body for a moment, and then he shouted, “Rowan! Get to the City of Thorns!”

Another spasm of coughing shook his frail frame.

“Wait a minute. What?” He was right, of course, though I had no idea how he knew. As soon as I got within the city gates, my body would start to heal.

“Get to safety, Rowan,” he said, and closed the door.

I could feel it now, too—an instinct, a tug between my ribs that pulled me east, toward the hill. My body had gone into survival mode, dragging itself toward the city, while I barely retained consciousness.

That’s where my body had been urging me to go, the City of Thorns, not behind the trash cans to die.

I moved faster, my legs carrying me through the shadowy streets.

But mentally, I was starting to become delirious. Despite my injuries, my mind heated with memories of Orion’s beauty—his pale eyes, high cheekbones, and sensual lips. His thickly corded muscles— Why in the name of all that was holy was I thinking of that right now?

I was dying, and all I could think about was how much I wanted to sit in his lap. How it felt to have his lips graze over mine, his thumbs brush over my breasts. Heaven help me, I wanted to rip his clothes off and run my tongue over his chest. It felt like he was here right now, like I could reach out and touch him.

W h at th e h ell?

. The memory of those words from him made an T ake

it

off.

N ow

ache build inside me, a bittersweet pang that had nothing to do with my wounds.

I wanted it to happen again.

T h at’s w h at you th in k abou t at a time like th is?

What was this, some last desperate craving for life as I was about to expire?

I looked down at the trail of blood on the sidewalk, and realization dawned. Of

.

cou rse

I was a succubus now. Sex wasn’t just sex to a Lilu. Sex was . It

life



was healing and strength.

Sex would save my life.

I turned onto Walcott Street. I had two options now—find some random guy and make him kiss me, or make it the rest of the way up this hill.

Knowing what the men were like around here, I decided to take my chances with the hill.

But once I got into the city, what then? Orion still believed me to be Mortana, his worst enemy, and that was a serious problem. If I got anywhere near him, I had a horrible feeling he might try to kill me.

True, something had stopped him before, but he’d literally made a blood oath to kill me, an oath he was compelled to keep.

And not just me. Orion was obligated to kill everyone in Mortana’s family.

didn’t think I was Mortana, but whoever I was, I was probably I

related to her. After all, she looked exactly like me.

As my head swam with these thoughts, I realized I’d made it almost halfway up the slope, my blood mingling with the rainwater flowing downhill. Orange light from the streetlamps glittered off the dark puddles.

My thoughts were going dark, and I considered resting in the grass by the sidewalk, but as sirens wailed in the distance, I made my feet continue. I gripped my stomach, trying to stanch the bleeding. Blood seeped between my fingers. Across a wide street, the gates of the demon city emitted a pale, golden light, drawing me closer. The towering gates were wrought iron, twisted in the shape of thorns and vines, with a golden skull in the center.

Behind me, the sirens blazed louder, and red and blue lights flashed.

Moving faster, I dragged myself across the street. Police lights strobed, and I slumped against the gate.

Fuck. How did I open it?

The police bellowed behind me, screaming at me to freeze.

With tears stinging my eyes, I pressed a single bloodied hand against the golden skull.

A gunshot rang out, and a bullet seared my thigh. At that moment, the key symbol on my arm began to burn. Rays of golden light beamed from it, mingling with the gate’s light. The pain ebbed, and the gate unlocked. I tumbled inside, and the gate swung closed behind me.

Weeks ago, I never would have imagined it, but now this place felt like home.