Throne of Secrets (Prince of Sin, #2)

by Kerri Maniscalco

If Cinderella considered her prince more wicked than charming at first, and wanted to unravel his darkest secrets and ruin him, this would be their twisted fairy tale… Gentlemen of vice are especially nice, since their filthy tales contain an abundance of spice. POEMS FOR THE WICKED, VOLUME TWO

Silvanus had the temperament of an ornery house cat. Which meant he was similar to my brother Sloth; he only sparred when the mood struck and couldn’t be bothered otherwise.

Once upon a time, ice dragons had freely roamed the Seven Circles, hunting demons and whatever other creatures they desired. During one of the darkest hours in our history, the seven alphas from each pack planned a coordinated attack, carving a blood-drenched swath across the realm, terrorizing all. Unlike most creatures, ice dragons didn’t always hunt to eat. They liked killing. And they’d unleashed all their darkest desires on each House of Sin. The loss of life had been staggering. So, more than a hundred years ago, I’d negotiated the first peace treaty between the dragons and my brothers. Aided by the right spell, we could communicate clearly with the dragons and had come to terms all agreed upon.

Perhaps I should have considered the possibility that the toymaker had been baring their soul and the doll simply represented society’s cage for young women. Be agreeable, pleasant, and beautiful, even if it drains the life from you.

If someone didn’t try to seduce my brain, they didn’t make it to my bedchamber.

I suppose I looked like the sort of female who could just as easily carve him open as give him an intense orgasm;

I knew mortals had myths and legends of all the gods and goddesses who ruled the expanse known as the Underworld—my contacts who’d been granted entry to our kingdom told me as much. Although even they had only made it as far as the Shifting Isles. In truth, the Underworld was broken down into seven circles, each governed by a different Prince of Sin. There was an eighth circle that spanned closer to the southern edge of our realm, but it was forbidden and often ignored by denizens of the Underworld. On a larger island, due west, were the Fae lands. And near the southern tip of our realm was Malice Isle—home to the vampires. House Gluttony, where I resided, was the northernmost territory, bordered above by wild land inhabited by dragons, lesser demons, and other creatures too dark and twisted or solitary to choose a House of Sin.

Within the Seven Circles, demon princes needed sinners to stoke their sin of choice and thus their power, ensuring they remained strong enough to protect us from outside threats, so denizens were sorted into the House they best aligned with.

Nature, I reminded myself, had its own laws. Predator or prey. Kill or be killed. One weak link threatened all. Mercy wasn’t in their frame of reference; the very concept of it threatened their survival.

Not everyone in the Seven Circles came from wealth, but most of the working-class citizens in my neighborhood believed in impossible fairy tales. Stories of hope. Rags to riches and the unrelenting idea that true love could overcome class, station, rank, and other societal barriers. As if those were simply small hurdles to jump over and not massive walls erected to keep the rich together in their own private world.

“It sounds as if the true issue is that I’ve struck a nerve, Your Highness. Though I can’t say I’m surprised. The male ego is one of the most fragile things in the universe. One teeny, tiny hit and it shatters like glass. Maybe it’s not my fiction, but the truth you abhor. I doubt anyone tells you how they actually feel. In any aspect relating to your public or… private life.”

YOU’RE EITHER GOING to have the most intense hate sex in the history of the realm,” the Prince of Lust drawled from the seat across from me, “or—” “She’s going to castrate him,” Prince Envy said, swirling his signature cocktail, a Dark and Sinful, his expression one of mock contemplation as he sipped his blackberries and bourbon. “My coin’s on the castration.” Lust’s charcoal eyes lit with dark amusement. “Especially after today.”

“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.

He held my stare. “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.”

“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.”

“Wish me luck.” Lust swiped a glass of demonberry wine from a passing tray and saluted me. “To an eternity of blissful hate sex.”

I would sacrifice my court for her and not regret a wretched moment of the decision. I’d made peace with my moral compass long ago. If I had to choose between her and the realm, it would be her. Always.

The princes were rakish, wicked things… until challenged. Then they showed what they truly were underneath the courtly charm and polished veneer.

Today I was not her prince, only the male who loved her fiercely. “I’ve adored you from nearly the first moment I saw you. I loved you when I didn’t like you. I loved you when you bested me. And when I bested you. I love your smart mouth, your clever mind, your darkest fantasies. Your brightest joy. I love that you never let me win, that any victory I have is fleeting but earned. And I will live out the rest of eternity loving you.”

“I’ve never petted a dragon before.” I glanced down at my fiancée, smirking as I guided us behind the stables of House Gluttony to where Silvanus waited. “Untrue. You know that’s what I call my cock.” “Heathen.” Adriana lightly punched my arm, and I tugged her close.

Is our fine lady secure? Adriana nodded, then nestled into my chest, the little dragon cooing from where he snuggled in her lap. Both Val and Envy would be incredulous when I told them the little deviant dragon didn’t bite Adriana. I held her tightly to me. “I’ve got her.” Good, try not to let go. “That, dear dragon, is a vow I intend to keep forever.” You’re finally using that upper head; the pack wasn’t sure it worked. Prick.