A Throne of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 2)

“Oh, you noticed, did you?” I dropped my hands.

He stood close, his breath dusting my face. He ran his fingers down my jaw and gently cupped my chin.

“It was unconventional,” he said. “My dragon has never pushed me aside so completely without shifting. And some things were not at all pleasant…”

“The smelling, right?”

A little grin tweaked his lips. “It was the best sex I’ve ever had, and I wasn’t even in control. It more than broke my dry spell. It ruined me for other women.”

“Oh…” I let the word linger, suddenly embarrassed and not sure why. I tried to pull away.

He held me close. “I felt you through the bond just now. I don’t want you to think you were—are—anything other than extraordinary. You and your animal. My dragon wouldn’t be this adamant about any other.”

“But you still don’t want to knock boots even without claiming?”

“No.”

“What if it’s just a partial claim? Or a claim and a takeback—is that a thing? I’d be in for that.”

“No claiming. No fucking. We’ve satisfied our beasts, and that is enough. I’ll have the memory of your touch and the feel of your body, and that has to be enough.”

“Why?”

“Because I will have to let you go, and if I give much more of myself, I won’t be able to.”

Eight

“Seriously, stop with the tongue,” I ground out as the tip of the dragon’s tongue prodded my knee. The dulled tips of his teeth bit into my side, highly unpleasant when I wasn’t afraid for my life.

Fuchsia streaked the sky. Muted yellows and oranges highlighted the horizon. Dawn was just around the corner, and I was now officially moving into my new home for the foreseeable future. The only way I’d get to leave was if the curse was broken (and war was afoot, since the demon king would be able to kill Nyfain as soon as we were freed) or if I made a deal with the demon king to grant myself a ticket out of here. My fate was not looking so great.

He’s just messing with you, my animal said, chuckling. It wouldn’t be our knee he licked if he were serious.

“Gross. Why can’t I just ride on his back like normal people?”

What normal people?

“Well, me for a start.”

At the edge of the wood, he didn’t cross the threshold toward the castle. He veered left instead, putting on a burst of speed and rushing through the trees. We crested a large knoll, and then he climbed a rockface about seven feet high. The land leveled out on top, the trees not growing on such rocky terrain. There he changed, dropping me from the sky. I fell with my eyes closed and hands tucked in, trusting he’d catch me.

Strong arms enveloped me, and Nyfain’s familiar smell gave me a little thrill. He held me for a moment, walking toward a little bench at the edge of the rise. Finally, he put me down and took a seat on the bench, just high enough to give us a clear view of the horizon.

I lowered beside him, inhaling the fresh, chilled air.

We sat for a moment in silence as shoots of canary yellow cut through the blues and violets in the sky.

“I often come here after a night of battling,” he said, his voice subdued to match the hush of the dawn. “When I’m not hurt too badly.”

“Speaking of.” I stood and walked around to his back. The four slashes from the attack that nearly killed him had all but faded, leaving nothing but jagged pink lines through his flesh. They looked similar to my arm and legs. “These won’t scar if you keep using the healing ointment I gave you. I can make some more, too, if you’ve run out.”

“I’ve had to have Hadriel or Lena apply it. I wonder if you would do them the favor of taking over…”

He let the words trail off, as though he wasn’t sure I’d say yes.

“Of course I will.” I slid my hands over his shoulders, giving in to the urge to touch his heated skin, always warm despite the chill.

“You mentioned making more of that nulling elixir. I was able to replicate it—I had to; I didn’t want to be thought dense—but it is time-consuming, and time is my most important resource. I wouldn’t trust any of the staff with it.” He paused. “Truth be told, until they stop fornicating with the demons, I don’t want any of them to know about it. I want to keep this from the demons for as long as possible. The demon king would not look favorably on losing one of his torture devices.”

“I’ll have nothing but time, and after all these years of hustling, I’m incredibly proficient at it. I can make loads. What about the crowded nulling elixir? What can we do about that?”