Being a wily cunt, the demon king excelled at trickery within those deals. The mad king likely asked for one thing, but through the negotiation period, the demon king twisted the terms, worked on the king’s confusion and apparent health issues, and created a final deal that worked heavily in his favor. The mad king had been outmaneuvered. Horribly.
I got the impression that was a demon king’s claim to fame. They might not be the most powerful king in the world, but they were often the most cunning. We were up against a strategist.
I suddenly wondered what happened to the kingdoms that had disappeared over time. Was it just the natural evolution of their kingdoms, or had they been trapped in the same way we were? Were some of them still out there, struggling to hang on?
In our case, and in the case of any shifters, here was the kicker. Breaking the curse wouldn’t automatically un-suppress all the animals. Once the curse was broken, the alpha would have to visit each person and pull their animal free. And while that wasn’t the end of the world, things got dire when the demon king planned to invade the second the curse was lifted. There would be no time to free the animals before war was upon the kingdom.
Definitely a wily cunt. It would not only take courage to take him on, but a damn good long-term plan.
When I was good and deep in the wood, I just chucked the body. I doubted they’d comb the wood that wasn’t already festering with their magic. And if they caught his scent and followed it here? Well…he started it.
The guys didn’t turn up in the garden as they usually did. When the morning started to wane, I felt a blast of panic through the bond. Nyfain was not having a very good day. Not long afterward, I heard the sliding glass door open behind me. Relief washed through the bond, and then I was in Nyfain’s arms, squeezed within an inch of my life. He breathed me in, and then tensed.
“Why do you smell like a demon, Finley?” he asked slowly.
Possessiveness rang through his tone. I grinned, closing my eyes within his embrace.
“I hugged one, that’s why. Well…I danced with him first, then I hugged him. Then we went for a walk in the woods. Oh, and I adjusted his neck. He had an awful kink in it. Or at least he did when I was finished.”
He pulled me away and searched my eyes. His snort of annoyance dusted my face before he pulled me in closely again.
“Don’t antagonize them, princess. They’ll kill you for it.”
“I didn’t antagonize him. I killed him. Well…yes, okay, I did antagonize him first, but you should’ve seen his whole setup.”
He blew out a breath and kissed my forehead. “I see you decided to stand out rather than fit in.”
“I decided to be me, and I’m weird. Ask anyone from my village. It’s one thing to play dress-up while roaming the castle and working in the villages, but it’s another when I need to think on my feet and stay alive. I can’t focus when I have you for protection. I need to remember what it’s like to stand on my own.”
He looked down at me as he ran his thumb along my jaw. “For some fucking reason, the dragon approves of that speech.”
“And you don’t.”
“No. It is my job to protect you. It’s my entire duty as your—”
He cut off.
I patted his chest. “Exactly. You’re not my mate, and you haven’t claimed me. I’ve given you plenty of opportunities, but you’ve held back because you were preparing for this moment. So let me have my moment.”
I turned back to the garden. In a moment, he followed me to the rosebushes.
“What are you doing?” I asked, startled.
“Helping you. We need to stay away from the everlass while the demon king is here. If he knows how we’re making the elixir, he’ll torch all the fields.”
“What does he get out of controlling our kingdom, anyway?”
“When I die, he’ll have access to our gold reserves, our gold mine, and the extensive crown jewels. He’ll be able to take what he wants. People, too, I guess. It’s been said that he makes prizes of the people who got the short end of the stick on one of his deals.”
“What did the mad king give him to lay the curse?”
“Coin, I think. He was a damned fool. He paid the demon king to essentially set us up. My father was proud, though. We were a wealthy kingdom with desirable commodities to trade. In my father’s heyday, he was heralded as a shrewd trader. He would always walk away with the better end of any deal. I’m sure he brought that arrogance into his negotiations with the demon king. He was clearly thinking like a man in his prime, when in fact he was a man teetering on the edge. He was already unhinged, but then I’d severely disappointed him, and his wife died. Given his health, he probably realized his ability to produce a new heir was fleeting. Without an heir, he feared losing control of his kingdom. Of his status and his legacy. It clearly made him desperate. He was not in his right mind, and not just because of the possible brain fever. The demon king obviously preyed upon that.”