City of Thorns (The Demon Queen Trials #1)(33)

She curled her lips. “But as you know, I see beyond these frivolous feminine concerns, and I am not like other females. My concerns are deeper. May I point out that the Lilu were barred because of the danger they pose to other demons? Once, the City of Thorns chose to rid its streets of them because they used mind control to manipulate others, to satisfy their own depraved needs. They are an abomination among demons.”

Well, the claws were certainly out, but the real question was how Mortana would feel about that remark.

I didn’t think she’d like it one bit. She’d be ready to fight back.





Chapter 19





I turned to Lydia and snarled, baring my teeth. The sound came from deep within my chest, and it rumbled over the hall.

Well, hello, Mortana’s aggression. I’d just become familiar with my animalistic side, I guess.

Looking back at the king, I smiled again. “I think you’ll find I don’t need mind control to satisfy my depraved needs.”

The king’s sharp jaw clenched, and a dark smile curled his lips. His knuckles went white as he gripped the armrests.

A duke stepped forward—this one with dark hair, copper skin, and deep brown eyes. “We all know what the Lilu were like in the past. They cheated us out of our money using their seduction. Some of us are even old enough to remember.” He glared at me. “Mortana lured my brother away centuries ago, and I haven’t seen him since. Immediately after his disappearance, his gold disappeared along with him.”

Okay, Mortana sucked. But I still had to stay in character because that’s how I’d get out of here alive.

Another duke folded his arms. He was tall and thin, with dark curls that fell before his eyes. “If no one else is willing to say it, then I guess I will. Everyone knows she killed Queen Adele.”

I raised a finger. “Everyone does not know that, because I never killed the queen.” I could say this without worrying about looking like I was lying, because for once this evening, I actually wasn’t. Maybe Mortana once killed a queen, but I hadn’t. “Those were merely rumors. Nothing was ever proven.”

Orion’s face was a mask of calm. “Why let yourselves be swayed by gossip from four hundred years ago?” He shrugged. “I suppose it doesn’t matter to me, but I’ve been enjoying fucking her, and I’d hate to lose my favorite plaything.” He arched an eyebrow, his pale eyes gleaming with wickedness. “I’d heard the rumors about succubi, how they’d beg on their knees, but never before did I get to experience the wild desperation of the Lilu.”

Shocked murmurs rippled through the room, and a hot tendril of anger coiled through me. Did he really have to put it that way? Absolute prick. I shouldn’t care what the demons thought, and I was only playing a role. But still, I wasn’t sure how much humiliation I could take in this place.

And yet…

I could already see it had worked, because now the king looked ravenous for me.

Lydia cocked a hip. “You filthy scoundrel. Lord of Chaos, you weren’t here then. You don’t know what she was like. And she had the most motive, desperate to be queen. Only Mortana would be cruel enough to leave the Queen Consort in a vat of wine. I don’t care about the trivial issues of marriage, but how do we know Mortana won’t slaughter the rest of us for power?”

I sighed. “You can’t possibly believe I’m the only cruel demon in the City of Thorns. It could have been anyone.”

A gaunt duke with luscious brown curls wrapped his bony fingers around his wineglass as he stared at me. The firelight gleamed off his ivory horns. “You may not remember me, Mortana. I wasn’t a duke when you left, but I am now.” He grimaced at me. “You hardly gave me the time of day back then. A succubus like you was too good for a gluttony demon.”

I realized after a moment that his drink wasn’t wine at all. It looked like blood. He was a glutton for human blood.

Disturbing…

I blinked at him. “Oh, I still think I’m too good for you. That hasn’t changed.”

I was trying to stay in character. The problem was, staying in character meant pissing people off. And how much did I need them to like me in order to get the approval of the Quorum?

With a furious expression, he knocked back the rest of his blood. “Let me just spell this out. If you become duchess of the Asmodean Ward, that means less tax revenue for the rest of us.”

Duchess…right. As the last Lilu, I’d be the automatic leader. They’d be sharing power with me. Of course none of them wanted that.

But the king made the ultimate call, right? If he wanted something enough, I was sure he’d find a way to get it. My goal needed to be getting him on board as much as possible, and jealousy was the key to his heart.

I turned to Orion and brushed my fingertips over his abs. As I did, I felt his muscles clench, which was a strangely delicious feeling. My cheeks were growing hotter.

“Look, if you all decide you don’t want me here, then I can leave, of course. I can live anywhere. And perhaps I can compel Orion to come with me. I think there’s something about him—a very large thing, in fact—that I’m really quite attached to. I can’t imagine any other male coming close.”

Orion grabbed me off my feet. He moved swiftly but gracefully, and the next thing I knew, he was lifting me against a column. I stared into his hypnotizing blue eyes, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. With a wicked, seductive smile, he pinned me against the stone.