A Throne of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #2)(130)

“The moment you married Jedrek, the deal would be complete, and Dolion would lose control over you. You’d be free to make trouble at will. Instead, he’ll hold that portion of the deal over your head, forcing you to keep Jedrek alive. If Jedrek dies before you can marry, the deal will be forfeit. He’ll still have you locked in his castle, and he can resume the suppression magic here. He’s forcing you to become caregiver to the man you hate. He’s torturing you, essentially. It’s what he does.”

I nodded with my lips downturned. “Well played, demon king. I did not see that one coming. There’s just one thing he missed, though.”

“What is that?” Nyfain asked softly.

“I would much rather keep Jedrek alive than marry him. All those times he said I wasn’t as good of a hunter or fighter, or that I should know my place, or that I ought to leave the hard work to the men… Well, that fucker is going to eat his words. I’m going to tear his ego right out from under him and beat him with it. He’ll wish he never crawled out screaming from his mother’s womb. Perfect vengeance, if you ask me. I’m so glad you left him alive.”

Nyfain turned from the window slowly. Incredulity washed through the bond, followed by a wash of smug pride from his dragon.

“What?” I asked. “That’s only fair, right? Being forced to marry is demoralizing, but keeping someone alive is hero fodder. The demon king is forcing me to be a hero while also exacting my vengeance on a man I hate. I mean…if I have to live a nightmare, it’s the best nightmare I could’ve hoped for. Plus, it’ll give me something to focus on when things get bad, which they likely will.” I tilted my head. “Unless I’m missing something?”

He stood blinking at me. “I’ve never, in all my life, met someone like you, Finley.”

“Right.” I frowned. “But…am I missing something, or…”

He crossed the room to me, bracing his hands on either side of my face and looking down into my eyes. “No, you’re not missing anything.” He kissed me tenderly. “I knew you were exceptional, but I didn’t know…the extent of it. If you had been in my shoes growing up, this kingdom would be a much different place. It would’ve been in better hands.”

I slid my hands up his chest and hooked them around his neck. “Don’t sell yourself short. The person you trusted most sent you away for a reason. What befell this kingdom was the mad king’s doing. I would’ve been just as powerless as you were.”

He sighed as he wrapped me in his arms, stroking my back.

“I want to speak to you about something,” he murmured before walking me toward the window, where the moonlight shone down on us. “I didn’t claim you all this time because I was worried the demon king wouldn’t be able to stomach you if my scent was mixed with yours. And likely he wouldn’t have. You’ve seen our interactions.”

“Your scent was on me, though. In me.”

“That is short term, and he knows it. But the deal has been made now. You’ve earned your next cage to break out of.”

Butterflies filled my stomach, and hope simmered low. “What are you saying?”

“I can’t go with you and physically protect you. The only protection I can offer is as a mate. If you carry a powerful alpha dragon’s scent, Jedrek won’t want to touch you. Even if you’re vulnerable—sick or sleeping—his primal senses will recoil from my scent on you. Other creatures, all but the most powerful, will also be repelled. It’ll thin out your adversaries. Not to mention Dolion won’t want to put you in that gilded cage, even if he could use me or your family as a means to get you in it. No one—not even other kings—will want to get intimate with that smell lingering around you. It’ll make you unattractive to them. I am sitting on a throne of ruin now, but I am still a powerful alpha. If we mate now, today, it’ll give you a little space, intimately. Other creatures might pick on you physically, but they won’t want to…” His jaw clenched, and he gripped my arms hard. He clearly had to force the words out. “They won’t want to force you intimately. Not even Dolion.”

That’s a yes from me, my animal said immediately.

He held up a finger. “But that protection comes at a very steep cost. To you. When you inevitably get free, which you will, it’ll be damn hard to—” He cut off and turned his face away for a moment. He took a deep breath. “It’ll be hard for you to find a new mate. You’d likely have to find a dragon more alpha than me who sees my claim as a challenge. Or a faerie. Maybe a bear, though they are not much better than dogs.”

I lifted my eyebrows and cracked a smile, mostly because he was entirely serious, and his arrogance in this time and place was at once hilarious and endearing.

He shook his head. “Much of my power is still suppressed, but that won’t show in my scent. I am a very powerful alpha, Finley. Or was. It won’t be easy to find someone who’s more so. And it might make it more difficult for you to find a new place to live. People could hesitate to take you in, not wanting the smell of another alpha around even if the physical alpha wasn’t there in person. It will be like shackling a weight to your leg and going for a swim. The cost of that short-term protection might be too high.”

I think you should slap him, my animal said. She didn’t give an explanation.