A Throne of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 2)

“I hope Jedrek slaps that mouth off your face.”

“I’d love to slap that face off your head. The village would look a whole lot nicer.”

I reached my lane as Jedrek walked my way from the other end. He had a purposeful strut, screaming determination.

Clautus waved at him, silently communicating that he’d found the prize.

“He obviously knows you found me, idiot,” I said, nearly at my door. “He can see.”

“Finley,” Jedrek barked, an unspoken command riding his words.

Unlike with Nyfain, though, I felt zero compulsion.

In measured steps, I walked to my door and laid a hand on the knob.

“It’s been arranged. You’ll be Jedrek’s,” Jedrek said smugly.

“What Jedrek wants, Jedrek gets,” Clautus intoned.

“What’s that, Clautus?” I asked sweetly. “I couldn’t hear you with Jedrek’s dick stuck in your mouth.” I let my focus drill into Jedrek. “Leave me alone. That is a warning. You’d do best to heed it. I didn’t meet the demon king, I don’t talk to demons, and I will never marry you. Save some face and find someone who is willing.”

He sneered. “Never say never.”

I meant to turn the knob, but I had to pause for a moment. “Really? Never say never? First you talk about yourself in the third person, and then you drop that tired cliché at my feet? Seriously, bud. You’re making a fool of yourself right now.”

The door swung open, and Hannon stepped out, his face closed down and his eyes hard. His chest puffed up as his gaze beat into Jedrek.

“Is there a problem?” he said in a deeper voice than usual.

Jedrek tensed and narrowed his eyes. His smirk grew. “Not at all, Hannon. Or should I call you brother-in-law.”

“Get off my property, or I’ll make you my bitch,” Hannon replied, gently taking my arm and pulling me into the house. “You’re not welcome here.”

Jedrek spat to the side, and then Hannon shut the door on them, his shoulders tense.

“I asked around,” Hannon said, turning. “Jedrek was overheard boasting about making a deal. None of my friends know the details, but apparently he made it last night when a succubus and an incubus were getting him off. He was overheard saying it would be easy to live up to his side of the bargain, and then…” Hannon’s face turned red with anger. “He said some not-so-nice things about you.”

“What he’d like to do with me, right?” I rolled my eyes. “Guys like that are so predictable. They have to be loud and crass to puff up their egos.”

“What are you going to do?”

“The few demons in town don’t matter. Their power is weak. It’s the demons at the castle I’m concerned about. Nyfain will look into it. If something is going on, he’ll know what to do. He’s been dealing with them for a long time. He knows how they work.”

“It would be easy to say that Nyfain got you into all this, but when it comes to Jedrek, that’s not even remotely true. I actually think you got lucky that Nyfain found you when he did. Because Jedrek would’ve always taken desperate measures to get what he wants. At least now you have someone powerful and knowledgeable in your corner. I shudder to think what would’ve happened if you didn’t.”

Nodding, I headed to my room. He was a hundred percent correct. Nyfain’s actions in the beginning were strange and fucked up (in retrospect, I had to wonder how much of that had been fueled by his dragon), but at the moment, I was incredibly thankful for him. One thing I knew for certain: if there was a problem I couldn’t handle, Nyfain would absolutely take care of it, and he’d do so viciously.

Five

“I don’t like this.” Hannon stood in the living room in the wee hours of the morning with his arms crossed. A night bird called outside somewhere. The rest of the house lay quietly sleeping and had been for some time. “You shouldn’t be wandering around on your own with what’s going on with Jedrek.”

I slipped the books I’d finished into my knapsack. “He’s too much of a coward to go into that wood.” I set the knapsack down and buckled my belt, the dagger’s sheath resting against my thigh. “I’ll be stealthy in the village and jog all the way there. Nyfain said he’d be bringing me weapons. Now more than ever, I need those weapons.”

“At least let me go with you.”

“There is no fucking way you are going with me, Hannon. Are you out of your mind? You’re keeping this family together, and you’re too much of a planner to react quickly to danger. No offense, but the Forbidden Wood is no place for you.”

He followed me to the door, his eyes tight. “I have a bad feeling, Finley. Can’t you get the weapons tomorrow?”

“When it comes to Jedrek, daylight is ten times more dangerous than three in the morning.”