A Kingdom of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales Book 3)(18)

No, not my clothes. Nyfain’s.

I belatedly remembered the note tucked into my back pocket. The piece of paper holding his elegant scrawl, his words of love. His assurances that I was both a dragon and his true mate.

Power roared through me. Emotion colored my thoughts, drowning out any sort of logic.

I would not lose that note. I would not lose these clothes or this sword. I wouldn’t lose any of it. They’d all die before I did.

My dragon pumped more power into me. Power. Rage. Action!

“Freeze!” I could hear the panic in Govam’s voice. “Everyone freeze! Dragon—Finley—give me a chance to figure this out.”

“No, no, no, no, no!” Jedrek bucked and then kicked, trying to get out of his captors’ hands while his bathing attendants waited in front of him, their claws out and ready. “No! I don’t want this! No!”

He threw his body one way, then another, before arching back into Denski, trying to wiggle free.

“Take him down!” Govam yelled.

A guard to Jedrek’s side pulled a foot-long rod from a holster. Flicking his wrist, he elongated it into a three-foot-long gleaming stick. The other guard did the same, advancing quickly, Denski still holding on. Their blows were fast and brutal, hitting Jedrek’s sides and back, avoiding his head.

He cried out, quickly shrinking to get away.

“That’s enough,” Govam said, pushing me to the right to give them some room.

A last blow landed, and Denski let go, dropping Jedrek to the floor. Jedrek groaned and shuddered, shaking with barely held-in sobs.

“He is definitely not a dragon,” Denski said, crossing his arms over his chest before giving Jedrek a prod with the toe of his boot.

Jedrek cried out and scooted away, shaking.

My chest constricted, pity washing away my dislike of him.

“He doesn’t need all that,” I said. “Don’t react to him the way you would to me. He doesn’t pose the same sort of threat. You know he doesn’t.”

“This is how we react to everyone,” Govam said. “With dragons, it often escalates.” He paused, his hands still tight on my arms. “Is this going to escalate?”

“I don’t know.” It was an honest answer.

“Denski.”

Denski uncrossed his arms and stepped behind me to take Govam’s place. His fingers curled delicately around my elbows, suggesting he wasn’t a total idiot.

Govam stepped in front of me, his dusky gray stare digging into my eyes.

“Is that not a very dangerous place for you to be?” I couldn’t help but ask, watching his hands.

He held them up and out, fingers spread. “Usually, yes. Very.” His head tilted to the side. “But you’re not like most dragons, are you? You’re hard, and you’re fierce, but you’re not a trained warrior. You’re a survivor. And survivors don’t fight just to fight. Survivors aren’t worried about ego. They’re worried about seeing their next sunrise. Right?” He paused for a beat. “I know about surviving, Finley. It’s why I’m still in this job. Tell me. What are you reacting to?”

I could feel my eyebrows pinch, wondering why he was asking the question again. Wondering if this was a trick of some sort.

“My clothes,” I said, watching his reaction closely. “I want to keep my clothes intact.”

“Your clothes are a mess. Your shirt is shredded in places and crusted with your blood. It won’t last much longer.”

I thought of the note, and my heart sped up. “My pants. They’re leather. They’re fine.”

His eyes narrowed just slightly. He pulled back and glanced down at my pants, fine other than a few score marks from where stray whips had snapped them. As he looked back at my face, his brows pinched like mine were probably doing.

“Fine. I’ll have them sent to your cell. Anything else?”

I shrugged. “Sure. Let me go.”

He continued to stare for a moment before taking a step back. “Step out of your clothes. If you give us any trouble, we’ll beat you and destroy your pants.”

“I can entice her to behave.” Sonassa leaned in a little to catch my attention, her magic crawling across my skin like it had when I’d arrived.

“Entice the possum.” Govam gestured her away. “This dragon has a powerful true mate. She won’t succumb to your power.”

“No?” Her eyes glimmered. “Are we sure?”

Her magic flowed across my flesh like a whisper of satin. It curled around my nipples, tightening them, before slipping down to my core. I sucked in a breath at the blast of ecstasy, before my stomach flipped and then clenched. A feeling like acid dribbled through me, corroding the magic. Bile rose in my throat, and my head swam.

“No, thank you,” I managed, trying to hold my stomach down. “That’s a nope on my end.”

“See?” Govam said. “Go use your talents on the man. He’s not handling this well, and he needs to be presentable.”

Sonassa frowned at me, her gaze roaming my body now. “If she can’t be enticed, how will she be brought to heel at the parties?”

“Not my problem.” Govam stared her down, and I faintly heard Denski say behind me, “We hope.”

When Sonassa hit Jedrek with her magic, he loosened up immediately, becoming pliant with a dopey smile on his face. “Ah, yes, that’s more like it. I cooperated…”