I looked up at him. “Why aren’t you married?”
“I don’t see any reason to marry.”
“And the king?” I asked. “He’s centuries old. Why marry now?”
Orion shrugged. “Before, he could fuck every woman in the city, and he probably has. No one had a claim to him. But a king is expected to marry, so he must choose a wife.”
We walked through a series of narrow streets and stone stairwells, past shops and hotels. We swept past a round library belonging to Belial University.
Orion quietly explained to me that in the ancient days, Lucifer—the shining one—was the supreme demon god. Even now, Lucifer’s power permeated the city. The temples were mostly abandoned, but some demons still left offerings to the old gods.
“Do you believe in them?” I whispered.
He glanced at me. “I don’t know, but I don’t really give a fuck if they’re real or not.”
Ah, of course. His arrogance knew no bounds—not even when it came to his gods.
In the Mammon Ward, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant by one of the river’s tributaries, the Erebus Stream. It burbled past us, gleaming in the sun. We sat by a pedestrianized road of amber stone, and I watched the demons stride past in their designer clothes, some of them with metallic horns that sparkled in the afternoon sunlight.
Far across the square, the Bank of Thorns loomed over a square, with towering columns that made it look like an ancient temple. Black brambles grew over the stone.
A few mortals walked past, dressed casually in Belial University sweatshirts and leggings. They moved differently from demons, and their expressions were unguarded, in awe at the beautiful world around them. By contrast, every demon stood out to me as a predator, gliding along with lethal grace. The demons kept their features calm at all times.
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.”