City of Thorns (The Demon Queen Trials #1)(27)

None of them bore the star I was looking for.

I leaned back in my chair to sip the red wine Orion had ordered for us. I was no wine expert, but this was amazing. I let the dry flavor roll over my tongue, then swallowed. “Delicious.”

He returned my smile. “Claret from grapes in the fields of Elysium. One of my favorites.”

The waitress returned, staring almost exclusively at Orion. And who could blame her? The woman had functioning eyes, and he looked like a god. Her cheeks flushed as she took his order, and she flicked her long brown hair over her shoulder.

With a smirk, he said, “I’ll have the duck breast.”

I was pretty sure she actually gasped at the word breast. She bit her lip and cocked her head, as if he’d just suggested spanking her. “Yeah?” she said. “Is that all you want?”

Orion had said flirting was all about making it clear you wanted to fuck someone, and this chick was a goddamn expert. Frankly, she’d be much better than me at the succubus role.

I had to admit, I found it a bit irritating. For one thing, I was starving, and she still hadn’t taken my order. For another, what if this were actually a real date? I mean it wasn’t, obviously. I had no reason to be jealous, so I wasn’t.

But she didn’t know that.

The real question was how Mortana would handle this situation. Personally, I thought she’d be fucking pissed. Mortana liked being the center of attention, and she wasn’t getting any right now. Nor did I think she would tolerate this kind of disrespect.

I cleared my throat. When the waitress finally turned to look at me, I narrowed my eyes at her and made my body go as still as possible. Having just experienced this a few times from Orion, I knew how unnerving it was. Plus, this was basically a bitchier version of Dr. Omer’s I’ll sit in silence until you realize what you’ve done technique.

I watched her rosy cheeks go pale, and then I slowly tapped my fingernails on the table. “Are you quite done with that little display?” My voice came out sounding cold and distant.

“Sorry,” she stammered. “I was just taking his order.”

“Oh, I don’t think so, mortal.” I chuckled. “But you know, your desire does give me strength.” Never in my life had I sounded so imperious. To tell the truth, I wasn’t entirely sure where this was coming from. “Your lust is making me positively ravenous.”

I watched her throat bob as she swallowed. “Did you want lunch?”

Orion was picking up the tab, so I might as well get something expensive. “Lobster Fra Diavolo.” An appropriate name when I thought about it. “I’m feeling a bit devilish.” I bared my teeth. “And if that doesn’t satisfy me, I’ll need to feed on something fresher, so you’d best tell the chef to make sure it’s good.”

She stumbled back from me, then turned to hurry to the kitchen.

Shit. Was that what my id was like under all my repression? Did I have an evil side?

When I turned back to Orion, he was studying me closely. “Mortana, you really haven’t changed at all.”

I leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, “I like being back.”

He raised his wine to me in a toast. “To the most malignant, evil demon to ever grace this city.”

Every time I looked around, I realized people were craning their necks, trying to listen in.

I sighed, looking out across the Acheron River to the south bank. “The Elysian Fields. I do remember them fondly. Is it true that during your Infernal Rite, you slaughtered fifty demons?”

He twirled the stem of his wineglass between his fingertips, and the crimson liquid glinted in the sunlight. “Well, I don’t like to brag—”

“Liar.”

Amusement curled his lips. “Fine. I love to brag. Yes, I killed fifty demons. And yes, I think the others find me terrifying.”

Did the king find him terrifying, too?

I sighed, trying to get into my role. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen King Nergal.”

“Don’t worry.” He flashed me a dazzling smile. “You will see his head soon. But now you have unwavering loyalty to the new king, don’t you? You know how it is here. Vae Victis.”

Woe to the vanquished. Expect brutal treatment at the hands of the victors. Another reminder that I couldn’t fall into enemy hands here.

I lifted my wineglass, smiling, and repeated, “Vae Victis.”





Chapter 16





When we finished eating, the tour continued—one ward after another of honey-colored stone. The walls wrapped around the city’s borders, punctuated by towers that looked out over Osborne.

I was thrilled I’d had the foresight to choose the most comfortable boots, because we walked for miles—through the Belphagor Ward with its Hall of Guilds, and the old Parliament by the river. We saw the haunted prisons in the Sathanas Ward, and the gallows outside where executions took place. A three-headed guard dog snarled at us outside its iron gates. It must have been the magic of the place, but the city was far more enormous than it appeared from the outside.

I noticed that the fashion looked slightly different in each ward. In the Luciferian Ward, there had been a lot of silk dresses and large belts with plunging necklines. In Sathanas, I saw bustiers and men in suits with thin ties.