City of Thorns (The Demon Queen Trials #1)(32)

The king’s lips curled just a little. He liked Mortana’s cruelty. “You don’t mourn his death, then? You must have been fond of him once.”

“Well, I was very fond of one part of him, but that part seems to be gone now, since there’s just the head left.”

Holy shit. It was fun to be evil. Was I turning into Orion? Empathy? Sounds tedious.

When Orion’s pale eyes slid to me, I could see the amusement in them.

One of the king’s fingers tapped the armrest. The flames of the fire were gleaming off his golden crown. While Orion’s beauty was sensual, the king had a sort of stark elegance. Refined, masculine features and straight black eyebrows.

“What do you intend to do here?” The king’s voice boomed over the hall.

There was a question I didn’t know how to answer. A bit of anxiety snapped through my nerve-endings, and I felt my fingers tightening on Orion’s bicep. Maybe we should have prepared for this question.

In response, Orion slowly reached over and stroked his fingertips over my wrist. His warm magic pulsed into me, and instantly, I felt my muscles relax. Wow. He could just do that? Mortals spent years training in graduate school for counseling techniques to help people manage anxiety, and all Orion had to do was touch them. Boom. Anxiety gone.

I still had to figure out an answer, though. So far, it looked like demons mostly went to fancy restaurants and bought gowns. What would my id say? What did I want?

I fluttered my eyelashes as the flames danced between us. “Well, I do intend to use that pool bar of yours, if you’ll let me. And perhaps Orion can join me.” Drawing more from my id, I turned to Orion, stroking his large bicep. The look he gave me was deeply carnal, which was good, since I was supposed to be inspiring envy in the king. “Oh, do you know what else I’d like to do? I’d like Orion to fuck me hard against a stone wall, since we haven’t done that yet.”

Holy shit. Too much id. Too much id.

With a low growl, Orion’s eyes darkened to shadows, and his heated expression seared me.

Was that a warning that I should shut my mouth, or something else?

At that moment, the flames in the fire pit rose higher, burning the air and scorching my skin. Was this Orion’s fire magic at work, or the king’s?

“You certainly have my attention, Mortana,” said the king sharply. “And what, exactly, is your relationship to Orion?”

One thing I’d learned from Dr. Omer was that when you didn’t want to answer a question about yourself, you deflected it back to the other person. You made it a question about them.

I jutted one hip and smiled coquettishly. “Your Majesty, I’m delighted by your interest in my love life. What is it, I wonder, that makes you so intrigued? Is this something we should explore, perhaps?”

Explore. That was a Dr. Omer’s word, but he’d never used it quite so suggestively.

The king gave me a faint smile. “You are the last of your kind, Mortana. A curiosity. That’s all.” But now he was giving me the same look Orion had, like he wanted to lick me from head to toe. Considering gorgeous women in the City of Thorns were a dime a dozen, it was clear Orion was right about what attracted the king’s attention. Jealousy was the key to his heart. He wanted me because Orion had me.

I turned to Orion, giving him a full view of my cleavage, and touched my finger to his lips, then traced it down his body. I felt his muscles twitch beneath my touch.

“The city could use a succubus again, I think,” I said loudly. “Don’t you?”

The look in Orion’s midnight eyes sent my heart racing. It was hard not to think of how I’d felt with him pinning me to the wall, with his teeth in my throat.

I breathed in deeply, then turned back to the king. He was gripping the armrests hard, leaning forward on his throne. He almost looked like he wanted to leap over the fire pit and grab me.

For the first time, the king stood, and I saw exactly how tall he was—just about the same size as Orion. The two men towered over the other demons. He opened his arms. “The dukes and duchess will advise me as to whether you may stay here in the City of Thorns. But of course, I will make the ultimate decision. And I do think you should stay.”

I exhaled slowly. This seemed like a victory, right? It seemed like no matter what the Quorum said, the king would keep me here.

“Your Majesty.” A husky, feminine voice turned my head.

Lydia, the Duchess of Shalem, had stepped forward. She was stunning in a gold dress that revealed her fiery tattoos. Her legs were long and athletic, and her dark hair curled in shiny waves over bare shoulders. For one moment, she shot me a withering look, then she schooled her expression and gazed at the king again. “Your Majesty, as the lone female leader in the City, you know that I do not share the petty and trivial concerns of the rest of the females.”

Nice. She’s really going to start her speech by explaining she’s not like other girls?

She lifted her chin. “Many of our city’s females may object to Mortana’s presence here because they see her as a rival. They’re only concerned with their marriage prospects, the desire to seek wealth, and other superficial matters. They see her as a threat to the attentions they could receive from Duke Orion or from you. Frankly, their preoccupations with celebrity and wealth speak of the decline of our society.”

Orion rolled his eyes. “Are you going to get to a point at any time this evening?”