“Mammon and Soneillon mostly. Everyone else isn’t so bad once you know how to deal with them.”
“Sounds good to me,” she said, grabbing my hand. “Come on, dance with me.”
I let Laila pull me into the crowd of people dancing. I settled my hands on her hips over the diamonds on her waistband, barely touching her at all.
She wound her arms around my neck and brought her lips close to my ear. “I need to draw the princes’ attention. Help me sell this or I’m going to dance with Roth instead.”
I could sell it. What I couldn’t do was touch Laila like I didn’t have any reservations without losing myself in her soft skin and intoxicating scent.
Her hands dropped to my shoulders, slowly running down my arms before slipping under my shirt. Her fingers danced over my abs, leaving a trail of fire everywhere she touched.
I lowered my face to her shoulder to stifle my moan.
My fingers tightened on her hips, holding her to me as my mouth roved over her bare skin. I would stay away from her lips, I told myself. If I drew lines, it would give me some semblance of control.
I pulled back, taking her tattooed hand from under my shirt and pulling it around my neck. The sight of the ink had the same effect as dumping a bucket of ice water over my head. I hated that she’d made a deal with the Prince of Theft, hated that she felt like she had to do that. Because he could offer her protection here that I couldn’t.
I dropped my hands and stepped back after a few minutes of dancing, pressing a kiss to her hand. “It was a pleasure, my lady.” I hadn’t used the formal title in a century, but it came out easily now.
And it put distance between Laila and me.
“Joriel—”
I shook my head. “Not here.”
Her eyes narrowed for a second before a mask of cool disinterest slipped into place. She turned away from me and made her way to a bar stocked with more bottles of liquor than I’d ever seen in one place. The bartender, whom I was pretty sure was a grand prince, slid a shot glass across the bar toward her.
I watched her toss back several shots with the guy. They were laughing at something together, not seeming to have a care in the world. The demon prince held out a hand to her and helped her climb on top of the bar. I wasn’t sure what she’d been wearing for shoes, but they were gone now as she danced on the bar with a couple of other girls who looked human but obviously weren’t. I’d be able to see their emotions if they were.
“They’re the children of lords and ladies of Hell,” Astaroth said. I hadn’t noticed him coming up beside me. “They’re technically greater demons, but unless someone in their family tree dies, they don’t have any land or lesser demons to rule over. They make up most of the population at court. Fairly harmless.”
“And the bartender?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
“Abadon, the Prince of Gluttony. He’s fun in small doses, but small doses have never really been his style.”
Abadon was impressively good-looking for the prince of overindulgence. He was quick to grin and gave off charming bad-boy vibes so strong I could feel them from across the room. He was the kind of trouble that seemed harmless and fun until you were in so deep you didn’t know which way was up anymore. How long could Laila spend with him before their encounter turned sour?
“You love her, don’t you?” Astaroth asked.
“She’s not for me.”
The Prince of Theft grinned. “You learn fast. That answer could mean just about anything. Though you should know, only two people currently in this court can sense untruths.”
“It’s not part of the standard skill set for your kind?”
Astaroth shook his head. “The Prince of Lies is the only one who can do that. And, of course, your girl.”
“She’s not my—”
“Save the speeches. I don’t want to be in the middle of your drama any more than absolutely necessary. Unlike my brothers, I don’t particularly care for spectacles and games of seduction.”
“Your brothers?” I’d never heard anything claiming the original Fallen had been related.
“We were once a family,” he said, and I thought there was a hint of sadness in his tone. “The twelve of us were as close as brothers. Things have changed since then, but I still feel the bond between us.”
It was strange to hear him talk about the original Fallen like they’d been a family as tight as the secret order was. The similarity didn’t sit well. I wanted to believe my family was nothing like the original Fallen. But how many laws had we broken in just the past couple of decades?
I turned my focus back to Laila. Another prince was helping her down from the bar. He looked like he’d been partying for a while already. His dress shirt was unbuttoned and his hair was tousled. There was a tattoo of something similar to Chinese characters on his left cheekbone, but they weren’t in any human language.
