A Kingdom of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales Book 3)(67)

She crossed her arms in front of her chest before putting them back at her sides. The effort it took to do so was obvious.

“I’m not used to having to…entertain without demon aid,” she said softly. “It’s not ideal. None of this is ideal. Being a prisoner is one thing—I’ve seen dungeons in all parts of this magical world. But I have never been treated like this. Used like this. It…” She clenched her jaw and took a deep breath.

I couldn’t help myself. “Why have you been in many dungeons?” I asked.

She studied me for a moment. “Dragons.” She shook her head slightly, a small smile gracing her lips. “Most people would be aghast by that revelation. Or horrified. Not dragons. That is why we need your kind to help us escape. We cannot do it without your ferocity.”

“How can you help?”

She rubbed her face again. “I have a rare type of magic. In simple terms, I can pick locks, magically speaking. If there is a spell, I can disentangle it…up to a point. Spells that encompass a whole kingdom would be beyond me. But moderate spells, like those over doors, are within my power.”

My heart started to beat faster.

She nodded, my reaction clearly showing in my expression. “If I have access to my magic, I can break the magical locks on the dungeons. Can the dragons pick the physical locks?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, good. We’ll need your help on my floor, too. The problem is—”

“Oh violet eyes,” someone said in a creepy singsong voice. “Where is my violet eyes?”

A look of terror crossed her face. Tears came to her eyes, but she stood her ground.

“It’s fine,” I said quickly, patting her arm. “Their magic doesn’t affect me. I’ll kill him before I leave.”

Her breath hitched. For a moment she just stared at me, then she put a hand on my forearm and squeezed gently. “I will consider that an act of friendship.”

I shrugged. “I was thinking the burst of power might free up your magic, which would be a logical next step in our plan, but friendship is a good reason too.”

“Dragons,” she whispered again, her smile growing. Her expression cleared. “The problem,” she said, talking faster now, “is that my magic is suppressed. Like almost everyone else’s. Except yours, correct? And some of the other dragons?”

“Yes.”

“I can use the power of other species to bolster my own. It’s how I’m able to unwind their magic. If you are powerful enough, you might be able to pull my magic free the way you did with the dragons. It will work the same, even though it is magic and not an animal.”

“But the magical suppression will just kick back in, won’t it? That’s what happens for the dragons who haven’t had the spell lifted.”

Her smile was slight. “Not if I can…pick the lock, as it were. If I can disentangle the magic spell before it suppresses me again, then I will be free. I will have the ability to help us escape the first level of the dungeons. After that…”

“The dragons will take over.”

She nodded as the sex demon approached, her eyes on Calia.

“You think you can fully…unlock yourself from the suppression spell while dealing with that?” I nodded toward the mess of bodies writhing in the corner.

Her thin eyebrows pinched together. She licked her lips. “I will have to,” she said uncertainly.

I was already in hot water with Dolion. He was already going to make an example of me by killing me in front of Nyfain. What did I have to lose? This was the next step in freeing us.

“How about you get ready to go, and we’ll get this party started?”





NINETEEN





FINLEY





I pushed Calia out of the way and walked directly toward the sex demon. He stopped, and his magic hit me, oozing over me like slime. My stomach churned. Bile rose in my throat. I barely kept myself from stopping and retching.

I plowed into him, grabbing his shoulders and walking him backward until I neared the others, and then I sliced into his middle with my magic and threw him. He smashed into the group of naked people.

Bodies flew to the sides in a tangle of limbs, some trying to get out of the way of the suddenly dead demon and some getting hit by the debris. The other sex demon was the next to go as power pulsed and pumped around me, throbbing into the room.

“Do not shift,” I called out, throwing the second sex demon, quickly lifeless, out of the way.

The demon huddled on the floor, looking up at me with wide orange eyes in his brown-scaled face. “Guards!” he shouted, cowering as I stood over him. “Guards!”

I bent to take him out, then thought better of it. Why should I steal the others’ opportunity for revenge?

“Anyone want my collar to strangle him?” I asked, removing it so the guards I’d eventually be confronted with didn’t get any ideas.

“I don’t need a collar.” A lady shifter pounced on him, wrapping her fingers tightly around his neck. His hands flailed, caught by a faerie and held out of the way.

“I can feel…” A shifter pressed his hand to his chest. “I can feel—”

“Do not act on it,” I barked, magic riding the command, shocking into him.