Lord of Embers(The Demon Queen Trials #2)(61)

Except me. I didn’t burn.

When the fireball receded, I angled my wings and slammed down on top of him, knocking him back to the floor. His head cracked against the stone. I straddled his waist, my long, silver claws extended. Bringing them down, I slashed his right wrist, severing his hand with the ring.

He shrieked in terror and grabbed my hair with his good hand. I could have ended his life right then and there by ripping out his heart, but I wanted an audience.

I raked my claws over his heart, threatening to pierce it, and drew a dagger from its sheath.

“My parents were blackmailing you,” I snarled. “Why? What did they want?”

His eyes wide with fear, he shook his head wordlessly.

I poked his chest with my claws, drawing blood. “I watched her burn to death, Cambriel. Tell me what she wanted from you.”

“Something I couldn’t give. They wanted to come back. I don’t know why they suddenly had a sense of urgency after all those years.”

This was my home, and they were trying to Becau se I’d been born .

keep me safe.

“And why didn’t you let them?” I roared. “He was your father, too.”

His forehead glowed with his mark—a golden eye in a triangle. “And what if there were more? There was a reason the Lilu had to go. Nergal agreed to the mortals’ demands because he wanted you gone, all of you.

How can a wingless king rule over those who can fly? It was fine if you were the last one. You and I could marry. Our claims to the throne would be stronger than any others.”

The fire had spread across the room, engulfing his bed.

His severed hand was already starting to heal, and I was out of time. I had the answer I needed.

I plunged the dagger into his heart. He froze, eyes wide. He’d be incapacitated until I got him out in a public square.

His words still rang in the hollows of my mind. But what if there w ere more?

I slid off his unconscious body and crouched to pick him up. I’d carry him through the window and— A figure loomed in the burning doorway, someone impervious to the flames around him.

Orion. Coppery light and shadows danced over his features. Embers and smoke swirled around him, and his ice-cold eyes pierced the gloom.

The scent of burning mahogany and heated stone filled the air, and ashes rained around the room.

The promise of violence hung thick in the air. “Well, Rowan. It would seem you found a way to break the blood oath and lie to me.”

He smiled. “But maybe I need to thank you. You’ve already done the hard work for me.”

I wasn’t here to have a dialogue with Orion, nor would I allow him to steal this chance from me. I wouldn’t let him get in my head.

With the king in my arms, I raced for the open balcony door.

Outside, the first blush of dawn spread over the demon sky, staining it a pearly coral.

When I reached the balcony, I would let my wings out— A force like a train crashed into me from behind, knocking the wind from me before I could escape. I dropped the king, and we tumbled to the mosaic floor. I pushed onto my elbow and round kicked Orion in the knee.

He staggered, and I leapt to my feet, delighted by his surprised expression.

He wanted to fight? Fine. This is what I’d trained for. I widened my stance and cleared my head, calming my thoughts as the Dying God had taught me. Watching for signs of what my enemy would do next without emotion or fear.

I expected Orion to look furious, but he seemed amused instead.

“Well, well,” he said, the corners of his lips curling. “You remember

d o

how to fight after all.”

Smoke filled the air as the flames engulfed the furniture. “I learned a few things in the underworld.”

“You want power for yourself.”

I returned his faint smile. “When was the last time a queen ruled here instead of a king? And look at what angry men do when they have power. We saw it in the underworld. Men run that city. Women are hanged, put in stocks, and whipped, all because men can’t bear the thought of women having the tiniest bit of control.”

He arched an eyebrow. “So it’s not for your own sake? You’re doing this for all of womankind?”

“Forgive me for thinking it’s a little unethical to slaughter all the mortals because someone pissed

off four hundred years ago.”

you

His smile faded, and his eyes turned to ice. “Someone pissed me off?

That’s how you’re describing it?”

“And yes, I do want to rule,” I shouted. “So what? Maybe I’m sick of being pushed around by broken people on power trips.”

He gave me a knowing smile. “And that’s exactly what you would be, isn’t it, a broken woman with half a soul on a power trip? I saw what you did to those soldiers burning outside—”

“They’ll recover.”

“The moment you learn how to use your magic, you start lighting people on fire and throwing them off balconies. Tell me how you’re different from Mortana, again? You’re already fighting just like her.”

A sharp coil of doubt started to wind through my thoughts. What was I doing? I was letting him get in my head.

Tammuz hadn’t trained me for that, and if I listened to this too long, I would lose.

I needed to end this conversation before he completely got the upper hand. I shifted forward, ready to land a punch, but he swung for me first. Lightning fast, I ducked, then came up again with my claws aimed at his throat. He grabbed my wrists, pushing them out of the way, and slamming me onto the floor. I rolled, looking up at him from the ground.