I let out a long, slow breath. “I wish you could have realized sooner.”
He winced ever so slightly. “Somewhere, there’s another world where you and I met before my soul died in the dungeon.”
I turned to him, draping my elbow over the side of the bench. “This is going to blow your mind, Orion, but you’re not actually dead.”
His mouth ticked up at the corner. “It’s a metaphor. Soulless. Dead.”
“Hmm. But maybe you’re not soulless. You’ve saved me over and over again, and you created a beautiful memorial, and so far, you only seem marginally psychotic. And that’s mostly because I just saw you wiping blood off your hands.”
He nodded sagely. “I always wondered what regal moniker would stick through the ages. ‘King Orion the Only Marginally Psychotic’ has a certain ring to it.” His eyes sparkled with life, and he reached up, grazing the back of his knuckles lightly along my jawbone. “And what would tell you that I’m salvageable?”
The touch sent a hot thrill over my skin, and I desperately wanted to lean into his hand and close my eyes. “I need to see if you have a merciful side. If you can forgive the mortals.”
He pulled his hand away. “Ah. But if they’re trying to hurt you, love, I will never show mercy. I will make them suffer.”
A sharp coil twisted in my chest. If what he was saying was true and the mortals were trying to break into the city to murder me, this had all become much more complicated.
All of this was starting to feel like a secret I was keeping from Shai, these late-night conversations with Orion. I’d been so certain coming in here that I understood him—that he was all charm and artifice, that I couldn’t trust a word he said. But now, even though everyone kept saying he was trying to kill me, I wasn’t sure of anything at all, except that Orion and I were trying to find our way back to the past.
25
ROWAN
No matter how much we had in common, I still needed to win the trial.
I rose from the bench. “Thanks for telling me about the grimoire. I’m going for a little walk since I won’t be sleeping for a while.”
He stood and peered down at me, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a strange little misshapen piece of wood. “Wait, I have a gift for you.”
My first instinct was to make some kind of a joke—maybe Got wood for me?—but then I realized it was such a strange gesture from him that I should keep my mouth shut until he explained. When I took it from his hand, I saw that it had been whittled roughly in the shape of a woman in a dress with a spiky head. “What is it?”
“She’s a queen. It was a birthday present for my mother. Somehow, I thought she hadn’t noticed me whittling it in the same cell. But her birthday didn’t come in time. Or maybe she lied, because she knew I was excited about the birthday, so she wanted to keep giving me something to look forward to. Anyway, it’s a Lilu queen, and I never got to give it to her. So it’s yours. Because you are the last succubus, and you are queen of the Lilu.” He met my gaze. “And as queen, you will need the grimoire. Learn everything you can about the Noyes Mansion in Sudbury. That’s where we’ll find it.”
“Thanks, Orion.” I was still staring at the little queen, my eyes going blurry. It really did break my heart to think of a tiny Orion looking forward to giving this to his mom, then never getting the chance. “Well, she would have loved it. But I’ll love it instead.” I turned away from him, because for some reason, I didn’t want him to see the tears that were about to start rolling down my cheeks.
As I walked away, I clutched the wooden queen, thinking of his mom and little Molor.
Was it insane to think that Orion and I could actually work together? We were the last of our kind, trying to find our places in the world again after we’d lost everything.
Everything hinged on what form he wanted his revenge to take.
As I crossed out of the garden gate, I already knew Orion would order guards to follow me—that is, if he wasn’t going to follow me himself.
Until I found myself heading toward the river, I wasn’t entirely sure where I was going,
I was heading for the dungeons.
Maybe I wanted to see the cells for myself, the place where Orion had been for all that time.
As I reached the tunnel’s riverside opening, I slid the little wooden queen into my pocket. The Acheron flowed past, glittering under the moon. Carefully, I lowered myself into the tunnel, and my feet dropped hard on the wet stone. As soon as I was in its depths, I felt a subtle weakening of my magic.