Princess of Lust (For the Love of Evil) (12 page)

He released her wrist as if he’d been burned, but it was too late to stop the wave of lust he gave off. The crowd around them murmured, but she paid them no attention as she moved down the line to the next male. Bans gave her a wide grin and she couldn’t help but return it. While only a small amount of desire raced through his bronze gaze, she didn’t push her power against him as she had Sert. He eagerly accepted her wrist and gave her a quick sniff, and she did the same against his neck.

Giving him one more smile, she moved down the line to Raum and her body clenched in anticipation. Goodness, he looked handsome dressed from head to toe in black dragon skin accented with silver, and in her eyes, he seemed to almost glow with health and power. She held her wrist to him, expectation curling through her veins and heating her blood. Holding her gaze, he slowly lowered his face to her wrist and gently scored her vein with the tip of his fangs. She wanted those fangs lower on her body, scraping against her inner thigh as he relentlessly teased her into an orgasm with his clever mouth.

He tilted his head to the side, offering her his neck, and she blushed as she realized she’d been staring at him. Leaning on her tiptoes, she breathed in his delicious cinnamon scent deep into her lungs, trying to pull it into her heart. Unable to resist, she pressed a gentle kiss on his pulse before stepping back and turning to her father. “Prince Raum is a potential blood mate, my Liege.”

An audible gasp came from the crowd, as if they were inhaling as one. She knew there were rumors about regarding her time spent with Raum, but few hinted at the truth that they were possible blood mates. The most popular rumor was that Raum and his concubine Kirin were simply instructing her on the arts of lust, and the most insulting rumor held that Raum was going to bind her as a concubine because she was entirely too human. As she glanced over the audience, she couldn’t help but wonder how many would stick to their idea that she was a human pretending to be half human so Asmodeus could use her to distract attention from his slowly decreasing powers.

Her father’s voice rolled over the whispers, blanketing them like a rainstorm over a campfire. “General Raum, please join the princess.”

As Raum strode toward the steps leading to the dais, he glared at the demons standing behind her, reminding her of the less-than-pleasant task ahead. While she went through the steps of the ritual greeting with Yergont, she had to steel herself against the man next to him, Belal. Even now his icy power pushed at her shields, trying to chip away at her defenses with little stinging bites. Here and there emeralds warmed against her skin as the protection spells sewn into her dress were invoked.

Yergont dropped her hand as if it were something foul and took a step back, deferring to Belal in a visible way. She ignored his arrogant sneer and focused her attention on Belal, hating him as she came face to face with the man who was responsible for the death of her mother and the mortal man she’d known as her father. While his hand hadn’t been the one to slay them, his order had caused their deaths.

She tried to reach out mentally to her father, but her mind slammed against some kind of psychic wall. Belal’s thin lips twitched in a smirk and she didn’t bother wasting any energy on trying to break through the shield. Instead, she loosened the stranglehold on her inner demon, relaxing a small bit when her shadowy essence didn’t immediately try to kill Belal. Warmth flowed through her blood, radiating from her skin in an almost palpable wave.

Every step toward him was like wading closer and closer to a burning cold that seemed to blast against her skin. She had to bite her tongue to make the final move to get close enough to him to offer him her wrist. The simple motion of raising her arm became a battle and it felt as if there were thousand-pound weights dragging her hand down.

Belal titled his head and gave her an amused look. “Don’t be shy, Princess. Offer me your wrist…or are you afraid what I might smell? Something foul?”

With her jaw clenched hard enough that her teeth ached, she forced her hand up one inch at a time. When it hung in the air between them he took it with a sour look, his golden hair gleaming as he bent and gave her wrist a sniff. As his face reached her wrist, she lunged forward and placed her mouth right against the pulse in his neck, causing him to step back and away from her.

