Page 122 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

Laeli

The next morning came too soon.

I put an actual dress on for the first time in too long, and undergarments, too.

Ravv caught my face between his hands before we slipped out to meet Gleam and Coarse in the hallway. He tilted my head back, and I looked into those gorgeous eyes of his. “I need you to be careful today. I’m worried about you, Lae. I need you to come out of this whole, healthy, and safe.”

“I’ll be careful.” My lips curved up in a sad smile. “But only if you will too. The Demon doesn’t feel a drive to kill anyone except you. That makes this riskier for you than everyone else.”

“I’m not worried about me.” He pressed his lips to mine.

It was a soft, gentle kiss that had nothing to do with pleasure or desire—another kind I was coming to adore. I could get used to kisses about nothing but intimacy and comfort.

His forehead pressed against mine.

“Promise me, Ravv. Swear you’ll look out for yourself first.”

“I can’t make that promise. I’m the king; it’s my responsibility to put my people first.”

“Before your mate?”

“No. My people come before me, but not you. Never you.” He brushed his lips against mine again.

“It would kill me to lose you,” I said quietly. “I’ve survived a lot, but I don’t think I could survive that. I need you to stay alive.”

He closed his eyes and let out a long breath. “I’ll protect myself with the same ferocity that I protect my people,” he finally said. “I don’t want to leave you any more than you want me to leave, Lae. Especially not while this is silver, instead of gold.” His fingers brushed the handprint on my arm, and I shivered.

“If you die now, I’ll be forced to take someone else as my mate in revenge,” I whispered.

His eyes gleamed, and he growled. “Veil, you’re perfect.”

With that, he pinned me to the wall and kissed me.

By the time Gleam and Coarse joined us and my king released me, my lips were swollen, and I was nearly dizzy with happiness.

We met a massive number of fae out in front of the castle. The Demon was still flying slow circles overhead, the way he always was, and I let myself wonder if he was really just going to let us kill him.

All terror aside, he was an incredible creature. I’d never seen a dragon before, but he was majestic. His scales glittered like gemstones in the sky, and I had to wonder why anyone thought of dragons as demons. Sure, they could breathe fire, and were known for being vicious, and…

Well, maybe I didn’t have to wonder.

But still, he was beautiful.

Wasn’t there any way around killing him?

“What would happen if we left him alive?” I asked Coarse, as he stayed in the shadows of the large ice buildings we ran beside. Ravv was close enough that my handprint was throbbing, but I wasn’t in actual pain.

“He would eventually be driven to kill Ravv. Letting him go isn’t an option.”

“What if we trapped him somehow? Or made a deal with him?”

“Making a deal with an assassin is never wise, Laeli. His magic will drive him to uphold the agreement he already made. He will have to throw everything he has at killing Ravv.”

I knew that.

I did; I knew it.

But I didn’t want it to be the only option.

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