A Kingdom of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 3)

“Poor as fuck. From the worst—or poorest, I should say—village. She has nothing but her talent. And her dragon.”

“If she’s a dragon.”

“Oh, she’s a fucking dragon. She’ll be a helluva fucking dragon, too. You should hear her and the master rage-fuck. Now that is a terrifying situation. Only dragons do that, you know. Normal shifters do not—”

I felt her hand on my shoulder and flinched again, before pulling away. You could never be too careful with a dragon from the court.

“They rage-fuck?” she asked softly.

I squinted at her shocked face. “I can’t tell if that turns you on or…”

“He has—or had—an extreme temper.”

“Oh, you’re shocked. Yeah, I know about his temper. I actually panic-sharted a couple months ago, right after she left, when he snapped and yelled at me. It turned her on, though.”

“What?” She blinked.

“Panic-sharted. It’s a terror-fart that turns into a nasty little surprise in your pants—”

“Not that, you idiot! It…turned her on? He had some very tough paramours who’d turn to ice when they felt even a sliver of that temper.”

“Well…that seems a bit much. He doesn’t usually do anything with it.”

“It’s the power behind his commands and his bearing and…” She shivered.

I pointed at her. “See? If you said all that to Finley, she would have shivered with arousal. They are true mates. He has claimed her. They fit, trust me. She’s hard as hell, and she won’t give him an inch. He needs that.”

“Yes, he does.” She let silence drift over us for a moment. “Was he pissed that the true mate bond was held by a commoner?”

“I have no idea. But they were very hot and cold at first, so possibly. She kept resisting his commands, which pissed him off, but it also turned them both on… My job was miserable there for a bit, but then I almost died and—”

She lowered her hand to my shoulder again. Another flinch! Damn it! I had to stop. It amused dragons when they made people flinch.

“She resisted his commands?”

I rolled my eyes and contemplated throwing up. “She can kill people with her will alone, Tamara. Yes, she can resist his commands. To a point. And he can resist hers…to a point. What does the term ‘true mates’ mean to you if not a couple equal in power and temperament? They were literally made for each other. And thanks so much for asking about how I almost died. Very caring.”

She blew out a breath and shook her head. The silence lengthened, and it occurred to me that some of the changes in our kingdom had actually been for the better. Finley wouldn’t be subjected to the same ridicule and judgment as she would’ve been before the curse. She’d be judged mostly on her merits.

Tamara stayed put, and just as I was starting to wonder whether her boredom would turn to violence, she said, “I never really spoke to him. The prince, I mean. I had high standing as the captain of the queen’s guard, but…” She shrugged. “There was a way things were done in the castle, and I didn’t have business with him. But I watched the queen in the fields more times than I can count. I watched her with him, too. Those were her happiest times, tending the fields with him.”

“He found that again with her. With Finley. I mean, obviously it wasn’t the same feeling, because that would be weird, but—”

“She always told me, ‘Don’t call him “the prince” around me. Call him “your son,” because he’s not like the princes before him. He won’t be like the kings of the recent past. Or the present. He’ll change this kingdom. He’ll summon the dragons from all the small villages and towns in other parts of the world and consolidate them, like in the days of old. Give them a proper home. As it should be. He isn’t a prince when he’s with me—he’s my son.’”

“And then she told him to flee.”

“I think she recognized a losing battle. His happiness meant more to her than turning a falling kingdom around. It wasn’t the demons who did that place in; they just took advantage of the rot already there.”

“Clearly. And after sending him away, she gave in to the long night.”

“She didn’t have anything left to live for, Hadriel. You have no idea what she was enduring.”

I nodded, because she was right. I didn’t.

“Anyway.” She pushed off the banister and wandered away.

“No worries. Don’t ask about my stuff or anything,” I called after her.

She stopped and looked over her shoulder.

I grimaced and hunched next to the banister, then went back to minding my own business. You could only taunt a dragon so much. I really needed to learn my lesson.

“I know why you—”

“Oh fuck!” I jumped, jiggled, sidled away, and threw up. “Fuck!”

Weston stood behind me, naked, each muscle clearly defined. He somehow still looked robust and godly despite having been starved. Fucking alpha males. They were my one weakness.