City of Thorns by C.N. Crawford
Chapter 18
The fire pit was set in the center of the hall. Nausea climbed up my throat, and my breath started to grow shallower.
Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm.
This would be a great time to have my fire-retardant clothing and blankets and gels, although even those things would only last for so long. That pit was eternal.
Panic started to dig its claws deeper into my heart. If I didn’t master this worry soon, the jig would be up for sure.
I had to manage my breathing, to keep the breath deep and slow so my body didn’t go into panic mode. I was in control of what happened—as long as I could fake it convincingly, I could get out of here with my skin still on my body. I could keep Shai alive, too.
Slowly marshaling a sense of calm, I took in the space around me.
When I’d heard Tower of Baal and demon fire pit, I hadn’t expected the place to look so sleek and modern. It shone with burnished sandy marble. Above us, circular floors reached up to an oculus, through which I could see the moon. And there was a fire pit in the center, yes, but there was also a banquet laid out to my right, with civilized canapés and hors d’oeuvres. Behind the banquet, windows overlooked a garden bathed in moonlight. To the left, a pool curved to the side, with a swim-up cocktail bar. Mortal waitresses in short dresses glided around with trays of drinks. All perfectly civilized.
Five demons stood around the fire pit drinking champagne and cocktails—Lydia of the fire tattoos, and four males. Each one of them represented a ward, and the king led the sixth.
From Shai’s description, I recognized Legion—long black hair, golden-brown skin, his sleeves rolled up to reveal vicious black tattoos. The leader of the Sathanas Ward, wrath. Shai was right. He was hot, but also terrifying.
Perhaps not quite as scary as Lydia, whose eyes burned with little flecks of fire as she glared at me. The firelight cast dancing shadows over her features, and a menacing smile curled her lips. A cat about to slaughter a mouse.
As a human woman slipped past me with a tray of bright red cocktails, I plucked one off and took a sip. The alcohol would help me calm down, and I could at least look like I was enjoying myself.
The king himself sat on a gilded throne on a dais, just on the other side of the fire pit. His long blond hair draped over broad shoulders. Silver horns jutted from his head, and his eyes were dark as night. He wore midnight blue clothes that clung to his enormous body. Firelight wavered over him, further enhancing his otherworldly appearance. His expression was unreadable, his body as still as the stone walls around us. Like Orion, he radiated pure power.
“Mortana, Lady of the House of Lilitu.” His low voice rumbled over the hall. “The last succubus. You return to us.”
Somehow, having Orion by my side was helping me. I’d been watching him so carefully throughout the day that I’d developed a good sense of how to mimic his overwhelming confidence.
I smiled, then gave one of the lazy shrugs that he would give, as if I were totally at ease. “The City of Serpents started to bore me.” I took a sip of my red cocktail, which I think was pomegranate juice with vodka. “And then I thought of the City of Thorns. I did have such fun here.” I projected my voice over the hall.
I lifted my chin like Orion had told me, and I drained half my pomegranate martini. Not a care in the world.
The king’s dark eyes landed on Orion. “Do you know why she left the City of Serpents?” His rings glinted in the warm light.
“Now, now, King Cambriel,” said Orion, his tone faintly mocking, “you know I can’t say what happened there. Our cities are shrouded in secrecy.”
He was really going to take that attitude with the demon king? I’d expected deference, but I supposed that was too much to expect from someone with his ego.
“Indeed,” said the king in a cold tone. “Which is why we still know nothing of why you left your ward in the City of Serpents, though I’m sure it involved a scandal. And I do wonder if that particular scandal involved this succubus. But I suppose you’re right. These things cannot be discussed.” The king turned his dark gaze back to me. “My father was very fond of you, Lady Mortana.”
The severed head outside was fond of me. I fluttered my eyelashes and took another long sip of my drink, trying to untangle the weirdness of all this. Somehow, this felt like a test. I sensed that if I showed loyalty to the dead king, I’d fail.
“As you saw on your way in,” the king went on, “the former king has been vanquished. Vae Victis. Do you grieve his death, Mortana?”
This definitely was a test. How did I respond in a way that would flatter King Cambriel? Orion had said King Nergal was dull and tedious.
I widened my eyes, my hand flying to my chest with mock horror. “Is King Nergal dead? Honestly, given his personality, I’m amazed anyone could tell.”
Unfortunately, King Cambriel didn’t smile a bit, so that only made my stomach muscles clench tighter. I’d already emptied my cocktail, and the alcohol was starting to go to my head. I dropped my glass on the tray of a passing waitress.
A heavy silence still filled the room, and my pulse raced. After an endless few moments, titters broke out at last, and I relaxed just a little.
Had I gone too far?
The thing was, I had a feeling Mortana would go too far. It was part of what made her interesting. She wouldn’t have made so many enemies without shocking and insulting people along the way. She knew how to get attention and keep it.
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?”
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.