City of Thorns (The Demon Queen Trials #1)(16)

He nodded. “Select a bunch of dresses for Mortana to try on, bathrobes, pajamas, everything she might need. You can put it on my account.”

“Right.” He looked me up and down. “Lovely hourglass figure. Favorite color?”

I had no idea what Mortana’s favorite color was. But if she’d been out of the city several hundred years, what were the chances anyone else would know? “Black.” Seemed a safe answer for a demon.

Orion steepled his fingers, and he looked between the two of us. “Morgan, there’s something else important I should tell you about Mortana. She is a succubus. You may warn the others.”

I watched the color drained from Morgan’s face. “A succubus?”

By his reaction, I gathered that this was a big deal. I smiled at him and shrugged, deciding it was probably best to say as little as possible at this point—particularly since I had no idea what was going on.

“The last remaining succubus,” Orion added. “She will be taking up residence in the Asmodean Ward after she meets the king.”

Morgan’s gaze flitted nervously between the two of us. “Can she kill me?”

“She won’t kill you,” Orion said in a soothing tone. “It’s against the rules, isn’t it?”

Morgan still looked horrified. “But the whole Asmodean Ward is abandoned. I thought the Lilu were extinct. I was told they’re very dangerous.”

Orion lifted the coffee pot and poured two steaming cups. A lock of his silver hair fell before his eyes. “Nearly extinct.”

He nodded and backed away, then hurried out of the room like a ghost was on his heels. The door slammed shut behind him.

I stared after him. “A mortal servant, I take it?”

“Yes, and he is under the mistaken impression that I care about his views on nutrition. But I do value his help.” Orion sipped his coffee. “I must fill you in on a few things.”

“Agreed. What’s this about being the last succubus? What happened to the rest?”

He poured a bit of cream in the coffee. “The Lilu were hunted into extinction hundreds of years ago.”

I scooped some berries into a bowl of yogurt. “Why?”

Every time his eyes met mine, I felt an unnerving jolt, like an electric pulse in my chest. I hoped that he had no idea what effect he had on me—he was arrogant enough as it was.

“The Lilu were killed for two reasons,” he said. “You know about the war between the demons and the Puritans, yes?”

I nodded. “In the 1680s, yeah.” It was how demons had ended up locked up in this city in the first place.

“As part of their surrendering terms,” said Orion, “King Nergal agreed to kill the Lilu. The Puritans hated all demons, but they really loathed the Lilu. They feared being turned on by a demon more than anything.” He stared out over the glittering sea. “And Nergal agreed because other demons hated the Lilu, too. The Lilu had a power that threatened the rest—the ability to compel others of their kind, to control their minds, to seduce them to do what they wanted. They’re also the only demons with wings. They were simply too powerful.”

I squinted in the sunlight. “And how did Mortana manage to survive?”

“By being cunning, calculating, and evil as sin. King Nergal was a dull, tedious man, and Mortana was the opposite. She was witty and captivating, and nearly everyone fell in love with her. Including the king. She made a deal with him—she would help him round up and slaughter all the Lilu, and she would get to live. He kept her in a room in the Tower of Baal, and she became known as the Seneschal.”

I wondered what she’d done to Orion. “The king was in love with her, then.”

“Yes. Like many others.” He stared at me over his coffee cup. “I confess, I marvel at the poor judgment of all those human males who rejected your beauty. Demons have better taste.”





Chapter 10





Was that a compliment? I could feel myself blushing now, but I had no idea how to respond.

“Mortana,” he went on, “demanded that the king make a blood oath. She made him pledge that the crown would always keep her safe.”

“What’s a blood oath?” I asked.

“It’s an oath sealed by mingling the blood of two people. If someone breaks a blood oath, it will result in an excruciating death based on the magic of a curse. The problem is, only the monarch made this oath. The rest of the demons in this city will probably still want to murder you for being a succubus.”

I was losing my appetite for the berries and yogurt, and starting to feel like I was in slightly over my head. It seemed there were so many ways to die here in the City of Thorns. But I’d made my choice, and like Orion had said, there was no going back now. “How much danger will I be in?”

“It would be a lot more if you weren’t with me. We will be spending a great deal of time together.” A smile played over his sensual mouth, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll need to keep you closely guarded.”

I swallowed hard. “Who is it that you want me to spy on?”

“King Cambriel.”

Oh, good. I’d be spying on a murderous king. My stomach fluttered, but this had been, after all, my idea. “Cambriel cut off his dad’s head and stuck it on a gate, right?” I paused with my spoon in midair. “You want me to get close to him?”