A Kingdom of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 3)

I wished I could say the night was a good time.

I couldn’t. It was fucking weird, top to bottom. Leala had definitely found a couple of people with serious kinks. I spanked, I dong-slapped, I choked (a little too violently), and yes, I straddled his body and let the stream flow. He came so hard that we thought he was dead for a moment. He lay there with his pointed tongue hanging out, staring sightlessly at the sky.

Leala gave me a well done nod. He definitely liked my scent, but he’d loved my aggression, even when someone had to pull me off him so I wouldn’t kill him.

I’d really wanted to kill him. I didn’t care about people’s kinks…until they forced me to participate. And then someone really needed to die. That was just logic.

“Okay, milady,” Leala said as the demon lay there recovering. She ushered me quickly to the side of the chamber, glancing behind her as she did so. “Take this.” She pressed a folded piece of paper into my hand, no larger than my palm. “The alpha wolf asked me to pass this on. Hide it.”

I slipped it down into the covered area beneath my breasts.

“Now.” She glanced at the other side of the room, where people writhed and groaned, overseen by a sex demon that was supposed to follow me everywhere but clearly wanted in on the action. “Wait here for a moment. Don’t draw attention to yourself. I’ll grab Calia.”

She hurried away, and I lightly touched my fingertips to the piece of paper hidden against my sternum.

“Dragon.” Calia hastened up to me, completely naked and hands shifting back and forth between covering her chest and her crotch. She swallowed, incredibly self-conscious.

Clearly she wasn’t whipped and left in tattered rags as often as the dragons were.

“We don’t have much time, so I will be brief,” she said, talking low and quickly. She rubbed a hand over her pretty face, her cheeks flushed and eyes a bit dazed. “The demon’s magic is still wearing off. Forgive me. As background, I do not remember your kingdom. Maybe I never knew of it. But I know there is more of the world than meets our eyes or takes residence in our memories. I’ve met those who claim to be from Wyvern, and many of them sickened and then died. That sickness is one the demons often build into their magic, killing the victims slowly and painfully. I often wonder what other kingdoms have been lost. This castle is just a castle. It is not a kingdom. Where are the other citizens of Dolion’s kingdom? Housed in ruined kingdoms the king is tormenting? I do not know.”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest before putting them back at her sides. The effort it took to do so was obvious.

“I’m not used to having to…entertain without demon aid,” she said softly. “It’s not ideal. None of this is ideal. Being a prisoner is one thing—I’ve seen dungeons in all parts of this magical world. But I have never been treated like this. Used like this. It…” She clenched her jaw and took a deep breath.

I couldn’t help myself. “Why have you been in many dungeons?” I asked.

She studied me for a moment. “Dragons.” She shook her head slightly, a small smile gracing her lips. “Most people would be aghast by that revelation. Or horrified. Not dragons. That is why we need your kind to help us escape. We cannot do it without your ferocity.”

“How can you help?”

She rubbed her face again. “I have a rare type of magic. In simple terms, I can pick locks, magically speaking. If there is a spell, I can disentangle it…up to a point. Spells that encompass a whole kingdom would be beyond me. But moderate spells, like those over doors, are within my power.”

My heart started to beat faster.

She nodded, my reaction clearly showing in my expression. “If I have access to my magic, I can break the magical locks on the dungeons. Can the dragons pick the physical locks?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, good. We’ll need your help on my floor, too. The problem is—”

“Oh violet eyes,” someone said in a creepy singsong voice. “Where is my violet eyes?”

A look of terror crossed her face. Tears came to her eyes, but she stood her ground.

“It’s fine,” I said quickly, patting her arm. “Their magic doesn’t affect me. I’ll kill him before I leave.”

Her breath hitched. For a moment she just stared at me, then she put a hand on my forearm and squeezed gently. “I will consider that an act of friendship.”

I shrugged. “I was thinking the burst of power might free up your magic, which would be a logical next step in our plan, but friendship is a good reason too.”

“Dragons,” she whispered again, her smile growing. Her expression cleared. “The problem,” she said, talking faster now, “is that my magic is suppressed. Like almost everyone else’s. Except yours, correct? And some of the other dragons?”