To her surprise, a burst of lust came from him, and she almost laughed at the sudden insight into his soul. Belal saw her as a threat, someone who had power over him…as dominant. In fact, he was fighting a grim battle with his desire to kneel before her. Oh how he hated that, hated wanting to serve her will, to give himself to her. Their eyes met, and she could see the bitter hatred and a touch of fear in his gaze. He murmured with his lips barely moving and low enough so only she could hear, “It would have been better for you to have not done that.”

With a contemptuous look, she took a token smell of his neck and stepped away, the wall between her mind and the rest of the room dissolving. Asmodeus’s voice immediately filled her thoughts as she and Belal stared at each other with hatred.

Are you all right
?

Yes, but what just happened
?

Her father sounded almost amused as he answered.
Belal tried to rip away an illusion that wasn’t there. I believe he truly thought you were human
.

Giving Belal a final smirk, she moved down the line to the last prince, Drayth. His gaze darted between her and Belal, and he appeared worried before his expression smoothed out and he smiled at her. After the overwhelming power of Belal, it was nice to only feel a trickle of energy coming from Drayth. What her father had told her was true. This half-demon Prince had only a tiny bit more power than an ordinary human. Sudden compassion filled her as she wondered what it had been like to grow up as the high king’s son and yet have less power than the lowest of devils.

She raised her hand toward him but he met her halfway, carefully holding her wrist and bringing it to his face. The touch of his skin was pleasant, as was the warm wave of desire he radiated while he stroked his thumb over the delicate skin of her inner wrist before brushing his lips over her pulse. When he looked at her through his lashes, his eyes conveyed enough heat to make her heart beat harder.

He swept his hair over his shoulder, offering her his neck. As she stepped closer, she realized how much taller he was than she. With a mischievous smile, he placed his hands around her waist, easily lifting her so her toes dangled above the floor. Bemused, she placed her hands on his shoulders and took a long breath against his skin, enjoying the way his body tightened against hers. For a moment she wished he had been a potential blood mate, because the lust he threw off was delicious.

He gently placed her back on her feet. “Will you save a dance for me, Princess?”

She smiled and nodded while Belal and Yergont made disgusted noises. “Of course.”

As she made her way back to her father’s side, she could feel their eyes on her, their attention riveted on her body as her hips swayed while climbing the steps. They wanted her, even that bastard Belal, and that gave her power over them. She turned to face the assembled princes, her shoulders back and head held high as the court watched them.

The different divisions in the crowd were easy for her to spot now as the room had almost become divided between the camp that favored Belal and the one that favored her father. Goose bumps rose along her skin as her father said, “High Prince Belal, may I inquire as to why you felt the need to try and break any spells surrounding the princess?”

It seemed as if everyone in the room held their breath, but Belal merely shrugged. “I merely wanted to make sure the princess was indeed as she appeared. You can’t blame me for wanting to see if a potential blood mate wasn’t shielded in some way to protect her scent.”

Raum slipped his hand into hers and tightened his grip until her ring touched his skin.
Belal tried to remove an illusion spell from you, but when he found out there was no illusion to remove he used the opportunity to test your shields. You did well.

Why in the world would he be worried about an illusion spell
?

I have no idea
.

Asmodeus finally broke the silence. “In the spirit of peace, I will overlook your…ill-advised use of power against my daughter.”

Belal executed a perfect bow, but the sardonic smile that lingered on his lips ruined any attempt at sincerity. “You are too kind.”

Standing, her father turned his attention to her and Raum, and she saw a flash of the fury in his gaze for a moment before he shut down his emotions. “Congratulations, General Raum, on having the good fortune of being a potential blood mate to my daughter. Your father, the High Prince Lucifer, has always been a great friend of mine and I could not be happier by a potential blood-mating to strengthen the ties between us.”

Still holding her hand, Raum bowed as she curtsied. “I am truly honored, and I thank God that he has given me the chance to win her love.”

Natalia darted a glance over at Gregor who watched them impassively, but she could feel the confusing mix of his anger and desire as he watched her and Raum. She dipped in a low curtsy to Raum and let him lead her down the steps of the dais to where the floor had been cleared for their dance. As she looked into Raum’s eyes, she sighed at the love she saw there. The first melodic strains of music started, and as she placed her hand into his, she knew to the bottom of her soul that while he held her nothing would ever harm her.

