Page 117 of The Forbidden Dragon King
I stiffly stalk out of his cell, looking back at him through the bars. “I spend more time protecting you, than you appear to spend protecting yourself.”
Suddenly furious, Daire’s expression becomes frosty.
He stares back at me, divided now by the iron bars of the prison cell. “You’re not my savior. You’re mydestroyer.You caged me. Bloody ruined me. I may be a fallen king, but I am a king and not a damsel. And I will protect myself and our Omega.” When his gaze zeros in on the bruises that ring my neck, I flinch. “You can’t even protect yourself.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Maximinus’ Study, Shadow Court
Daire
Possibly,I shouldn’t have boasted about being able to protect myself to Aurelius. The Shadow Devils love to have our own words bite us in the arse.
I pant, struggling to hold back the tears of pain that are welling in my eyes. I kneel on the hard marble in front of Maximinus’ large writing desk in his study.
My knees are sore and bruised from the hours that I have spent here, starting to become numb. The small stones of knotted mosaic dig into my skin through my thin breeches, creating jaggedpoints of agony.
My wings throb and pulse from being forced into a single position for so long at Maximinus’ order.
The dying sun bathes the opulent room, which is all about showing off the dragons’ power and status: Gold and silver statues, ornate frescoes, and magical items with far more power than is safe to be lying around like trinkets on Maximinus’ desk.
It’s a shock being surrounded by this amount of color and light after the dark cold of the dungeon.
Maximinus continues to calmly write a letter, ignoring me.
He’s haloed in golden light through the window. He’s resplendent in his silver tunic and woolen cloak.
He looks nothing like the bloody sadistic sorcerer that he truly is.
A secret head of a deadly court faction.
A traitor.
Yet I can’t even tell Freya the truth. Not and live. Not without risking her life.
I grit my teeth, clenching my hands on my lap to control the pain.
When a conspiracy of ravens fly down anxious to reach me at last and rap on the window’s glass with their strong bills, I hurriedly shake my head at them.
Unhappy, they ruffle their shaggy throat feathers. They still raise their voices in musical, croaking song in greeting, before they fly away further into the court gardens.
I’ve missed them.
At least I had some fun playing with the ShadowDragon King earlier. He bristles more than my cat does, playing cool and aloof, when his pheromones are begging for strokes.
Aurelius believes that he hides himself behind a mask but get him riled up and the idiot gives himself away. He’s not used to playing these games in the way that I am. It’s almost like he’s never fucked, loved, or experienced true friendship before.
He’s vulnerable.
I understand him. I wish that I could still think of him as thevillain, which he believes himself to be.
He’s not.
The featherglass pass on coded messages to me, as I work in the kitchens. I have to snort, half amused and half annoyed, when they write about Aurelius with growing admiration.
On the sacred ash, at least I’m not the only one who is struggling to remember that he’s the enemy.
Pushing Aurelius’ buttons, however, is the best method to get information out of him.
