A Throne of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #2)(120)

“Are you thick?” I spat. “Do you only do deals with mad kings? I don’t have any sort of power over the dragon. None. Zero.”

“But I think you do. He hasn’t spoken once since you walked up. He is deferring to you, which means he greatly respects you and honors your place at his side. Dragons are incredibly loyal.”

“You’re going to stand in a ruined kingdom and claim the guy who got us into this mess was loyal? You’re a fucking idiot, and you’re wasting my time.”

I moved to walk around him and toward the door.

The mad king might’ve thought he was good at bartering, but he was the same sort of shrewd and cunning as the demon king. They spoke the same language. That sort of competition was not about playing the game—it was about playing the man.

Enter me. I was a shit barterer. Absolute crap. I didn’t like to cheat people. It wasn’t a game to me. I wanted everyone to walk away feeling like they got a fair trade. It was why I’d gotten the short end of the stick a few too many times. I was also common. I had no wealth, no power, no social standing, and no knowledge of how people who did have those things got by. People like me were staff to people like the demon king. Or prisoners. He and I might as well speak different languages. He didn’t know what rules people like me lived by, so he had no basis for sizing me up.

That was my biggest asset. My only asset, actually. It was important that I stayed an anomaly. The second he learned my quirks, I’d be outmatched.

“How about this.” He held out a hand to stop me. “During my stay, you interject if the dragon comes for me.”

“I’ll give you one day, same as you’re giving me,” I replied. “And I’ll only promise to do what I can. I can’t work miracles.”

“Ah, but I am giving you more than a promise. If you cannot guarantee compliance, then I should get longer.”

“Three days, then. No more.”

His grin said he had gotten exactly what he wanted. A shiver crawled over my skin.

“Done,” he said, and an invisible magical line snapped taut between us.

“I’ll be downstairs when it gets dark,” I said, continuing to walk from the room.

Nyfain met me in the hall. “I’m not sure if that was incredibly smart or incredibly stupid.”

“Why smart? Because I can think of a lot of reasons for the stupid one.”

“He wanted to see how much I’d defer to you, but you flipped the script. You’ve clearly intrigued him. He wants a real show of your power. He’ll set his people on you tonight.”

“I figured. It’ll give me something to do. Their magic doesn’t work on me.”

“And it won’t work on anyone else, either. We’ll give everyone the demon-be-gone draught tonight.”

I nodded.

“He was right, though,” Nyfain said softly.

“About what?”

“About you being able to influence my actions. I’d defer to your judgment because I respect and honor your place by my side.”

I reached out in a rush of emotion and grasped his hand. “That’s incredibly sweet of you to say. It’s also incredibly incorrect. When your dragon is riding you hard, you don’t defer to anyone. You’re vicious and wild, and this kingdom is in good hands with you. I can see that. All we need to do is set you loose. That’ll have to be my job. Somehow.”

And it would start with playing a dangerous game that might destroy me forever.





Twenty-Five





An hour after the sun went down, I walked down the stairs wearing a slinky little black number that plunged down my neckline and showed off most of my back. The bottom fell to my knees with slits up both sides. It was lovely and fit me perfectly. My dagger was out of place hanging at my hip, and the throwing knives around my thighs only added to the look.

Leala had done my hair in an overstated updo and applied extra makeup. The goal was to look vain and extravagant and foolish. To encourage the demons to underestimate me. Besides, swinging wildly out of character would keep them from guessing my real personality.

Maybe I was foolish to think I could go toe to toe with the demon king, but I had to at least give it a shot. Otherwise I’d be under his thumb like everyone else, and the kingdom would definitely be doomed.

All was quiet on the third-floor landing. Not a soul stirred. On the second-floor landing, I heard shouts and laughter. A man ran by the foot of the stairs on the first floor, leather straps crisscrossing his body, studs lining the straps. A demon woman followed, cackling madly, shiny pinkish scales covering her body and her tail whipping out behind her.

Usually the demons wore their human masks around the castle. For the most part, anyway. Apparently they were letting it all hang out tonight.

“Need an escort?”

I turned to see the demon king sauntering up behind me. The duster and pleats had been replaced with a tuxedo and a black bow tie. His reddish eyes and slick smile set me on edge.

“Actually, no. I doubt your people will approach if you are hovering around like a ghoul.”

“My goodness. So prickly. Do you ever drop the tough-girl act?”

Tough-girl act? my animal thought. Give me time, ass clown. I’ll show you how much of our personality is an act.

I kept from smirking. Dolion would definitely die one day, and it would be my blade sticking out of his neck.