City of Thorns (The Demon Queen Trials #1)(19)
But I hadn’t been talking about the pain from the knife. I’d meant the absolutely heart-shattering sadness from the vision—the feet swinging over stone.
Had I somehow seen into Orion’s mind? He had unfathomable darkness in him, I thought. But for now, he was my ally. And like Orion, I would do anything to get my revenge.
Chapter 11
Orion’s bathtub was on a second balcony, one floor up, set into a golden marble floor. The ceiling was held up by columns, and the sun slanted in over my naked body.
It felt completely weird to be nude out here in the light. I could say with some certainty that sun’s rays had never hit my nipples before. But when I looked out across the sea, I couldn’t see a single person out swimming or surfing. It was just me, the gently bubbling bathwater, and the sun.
I loved it out here, but I couldn’t stay too long. I’d guess that succubi never got sunburns, and I had about ten minutes before the jig was up on that front.
The plan for today was that I would get new clothes, and then Orion would teach me about Mortana and the City of Thorns.
I grabbed the soap from the side of the bath and ran it over my legs, clearing off the grime from that horrible prison cell. In some ways, I couldn’t believe my luck. What I thought was the worst night of my life was now turning out to be the answer to many of my problems—assuming I could do what Orion wanted and keep Shai alive. And myself.
Before I’d come upstairs to the bath, we’d called FedLoan Servicing together to pay off my loans. That had truly been one of the best moments of my life. I’d given my account information and PIN number, then handed the phone to Orion for him to provide his bank information. He’d passed the phone back to me so I could explain how much I was paying off—all of it. The guy on the other line had never taken a call like that, which had only delighted me more.
But now I could turn my full attention to the City of Thorns. So far, I hadn’t seen what the city looked like, only the bright blue ocean. After so many years obsessing over this place, I would finally start to learn its secrets. As soon as we left the apartment, I was going to start collecting as much information as I could about every demon in the city, scouring the place for signs of someone with a five-pointed star on their forehead.
When I’d washed myself completely, I rose from the bath and grabbed a soft white towel off the rack. I dried myself off, then pulled on a black bathrobe. It was quite clearly not Orion’s, as it was black silk with sheer lace sleeves and a slit up the thigh. In fact, the tag was still on it. It was La Perla—fifteen hundred dollars.
Holy shit. Morgan had expensive taste. I yanked the tag off as I adjusted the robe. The silk felt glorious against my bare skin, and I tied the belt around my waist.
I was so stunned by the luxury that I suddenly realized I hadn’t seen the robe arrive. My skin prickled with heat as I wondered if Orion had seen me bathing, and I swept through his guest room into the marble stairwell. When I crossed back into his living room, I found Shai there, bandaging her palm. She looked so refreshingly normal in overalls and braids, and it was a relief to see her.
Orion was simply staring at his own hand, watching as it healed before my eyes.
I grinned. “Shai!”
She beamed at me. “Guess what?”
Wrapped in the silky bathrobe, I dropped down into a cream-colored armchair. “Please tell you me bargained for something good, because he has nearly unlimited money.”
“All my expenses at Belial are covered for as long as I want to learn, which might be for the rest of my life.”
She was good at bargaining.
Orion met her gaze. “And you do understand that the blood oath means you will die a horrible death by magic if you talk to anyone about Rowan’s real identity? I mean anyone besides us.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah. Got it. I won’t let anyone know she’s human or that I know her. And I honestly have no idea what all this is about, so I couldn’t let any other secrets out, even if I wanted to.”
“Best if you know as little as possible.” His eyes gleamed. “For your own sake.”
She gave me a tentative smile. “I have to run to my feline healing class. But text me if you can, okay? I want to know everything’s fine with…whatever you’re doing here.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said with much more confidence than I felt.
As she hurried out the door, Orion leaned back on the sofa. He was a prick, but with the cut of his cashmere sweater, it was hard not to notice how gloriously strong his body looked.
“We have a week,” he began, “to prepare you for your introduction to the king. Then you will take up residence in the Asmodean Ward.”
I took a deep breath. “Just a week? Will I be ready?”
“The city is already abuzz with the news of the one remaining succubus. The king demanded an introduction this evening. I had to negotiate.” He frowned. “But we’ll have a lot of work to do if you plan to fool them.”
When I crossed my legs, one bare thigh came into view from under my robe, and Orion’s gaze slid to it. The feel of my thighs rubbing against each other was also my reminder that I still wasn’t wearing underwear, which made me think about how Orion had perhaps seen me naked. And that reminded of the disturbingly pleasurable feel of Orion’s mouth on my neck, and how my body had responded to him dominating me. With those thoughts roiling in my mind, my pulse raced. I tugged down the silky bathrobe over my thigh, hoping that he couldn’t hear my pounding pulse.