A Queen of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 4)

Arleth took a sip of her wine, her hand steady. Nyfain’s arm now shook.

“If not for her, I would have died,” she said. “Even after she stopped the beating, I still would have died if not for the everlass draught she dribbled into my mouth.”

“So they carried you out?” I asked.

“Not that night. I couldn’t be moved. They put me in the casket and summoned the king to look at me. My face and body were a mess. Extensive bleeding, broken…everything. When he looked, he didn’t notice the slight rising and falling of my chest. He just saw his handiwork. He believed that he’d killed me, giving me a perfect way out.” She huffed. “He had the gall to cry, that disgusting pig.” She paused for a moment, as though to gather herself. “They lied to him the next night, saying they were going to prepare my body for burial, and moved the entire coffin with me in it. My ladies-in-waiting scurried me away to the ship we prayed was still waiting just offshore. I still needed constant tending. I was healing, but very slowly. Someone needed to go with me, and it was Dee who volunteered to leave her life of luxury for a simpler existence. A village life.” Her gaze slid to me. “As you saw. There were fewer people at the time. Dragons have found us over the years, looking for a place to belong. We’re really not as solitary as everyone tries to believe.”

She took another sip of her drink, quiet descending on the table until she continued.

“How did he find out you weren’t dead?” I guessed.

“I don’t know. Maybe he wanted to cry over my dead body again, or maybe he doubted their word. He was paranoid at the best of times. He always thought people were lying to him. Soon after we set sail, though, three members of the court came after us. I was on the deck, drinking an everlass draught and getting air, barely able to sit up. Dee had just gone to get me a shawl, so no one was with me. I couldn’t move on my own. I couldn’t get to cover. It was Durrel who landed, insisting I stop the ship immediately. That I go back with them.” She took a shuddering breath, and for the first time, fear glimmered in her tight eyes. “I did not understand why anyone would want to stay in a broken kingdom with a madman, but the court had it good in those days. They were the lords of the land, as you remember, Nyfain. The king saw to it that they had everything they could want. They weren’t trapped in his shadow, subject to his bad moods and fast fists.

“Amazingly, it was one of the crew, a lion shifter, who came to my aid. I hadn’t spoken to him once. But he came out of nowhere and stepped between Durrel and me. He kept Durrel from snatching me, and then the rest of the crew came and threw him overboard.”

“What about the other dragons?” Nyfain asked, a growl riding his words.

She gave a slight smile. “I’d planned for that. It is a well-kept secret within the court that a certain type of magical pulse made by the faeries can keep dragons at bay. It rattles our dragons’ senses for a time, and they lose control of their body mechanics. I procured the pulse before you left, Nyfain. I had it, waiting for the right moment. Dee activated it on the ship, and it kept the dragons at bay as the boat moved farther and farther from shore. Eventually, thankfully before the magic ran out, the dragons couldn’t follow anymore. We were too far out. So they returned to shore, and I eventually made it to safety.”

“Durrel…that was the one who couldn’t swim, wasn’t it?” Nyfain asked.

Arleth’s grin said it all.

“But then why did the curse affect you?” Nyfain asked. “Why didn’t you find a way to get word to me?”

Guilt creased her eyes before she smoothed it away.

“I failed you,” she said softly. “I should’ve gotten word to you right away. I know that now.” She paused for a moment, guilt soaking into her features. “But I wanted to be safe and settled before I sent you a message. I wanted to be in better condition before you saw me. Unfortunately, that took longer than I expected. By the time I did send a message…” She shook her head. “They didn’t know who you were. Had never heard of Wyvern. At first I thought there had to be some mistake, so I traveled to the faerie kingdom.” She shook her head again. “I didn’t know about the curse, of course, but I knew something had gone gravely wrong.”

“They didn’t know me.”

“No, but they were in the process of cleaning out your bedchamber. They couldn’t explain the various mementos you’d left behind.”