A Kingdom of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 3)

He seemed genuine, that was true enough, but demons were crafty fuckers. He might be trying to overthrow his king, sure, but I didn’t for one moment think he cared what happened to us. We were a means to an end. Then again, they were also a means to an end for us.

“I’m not a princess,” Finley said as she stood a little way down from me, looking out into the night.

Dragons lounged on the decks, tired from the past few hours of frolicking in the air above us. The second we were far enough away from the castle, in the wide sea, they’d risen into the sky and tested out their wings. They’d rolled and swooped and spat fire while some of us would’ve liked a little peace and quiet in which to throw up what little had been in our stomachs.

Govam stood at the side of the ship with Finley, Denski having taken the helm, or whatever they called the magical control area.

Govam spoke in an undertone, so naturally my ears pricked up.

“We are at the point where we need to plot a course.”

Several others looked their way, including the big alpha dragon and intense alpha wolf, both in their skin forms. Calia drifted a little closer too.

“And?” Finley replied.

“Have you thought about where you will go?”

She gave him a searching look as Hannon walked closer and leaned in next to her. He was the thoughtful and deliberate one of the pair. She’d listen to him. Which was why I’d pulled him aside for a talking-to a bit ago, when she was taking a quick nap.

“My duty has always been to go home to Nyfain and tear down the curse.”

The longing in her voice broke my heart. I turned away, a movement that naturally morphed into throwing up over the side of the boat.

I felt a hand on my back. Leala, the woman who never seemed troubled by anything. How the fuck did she do it? She was a rock.

“Of course,” Govam replied, clasping his hands behind his back and standing close enough that she could kill him. He was silently communicating that his fate was in her hands. Good work, crafty demon. “Only, I wonder if you have thought it through?”

“What is there to think through?” Now her tone held a very distinct warning. I was glad he was broaching this subject and not me, and also impressed he didn’t take a step back.

“Dolion’s first order of business when making a deal is to cripple his opponent. I’ve seen your kingdom. It is on its knees. Forgive me for saying, but so is its prince.”

She stayed very still, and now it was just plain stupidity for the demon not to take a step back.

“They can shift now,” she replied slowly. “And I’ve heard that there are more dragons.”

“Young dragons, correct? Inexperienced dragons? And, as I understand it…less-than-effective shifters.”

I sighed and straightened up, using my shirt as a rag this time.

“Love, listen…” I sidled closer, not straying far from the side of the boat. I clasped my hands in front of me and then pulled them apart and braced them on the railing behind me. “You have a kingdom filled with mediocrity. You know that. The shifters who are left are not very powerful or fierce. You’re bringing back a handful that are both of those things, but they’re weak from years of imprisonment.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What are you saying, Hadriel?”

I scooted away a little. “If we show up now and break the curse—which you’ll do as soon as you lay eyes on the master; you won’t be able to help yourself—then you’ll be opening the door for the demon king to bring all his forces in and destroy what little is left. He’ll do it before the master—the prince—can be declared king and take his established place on the council.”

She straightened up, clearly frustrated. “The deal was that I would allow Dolion to take me to his kingdom to buy Nyfain time to prepare our people to fight, then I would come back and we’d protect what was ours. You agreed. You helped plan this!”

“Yes, love. I know that. But then I realized how many of those buggers there are—and that the demon king is willing to lose any number of them to get what he wants. We’ve been shortsighted. We do not have enough people. We don’t.”

“I will not abandon him, Hadriel. Besides, where else would we go? It’s home to more than half the people on this ship. Then there’s the fact that Dolion’s going to storm Nyfain’s castle after he figures out I escaped. When I’m not there—”

“The demon king will have no leg to stand on,” Govam cut in. “He can’t kill the prince. The curse forbids it.”

Finley stared at Govam in mute rage, torment, and frustration. It was clear she didn’t know what to say.