Page 63 of The Forbidden Dragon King
He pushes himself onto his knees in front of me; it’s the least submissive thing that I have seen. “Deal accepted. And I would serve between your pretty thighs, love, any time. I don’t need a deal for that. I would serve you right now if you were in this cage.”
I blush.
I never dreamed that I would see an ex-fae king on his knees before me, offering to tongue me.
Daire winks, before pushing himself to his feet with a wince. “We’re in this together from now on, my Omega. Perhaps, I can protect you after all. I’ll die trying.”
“We’llliveto protect each other,” I correct him.
All of a sudden, he moves lightning fast to face me on the other side of the bars, close enough to the iron that my breath stutters in fear. He likes to take the same risks that I do.
We’re perfectly matched.
“Friends,” he says, “soulmates, and conspirators.”
I quirk my brow. “Conspirators?”
“We’ll be two pets looking out for each other on the journey back to Bael and then the bloody humiliating parade. Once in the Shadow Court, we can pass on the whispers and secrets that we hear. Even if the idiots separate us, we can look after each other’s arses.”
“Aurelius will hate that.”
Daire smiles with a flash of canines. “I love the plan even more.”
“You hate him, huh?”
“I didn’t,” Daire replies, softly. “I was desperate to but Ican feel that fate connects us. I admire his courage. I wished that he would notice…respect…seeme. What the bloody hell am I saying? None of that matters. He doesn’t. I’m a bloody joke to him.”
“Is it more than what I felt in the memories? More than him defeating you in war?”
It’s hard.
I feelsomethingfor Aurelius.
I can’t help it, when I can still smell his smoke and leather scent on my dress. It has meant comfort for days in my nest.
A nest that he built for me.
No one has treated me as well as Aurelius has: The way that he not only accepts but enjoys how much I challenge him.
The spark, every time that we’re in a room together.
How I can make him give that genuine smile.
Yet I don’t trust him.
Daire’s expression darkens; he looks wild and primal. “These Dracarians would degrade us and call us animals: The Kitten and the Wolf. Let them. I’ll wear my new name with pride. They can feel our claws and fangs.” He turns away, stalking to the shadows at the back of the cage. His shoulders hunch, and I can only see the wall of his feathered wings. “More?” He whispers. “There needs to be more thanall of thatas a reason to hate him?”
In the silence, I can feel the swirl of his rage and sorrow through the bond.
Startled, I rattle the bars. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean?—”
“His family murdered my family, friends,my entire Court. Do you have any idea what that would feel like?”
“Yes,” I reply, sharply, “I do. The vampires killed mine.”
“You’re the orphan survivor of the Orm Massacre?” He asks, surprised. “Then you should understand. What if you had one chance to take revenge for your family, but another king stole that from you? It wasn’t Aurelius who betrayed and then razed the Winter Court in front of my eyes when I was still a kid. It was Maximinus, along with King Tarquin.”
I startle. “Aurelius’ brother? But he’s…”
