Page 69 of The Fury Queen's Harem

I was incredibly fast. Even if I wanted to withdraw or lessen the impact of my hit, it was already too late.

My force sent Elvey flying several yards backwards until he crashed onto the vast trunk of a black tree and slumped to the ground, the black blossoms dangling above with shivers.

I only got angrier that he hadn’t defended himself.

A trail of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, and my heart jerked achingly at the sight of him being hurt. After all he’d done to me, after he’d almost enslaved me, why did I still care for him?

Beasts howled nearby at the scent of fresh blood, and I put a mental leash on them and warned them away.

“You did well, Daisy,” he said, giving me a small smile that held no grudge. He sat straight against the tree, pulled out a silk handkerchief, and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth before he put the handkerchief back in his pocket.

All I wanted was to go to him and soothe his hurt.

But I stood where I was, trembling.

“I’m not hurt much,” he said, giving me another guileless smile. “And I deserved it.” Weariness left his star-blue eyes as a light of hope and pride glistened in their depth. “You passed the test without any training. No one has ever seen through my glamour before as you did.”

That didn’t appease me. He looked like he wanted to jump up and come to me and take me in his arms, but he didn’t move. His hands balled into fists before he released them as he restrained himself.

“You felt the great evil in the hall, didn’t you?” he asked softly.

“What is it?” I demanded.

The light dimmed in his eyes and cold rage flashed by. An instant later, he smiled at me again. “You rejected my comfort and an easy way out of this. You chose to stay here to fight for those who you care about.”

I narrowed my eyes. At some point, I’d stopped trembling. Somehow, his smile seemed to have that effect on me. Elvey was ancient, and he was also sunshine.

“You took me there just to test me?”

“That was only part of it,” he said. “That was just the beginning. There’ll be trials of fire in your path. If you think your life of slavery here is hard, think again. You won’t be any safer after you leave this shelter, neither are those who accompany you.”

My heart skipped a beat. He talked as if I would for sure break off the curse and leave this planet. But it hadn’t dropped off me, despite having kissed all three dragon princes. I didn’t feel any lighter, nor did I feel free. That was how I was supposed to feel when the curse left me, right?

A stray thought brushed across my awareness to contradict me. I’d felt my dragon stirring inside me, when Elvey had kissed me. No, he hadn’t really kissed me. Or had he?

“Is that why you showed me all the lies and illusions?”

Something dark flashed in his eyes. He knew what I meant.

Damn it. Where did this obsession with him come from? And this time I knew I couldn’t blame him for my own actions.

Was it because that glamour kiss had been too good to pass by? It had made my dragon surface for a moment, and I’d been so convinced that he was my true love.

What would it be like to really kiss him?

I bit my inner cheek again and let the sting take my mind off the carnal thoughts.

“Glamour, yes,” he said lazily, trying to defuse the sexual tension between us, yet he still studied me with interest. “But it was no lie. None of what we felt and feel is a lie.”

Had he just read my mind? But I knew he hadn’t invaded my head. Maybe my face told him everything.

“I don’t believe you,” I hissed. “You toyed with me. You abused my trust.”

“Which was necessary,” he said. “But you got your revenge. You got some strength in your punch, my darling Daisy.”

I didn’t want to hit him again. “Then don’t make an enemy out of me, darling Elvey.”

He laughed, running his hand over his curly, lavender hair, which looked more bluish under the dim light. That gesture carried innocent charm, mixing with sexiness. My heart jerked.

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