Page 5 of The Demon Prince's Accidental Mate
A slow, wicked grin spread across my face, twisting the reddish skin into a caricature of a smile so terrifying it sent my servants fleeing from my presence.
“But you aren’t free,” I hissed to nobody in particular, flexing one taloned hand. “No, no, you aren’t,Lilith Rowe. For I have seen you. I know you.”
Rising from my specially made chair, I headed for the door, tail swishing behind me. A plan of action was already forming in my mind. A plan that would show Lilith what happened when humans meddled in business that wasn’t theirs.
My boots rang off the stone floor as my strides carried me down a winding series of hallways to my destination. The warm bubble of delight sat low in my stomach as images of what I would do to Lilith ran through my head.
Pausing outside a particularly ornate door, I rapped my fist against it with two solid thumps and then waited for the occupant to respond.
“Come.”
The response came quick, and I entered on the heels of the last sound. The floor expanded outward into an elongated disk-shaped platform, looking down over a vast garden lush with trees and flowers. The room's humidity immediately sank into my clothes, adding its oppressive weight.
I grimaced. Wet heat was unbearable, and I had no idea how the gargantuan beast lounging on top of a sun-heated rock could stand it. Dry heat was much better.
“Missing the heat of your home?” Dannorax rumbled from below me.
Eyeing the dragon as I stepped to the platform's edge, I straightened my shoulders. “It has its charms,” I said. “The weather is nicer. None of this liquid air shit that you like to bask in.”
The beast’s snout rose slightly, twin flames of fire spitting from the nostrils as the massive dragon laughed at my insult. “Ahh, Belial, you simply don’t understand the majesty of it.”
“Too much green,” I grumped, gesturing with one hand at the trees, gardens, and grasses that decorated Dannorax’s private quarters in the heart of the Black Tower.
“Your world is bland and boring,” the dragon countered, lifting one pawed foreleg to dip a claw into the slow-moving water of the river that ran through the room.
The water turned red as he washed the blood off. I hadn’t noticed a corpse nearby, but that didn’t mean much, I supposed. It was probably a tactic designed to remind me that he could eat me in one bite if he wanted.
I snorted. The dragon would have more than a serious case of heartburn if he tried that.
“What brings you before me, Belial? The next court meeting is two days hence. I had not expected you to be seen before then.”
“A human reached out,” I said. “She tried to touch my mind. To control it.”
The dragon’s head rose, yellow eyes full of suspicion and curiosity as he stared down his red-scaled snout at me. “You’re sure about this?”
I looked up at him crossly. “Do I really look like the type to make this sort of fucking bullshit up?”
Smoke curled from Dannorax’s nostrils at my response. I ignored it, shunting away my frustration at reliving the event as well and trying to remain calm. Losing my temper on the head of the Twisted Court wasn’t a good way to get what I wanted.
“And what would you like me to do about it?” Dannorax replied levelly.
My rage came rushing back until my red skin stretched taut over my frame while my tail darted back and forth, it’s razor-sharp edges eager to find something to sink into.
“I want her brought in and punished.Nobodytries to bind me. It’s against the law. You know this as well as I do. Do your job!”
Dannorax rose on all four legs, towering over me as the giant chamber darkened everywhere but his eyes, a yellow similar to mine.
“Do not presume to tell me what to do. You forget your place in my court.”
His magic lashed out at me, pressing hard against my body, threatening to make me bow and fold under the added weight. I snarled and struggled against it, not willing to let myself be forced to kneel by the arrogant dragon.
Eventually, the pressure eased, and I straightened my spine, still glaring up at the giant beast. I said nothing, however. My only concession to keeping the peace between us.
“I take it she did not succeed?” the dragon rumbled, settling back down.
“Of course not,” I said with a derisive snort. “She’s a nothing, a nobody. I got a look into her mind to get a picture of her and a name. I don’t know who taught her to cast spells, but we need to find out. We can’t have just anyone hand out this sort of magic to normals.”
Dannorax grunted in agreement, which didn’t surprise me. As judge, it was his job to preside over all the infractions of magical law that happened in his territory. Unlawful use of magic was a big one, and that went doubly so when the practitioner was unlicensed. Forceful binding of souls was a big one. When the person who tried it was also not a registered magic user, the punishment was always extreme.
