A Throne of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #2)(71)

I nodded mutely.

“But for now, I take delight in knowing that this…” He ran his hand down and rubbed his fingertips firmly at the base of my pussy, collecting our combined release and gently pushing it back into my body. He left his hand on me, and his eyes lit with a possessive gleam. “This is mine.”

My heart fluttered. It was hard to breathe. My animal purred in ecstasy, basking in his words and tone, in his possessive dominance. His dragon, very near the surface, flooded the bond with pride and approval.

I didn’t grow up knowing the shifters’ ways, but clearly I was getting a crash course.

“Yes,” I said softly, not able to fight it. Not wanting to anymore. My animal nodded in approval. Maybe now she’d get off my back.

He bent and kissed my lips, his fingers trailing back to my stomach. “I will stay with you soon, yes. I want more time to properly fuck you. Rage-fucking is fun, thank you for that, but I want the next time to be slow. I want to take care of all your needs and destroy you for anyone else. I might not get to keep you in the end, but I’ll make sure my memory is etched into your body, if not your mind.”

“Do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Stop bringing up that you won’t be able to keep me. I know you’ll have to move on, but I don’t want to hear it until I have to face it.”

He shook his head slowly, pain eating through the bond. “You have it wrong. I won’t be the one who moves on. Not ever.”

“More lies, right? Of course you have to move on. You’re a prince. You’ll find a noble girl of good standing and fashion and whatever else you social elite do, and either I’ll get lost or I’ll be your side piece. I’m definitely not going to be the side piece, so…”

He chuckled darkly and ran his fingers through his unruly dark brown hair. “You’re daft sometimes, you know that? My side piece? As if your animal would stand for that. As if my dragon would allow me to lie with someone else instead of you. No, princess, that is not how this works, which I have explained to you repeatedly. Do me a favor and take it in this time. I refuse to be your ruin, and if you stay here with me, that’s exactly what will happen. The second the curse is broken, the demon king will move in and kill me and everyone close to me. He’ll take some of the villagers as indentured servants and likely kill the rest, or give them to his demons as playthings. He’ll either move his people into these lands, or strip them of any value and leave them to rot. To stay with me is death.” His voice took on a hard edge. “I will not do that to you. When the time comes, you will leave me to save yourself and anyone you can take with you, and I will let you. Do I make myself clear? You are not trapped with me. But I am trapped with you. I refuse to claim you because I worry that the demon king will be put off by my scent and it’ll take away your only chance at a better life. I worry that I’ll become too selfish to give you up. I refuse to claim you because I…” He paused, his gaze intense, as though stopping himself from saying something. “Because I respect you too highly to drag you down with me.”

My heart ached and more tears filled my eyes. My animal did the equivalent of pacing, unsettled at hearing him say he wanted us to leave him. For her to leave the dragon.

“What makes you think the demon king will barter with me?” I whispered, so many emotions flying at me that practicality was the only thing I could latch on to.

“Because you are everything he will want. Fierce and determined and smart, as well as incredibly beautiful. Furthermore, you’re a shifter, and he likes taking proud magical races and demeaning them. He will make a trophy of you.”

“Fantastic, yeah. That sounds amazing. What an incredible future you have chosen for me, Nyfain.”

“That isn’t your future, Finley. That is your means to an end. You’ll barter with him to get out, you will endure unwelcome treatment within your gilded cage, and you will escape and find freedom. It is within your power. That is the only way you can stay alive. Above all else, you must stay alive.”

“Why does it matter to you so much?”

His eyes grew hard. He stared at me with a set jaw. “Because I will not see another prickly rose torn out by the roots. This time, I will not take the easy road while the people I care about suffer and turn to dust. This time, if there is to be a funeral, it will be mine, and I will die happy knowing I could at least give you the chance at a better life. I couldn’t save my mother, Finley, but as the goddess looks down on me, I will save you.”





Sixteen





The next morning, I finished the notes about the book for Nyfain. After the speech he made before (once again) storming from the room, I’d decided he’d get as many write-ups as he wanted. He’d get blowjobs every day. His words had been beautiful and heart-wrenching and confusing, and his devotion had rung through the bond loud and clear. He honestly thought that the only way I would have a chance at happiness was to sign myself over to the demon king with the hopes of escape. It sounded ludicrous. The whole thing would obviously blow up in his face, but we’d cross that bridge when we came to it. Until then, I was going to brave his terrible moods and bang the living shit out of him.

Letter in hand and new trousers and blouse hugging my curves, I trekked down to the library. On the way, staff members loitered in the halls or on the landings. They turned to me as I passed, bowing, curtsying, and smiling. Jessab, the cook, stood at the bottom of the stairs and shook his fist with a smile.