The cold castle air hit my legs as he lifted up my dress from behind.
My face flushed hot as the force of his erotic angel magic snaked over me.
12
Count Saklas
She smelled of roses and oak. A mortal scent, exotic to me.
Disturbingly, there was some part of me that liked having her here in my control. The conquering side, dominating her. Not surprising, I supposed. I was made to dominate. She was my prisoner, whether she knew it or not.
Conquest was my divine mission. Total submission of mortals who opposed me.
Did she oppose me? My dreams suggested I needed her on my side. Not that it would be easy to control her. I could sense resistance in her.
Conquest … For most of the other Fallen, the conquest would be another kind. Mortal women were sexually addicted to the touch of angels. So her heart would race, and her back would arch at my caress. I’d strip her completely bare, make her beg for release. Pure, ecstatic and shameless satiation at my fingertips. Maybe I wished that sort of conquest were for me, but it was not. Love and pleasure were not part of my destiny. And what was more, the desire for mortal women was very dangerous to me.
God created me to deliver death.
So with the hem of her skirt pulled up, I reached down for what I was looking for—the weapon strapped to her thigh. My fingertips brushed her skin as I pulled the dagger from its sheath. I heard her breath hitch at the contact.
Strange that was all it took. And strange that the sound squeezed my heart.
I let the hem of her dress drop, and turned the dagger over in my hand. It looked expensive, a short, double blade of fine steel that gleamed in the light. Slightly curved. Ideal for slitting someone’s throat—the blade of choice for someone who wanted to work silently, in the shadows.
Bizarrely, half my mind was still on her body, bent over the desk. Though I should have been focused on the fact that she’d come armed.
“Did you think to use this on me?” I asked.
Did she honestly have no idea how that fight would go? She’d be dead in a heartbeat. A sense of wrath slid through my bones, darkening the room around us. Crushing my enemies to dust was the one thing that fulfilled me.
Was she my enemy?
She turned to face me, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “It was just for self-defense.”
So she did oppose me. Fool. Nothing could kill me. I handed it back to her. “Is this all you brought with you? The knife?”
“My suitcase was trampled outside in the chaos.”
“Your boss Ernald told me you can write well in Clovian and in Albian.”
She looked up at me, her dark eyes wide. Silence stretched out.
“You can’t write in Clovian or Albian.” Had I made a mistake?
She shook her head. “There must have been a miscommunication.”
Liar. “Is that what it was?”
“I can learn.”
“I take it you do know what an amanuensis is.”
Her eyebrows crept up. “Not a courtesan, then?”
“No. Someone who takes dictation for my correspondences.”
“Why did you want to hire me?”
Excellent question. Why had fate led me to her? “I’m still asking myself that question. But it seems we have a problem if you can’t write.”
She sat on the edge of my desk. “I’m good at other things.”
“In your role as courtesan.”
“Unlike you, I’m good at going unnoticed,” she said.
“I find that hard to believe.” I studied her. Was this what my dreams had wanted me to do with her? “What else?”
“I can read lips from afar.”
“Okay … I suppose I could use an effective spy.”
Her eyes brightened. “You want information? Secrets? I can sneak through the shadows. No one knows I’m there. I can report back things no one wanted you to hear.”
Interesting. As it happened, I very much wanted something. “I will give you one night to prove your worth to me. If you are the right person, we will soon know. I will be attending a party, and you will come as my guest. You will join me on Thorn Island, in the palace.”
“And what exactly do you want me to do?”
“Your first task will be to feign subtle affection for me.”
She frowned, looking unsure. “Why?”
I found my gaze sliding down her body. “I will tell you only what you need to know. The second thing I need is for you to listen in to the conversations of those around you. Go unnoticed. I want you to find out whatever you can about the Free Men. But don’t let anyone else know I’m interested.”
Something in her eyes seemed to spark at this information, like she was storing it up for later use.
“Do you know who the Free Men are?” I asked.
“Patriots. Or so I hear.”
Anger darkened my mind. “Well that’s quite the euphemism.”
“I’ve only just heard of them today. I don’t think they’re from my part of the city. And what if I pass this test tonight?”
“Then you get to keep your money and remain in my employ. But Zahra, if I find that you are disloyal to me, that you are working against me or subverting my goals, you will of course be killed. Executed. In my court, disloyalty is death.”
“I understand. I just saw the beheading, after all.” She cocked her head. “Just so I know, did you take out a woman’s lungs by any chance, pose them like wings? Would you feel guilt for something like that?”
Her dress had been ripped and muddied in the chaos outside. Dirt smudged her tan shoulders. She needed to bathe. Why was I so fixated on her body?
I gritted my teeth, pulling my gaze away from her. What on earth was she talking about? “Guilt? I don’t understand the emotion. I have a purpose, that’s all.” I paused at the doorway, then turned to her. “And you will need to learn to read.”
I left the room, marching into the chilly hall, but I kept thinking of the sound she’d made—that little gasp when I brushed her skin.
Somehow, she was the one who’d help me become King of the Fallen, though I didn’t yet know how. My dreams had told me what she’d look like, that she’d be going by the name Zahra. But I certainly hadn’t anticipated that I’d be seeking the help of an illiterate courtesan. I supposed fate could be surprising.
I pushed through a door into a stairwell, my heart racing like I was gearing up for battle. Zahra had thrown me off balance somehow. As if sensing a threat, I reached for Asmodai, but there was nothing around.
When I reached the upper floors, I relaxed a little in the expansive library. From floor to ceiling, all of the books were perfectly organized.
I crossed into my bedchamber, and started to fill the bath with freezing water. I stripped off my clothes completely. For some reason—even though she was mortal—embers of lust had started to spark in me. I would smother them in ice.
I needed to make sure I kept my wits about me, to focus on my true destiny—becoming High King of the Fallen. And when I did, we would hunt down our mortal enemies and slaughter them, one by one.
I stepped into the bath, and the shock of the cold sent a jolt up my body, freezing my muscles. As I lowered myself in, my abs clenched at the frigid water.