After their dance together, she spoke with different members of the court, trying her best to remember all the social nuances that had been drilled into her head over the past months. Never look a banshee in the eye. Always look a demon in the eye. Curtsey for this person, bow for that, remember that to call a siren by her given name was an insult. The list was endless, confusing, and she felt as if they could all see through the thin veneer of royalty to the scared peasant girl beneath.

She finished a dance with Eline when she caught Belal and Drayth in a heated exchange toward the back of the room. Belal said something to the other man that caused Drayth to start and pale as the demons around them laughed. Sympathy for the son of Satan poured through her as she imagined what it would be like to constantly be the object of ridicule. Belal sneered at the other man and Drayth took a step closer, violence radiating from him.

Before she was even aware of having made the decision to move ,she found herself stepping between the men and holding her hand out to Drayth. Eline stood about a pace behind her and his solid presence gave her the courage to turn her back on Belal and his minions. “Prince Drayth, would you mind coming for a walk with me?”

Drayth shot Belal a smirk and gently took her hand in his, settling it into the crook of his arm. His body was firm and pleasantly solid beneath the soft black velvet of his jacket and the smile he gave her was genuine. “I would be honored, Princess.”

Belal said something and titters rose behind her as they strolled away, but she ignored them. Eline followed them along with three other guards, but they kept a respectful distance, giving them at least the illusion of privacy. She had no idea where she was taking him until they reached the archway leading out to balcony that held the Tree of Knowledge. The tree itself was beautiful, and when backlit by the moon and the slowly rolling silver-edged clouds, it became a work of art.

Taking a seat in one of the comfortable chairs that faced the tree without a view of the open sky beyond the railing, she glanced at Drayth. The muscles of his face were tight with tension and his hands were fisted in his lap.

“Prince Drayth, are you all right?”

The anger in his eyes as he glanced at her made her shrink back against the chair. “Why did you bring me here?”

She glanced about, trying to find what had made him so upset. “I honestly don’t know. I wanted to escape the madness of the court.” She fingered the soft emerald velvet of her skirt, the shade almost black in the light of the moon. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about how to be royal.”

His voice was carefully neutral now and some of the anger had faded from his eyes. “And what do you know of me?”

“Honestly? Nothing. I didn’t even know your name until tonight.”

The shadows of his jaw softened as he relaxed. “Then you don’t know about my mother.”

She thought back to her lessons on the history of Hell, trying to think of some mention of Satan’s children. “I’m sorry, but I can’t recall anything about her other than my father mentioning that she’s a concubine.” He tensed again and she quickly added, “But I’m sure she’s a wonderful woman.”

“Was,” he said in a quiet tone. “Was a wonderful woman.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry.” Her voice thickened and she tried to swallow past the tears threatening to spill. “I lost my mother recently as well.”

The smile he gave her was filled with sadness and understanding. “I know. Tales of you escaping the angels and Belal’s men are already the stuff of legends.”

“Belal’s alleged men,” she said with a bitter hiss. “Can’t say for certain they served him.”

Drayth’s laugh held an equally acidic tone. “Welcome to the politics of Hell, Princess.”

She sighed and would have slumped but the corset bones in the dress kept her upright. “Sometimes I wish I were still a normal girl worried about normal things like paying the rent on our land and if our cow would be giving birth anytime soon.”

He laughed and crossed his long legs at the ankles. “I never thought about it that way. I wonder what it would be like to be normal.”

“You’d probably find it dreadfully boring.”

He traced his fingertip on the back of the chair, his gaze distant. “I don’t know. It might be nice to have grown up in a place where you weren’t seen as a constant reminder of your failure to live up to your father’s expectations.”

She laughed and he gave her an affronted look. “Sorry, I didn’t mean any offense. It’s just that when your father is the king of Hell, it’s a lot to live up to. No pressure there.”