On the other hand, Orion was such a wild card, I couldn’t predict him as well as I’d thought.
As the sea wind skimmed over me, I poured myself another glass of wine. Sipping, I glanced up to the sky. Clouds were creeping over the moon now, and the wind started to pick up. A sudden gust of wind knocked over the wine bottle, spilling a little stream right onto my dress.
Yikes. Had I already finished most of that bottle? On my own? Let’s hope demons didn’t get hangovers like mortals did.
As I hurried to clean it up, lightning speared the sky. Clouds had blotted out the stars, and a heavy rain started to fall. I grabbed my glass of Malbec.
I needed to get my shit together and clear my mind. I could win this and become queen.
Except at this point, I was certain of only one thing: despite all my warnings to myself, Orion was deeply, firmly messing with my head.
When I thought you were dead—
Something was making my cheeks heat, and that was bad news, indeed.
*
Damp from the rain, I lay in bed with the sheets pulled tightly around me. A storm was raging outside, and the sea sounded violent and angry. Thunder boomed across the ocean, making the walls rattle. Every time I started to drift off, a flash of lightning ignited the sky, waking me again.
I rolled over, imagining the gentle bobbing of the silver boats down the river. I closed my eyes, listening to the rain hammering against the windows and the stone walls.
At last, I started to drift off, and I almost thought I could hear the funeral song of the Lilu washing in from the sea…
*
My heart skipped a beat as an unnamed panic stole my breath. The room felt unnaturally cold.
My eyes snapped upon, but shadows had consumed all the light. I started to sit up in bed, but when I was only halfway up, my airway constricted sharply. What the fuck? Someone or something was crushing my neck, and I started to thrash wildly, unable to see my attacker. Fear snapped through my nerve endings. Already, my lungs were burning from the lack of air.
Panic summoned my magic, and golden light flared from my body—enough of it that I could see the person choking me. Pale skin, long black hair, and eyes to match. Jasper. The king’s right-hand man. How was he so fucking strong?
With one hand around my throat, he raised the other above me. Long ivory claws shot out, aiming for my heart. Frantic, I blocked the strike, and his claws carved into my forearm, slicing against the bone.
Pain electrified my arm, igniting my survival instincts. I kicked at Jasper as hard as I could, knocking him off the bed. When I summoned my fire, it raced down my arm to my fingertips. But as I did, the room went cold, dark…and the flames snuffed out on my fingertips. Shadows enveloped me.
Shit. I could no longer see Jasper. Glacial air stung my lungs as I inhaled.
When lightning flashed again outside, I caught a glimpse of him.
Flames burst into life in my palm, and I hurled a fireball at the corner of the room where I’d just seen him. But before the fire met its target, the flames sputtered and died in the icy darkness. Arctic air stung my lungs and skin, making my limbs shake.
My heart was a wild beast. “Why are you trying to kill me, Jasper?” Somehow, the cold air seemed to swallow up the sound of my voice.
“Because I follow King Orion’s orders,” he hissed.
“The king?” Heat started to erupt inside me. Cracks of light were splintering my skin. Once I let go, I could burn the world to ash. Flames rose and guttered to life on my fingertips—
The door burst open, and a muscular frame stood silhouetted against the hallway light.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Orion’s voice came low and controlled from the doorway, and his eyes were on Jasper.
Jasper’s eyes glowed from the shadows. “I will not relent until your orders are complete. As you said, Your Majesty.”
Orion’s muscled body looked coiled with tension—a snake about to strike. “I commanded you to keep her safe.” He turned to look at me, glowing with golden light. “Did he hurt you?”
Furious magic still crackled through my body. Whatever was going on here, it only reaffirmed one thing: in the City of Thorns, things were never quite as they seemed. “Nothing that will last.”
Jasper’s dark eyes were intent on me. “Even if you tried to stop me, Your Majesty, you said I must—”
The air went icy, and Jasper lunged for me, his ivory claws drawn. But in one swift move, Orion swung for him, using his claws to slash Jasper’s heart out of his chest. With a snarl, he threw the heart onto the floor, and Jasper’s pale body crumpled to the tiles.