Throne of Secrets (Prince of Sin, #2)

by Kerri Maniscalco

Gentlemen of vice are especially nice, since their filthy tales contain an abundance of spice.

He was made for battle just as I was built for danger; a combination that made for poor decisions but great stories.

I wasn’t an ice queen. At the root of everything, I was deeply careful about who I let in for fear of heartbreak. My caution was often misinterpreted as indifference, which often alienated me more.

One time I’d asked about chasing my dreams, “But what if I fall? What if I stumble?” “Start asking better questions, my dove. What if you soar? What if you race the stars themselves?”

Failure just means you’re trying and there’s no shame in that. Don’t let anyone tell you who you are. Believe in yourself. It’s your life and you’ve got to live how you see fit. To hells with everything else.

I lived for the hunt, and she’d just made herself the most appealing target to take down.

The whole male species ought to be magicked away to an island to live out their days of idiocy in peace.

“You are an absolute nightmare to my sanity.”

Gods’ blood. I’d never wished for the old gods to strike me down in a raging bolt of lightning before. But there I was, peeking up at the ceiling, hopeful as ever. Unsurprisingly, no errant bolt from a merciful deity put me out of my misery.

Nitimur in vetitum. We strive for the forbidden.

“I thought you were the most devastating thing I’d ever seen. A comet speeding directly at me. And I was so lost to your splendor, I didn’t care if you wiped me clean out of the realm, so long as I got a chance to admire you, even from a distance.”

He tasted like my favorite mistake.

Eden practically bounced on the balls of her feet as she checked over her basket of ingredients. Vanity’s table was next to hers and she shot an amused look the other girl’s way.

“I have hungered for you in ways you cannot comprehend. I’ve craved you. More than my sin. You haunt me, Adriana.” I nearly shook from the confession. “My dreams are the only time I get to worship you. Do you have any idea how many careful lies of omission I’ve told over the years? The role I’ve played this last decade. All to hide the truth of how deeply, wholly lost I am to you?”

“The truth is, sweet nemesis”—I lowered my mouth to her ear—“I have not fucked a soul since the All-Sinners Ball. But I have made love to you a thousand times in my dreams. And I have never once yearned for anyone else to visit my bed.”

“Sweet nemesis. You act as if your soul hasn’t already been mine from the start.”

I would burn the world down and dance in its ashes if anything happened to her.

The simple things are what bring me the greatest amount of pleasure. Good food, good drink, good conversation. A good companion. Those are the things that mark a good life.

Adriana snorted and clapped a hand over her mouth. I stared at her, fighting my own laughter. “That was the most undignified sound I’ve ever heard. Do it again and I’ll fall in love harder.”