City of Thorns (The Demon Queen Trials #1)(15)
He looked at me like I was mad. “Of course you can. You can buy anything.”
I nodded, realizing he was probably right. My stomach twisted in knots as I realized I was about to undertake something extremely dangerous. “Okay. Whatever the dangers are, I’m in. Let’s do this.” I clapped my hands together. “And now I’m going to need you to show me where the bathroom is before your opinion of my dignity falls even further.”
Chapter 9
Blindfolded, I walked through what I thought was a series of tunnels. The Lord of Chaos held my hands to guide me, and it kind of felt like we were on the most fucked-up date in history.
After a minute of walking, I whispered, “What’s your actual name?”
“Orion,” he said quietly.
I found the sound of his name dark and intoxicating.
And as we walked in silence, I could only feel a wild exhilaration that I was actually getting what I wanted. Forget saving money. Forget breaking in.
Now, I would get to stay in the City of Thorns.
After a few minutes of walking in the cool air, we reached a set of stairs. With his hand in mine, Orion led me up the stairs until I heard the creaking of a door.
When he pulled the blindfold off, I found myself standing in what looked like a heavily columned Mediterranean palace. Everything seemed to be made of pale, golden marble. A splash of blood-red poppies bloomed in an ivory vase by one of the open windows. When I glanced at the ceiling, I found it painted blue and dotted with stars that glowed with magical light. On two sides of the room, glass windows overlooked a sea that glittered like blue topaz. This place looked nothing like the grim Atlantic. This place was paradise.
On a third side, the wall was open to the air, and a covered balcony overlooked the sea. There, an overhang shaded a bed with a white duvet. On the other side of the seaside balcony, a table was had been set up with two chairs. A warm, salty breeze filtered into the room.
Holy shit, his life was amazing.
I managed to close my gaping mouth, and I turned to Orion to find that he was on his cell phone. “Morgan? Please bring breakfast and coffee for two.” He hung up, then gestured to the balcony. “Let’s discuss my proposal out here.”
Before I followed him into the buttery morning light, I lingered for a moment to survey the rest of the room—the books lining the walls, the cream-colored sofas. Would I get to stay here?
A warm breeze rushed into the room, and I followed him onto the balcony. Out here, the sun dazzled over the sea.
As I took my seat at the table, the door opened, and a man with a salt-and-pepper beard and a crisp white shirt entered. He looked like he might be about fifty, in excellent shape, and sporting perfectly applied eyeliner.
Orion smiled. “Morgan.”
“Orion, darling! You’re up early, aren’t you?” He spoke with a lilting Welsh accent.
I smiled at him as he slid a tray of fruit, yogurt, and coffee onto the balcony table. But before I could open my mouth, Orion introduced me. “I have Lady Mortana with me. Former advisor to King Nergal. She was living in the City of Serpents, and she has returned here after a long time away.”
Morgan smiled at me. “Welcome, darling. I can see why you’d return to the most amazing city in the world. No mystery there.” Morgan nudged a bowl of fruit in front of Orion. “You’re not having the donuts today. You can’t eat junk and look nice forever, even if you are an ancient and powerful demon.”
Orion draped his arms over the back of his chair. “I like the donuts. They’re the zenith of human civilization. Especially the ones with the raspberry jam in the center.”
“That’s not the bloody zenith of human civilization.” Morgan looked at me, shaking his head. “Honestly, he can be so patronizing sometimes. There’s plenty of other achievements to choose from. The Great Library of Alexandria comes to mind.”
Orion plucked a strawberry. “And do you know what happened to the Great Library of Alexandria? A mortal mob burned it down, destroyed its contents, then flayed alive the scholar Hypatia because women who knew things were apparently witches. Yes, that’s a great example of mortal civilization, I’d say.”
If I spent enough time with Orion, I was worried I’d actually start hating mortals, too. He really did have a knack for making us sound terrible.
Morgan held up his digital watch. “Okay, forget the ancient world. We’ve grown better since then. We have Apple watches now. I know exactly how many steps I walked today, and that I’ve stood up twelve times so far.”
Orion let the silence drag, just staring at Morgan. There was the Dr. Omer technique in action.
Morgan looked increasingly uncomfortable and adjusted his shirt sleeves. “Look, I’m going to have to come in prepared with a better answer after doing a bit of research. The zenith of human civilization isn’t something you can just come up with off the top of your head. There’s a lot to choose from. A lot.”
“While you’re mulling that over, I have another favor to ask of you.” Orion turned to look at me. “I’m sure our new king will want to see Lady Mortana soon, but obviously, she can’t meet him dressed like a peasant.”
I was wearing the best outfit I owned.
Morgan nodded at me with concern. “Dolce e Malvagia opens at ten. Gorgeous clothes. Do you want me to pick out some things and send them up?”