A Queen of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 4)

My mother turned and looked at me incredulously, her eyes shining with tears.

“Keep him with her, always,” she told me, her voice wavering. “Always. He’ll protect her in ways you probably won’t even think of.” She turned and headed back into the galley.

“Pick him up,” I told Hannon, bending down to grab one of the overturned chairs.

“There would have been other, less rash ways to accomplish the same thing,” Hannon murmured to Hadriel, setting him on his feet.

“I don’t have that mood-consuming thing like you do,” Hadriel said, straightening his plain gray sweatshirt.

“What?” Hannon asked, his eyes rounding and face going slack.

Hadriel heard the change in his tone and abruptly stopped smoothing out his sweatshirt. “What?”

“What did you say?” Hannon asked.

A look of terror bled through Hadriel’s eyes. “Oh fuck, I don’t know. What did I say? Was it bad? What did I do, black out? I haven’t even been drinking on this trip!”

“The mood-consuming thing he does?” I asked.

Hadriel’s eyebrows climbed and his eyes got cagey. “What am I missing? Why was that the wrong thing to say?”

Something moved behind Hannon’s eyes. Uncertainty, maybe. Fear?

“Isn’t that what you do?” Hadriel whispered, leaning toward him a little. “Hey, look, to each their own. As long as you’re not a dragon, I don’t care what you’re up to. No offense, sire. And ma’am.”

“How did you—” Hannon cut off, and though he didn’t glance at me, I knew he wanted to.

Mood consumption.

Pieces started aligning.

Before they could converge, there was a light knock at the door.

Leala stuck her head in. “I think you should stop fighting or whatever you were doing and clean everything up. She’s coming.”

THIRTY-THREE

Finley

I set the bowls onto the crooked table and stood back, looking for Nyfain’s reaction. His eyes darted down, first to one bowl, then to the other. Then back to the first. An explosion of emotion ripped through the bond, and I could feel his dragon reach through our connection and grab mine.

Nyfain’s eyes hooded, and his mouth slowly tipped into a smile. When he met my eyes, their golden depths shimmered with emotion.

“Love.” He grabbed me and pulled me close, wrapping his arms around me and rocking me softly.

“Let me see.” Arleth shoved Hadriel out of the way. He rammed into Hannon, and they both crashed into the wall, nearly tripping over a waylaid chair. She looked at the green in each bowl before clapping her hands together. “You are!” She faced me, tears clouding her eyes. “You are!”

She started jumping up and down, laughing.

“She is?” Hadriel tried to climb over Hannon to see. “Oh my—Finley, lamb, what wonderful news. Sire, what a treat to share this with you. We will always have that time when you tried to kill me and I narrowly escaped so we could share in the news of your first child.”

“Wha—?” I furrowed my brow at Hadriel, who had wrapped his arms around half of Hannon’s thick chest.

“Oh, honey.” Arleth hugged Nyfain from behind, her arms making it to my shoulders. “What a blessing. I am so happy. I so hoped for grand-babies. Dee will be thrilled.” She laughed, squeezing me tightly, before excusing herself and running off to tell Delaney.

“Congratulations, Finley,” Hannon said, standing nearby. Power shed from him in beautiful waves.

I unwrapped myself from Nyfain so that I could hug him, and then hug an increasingly loud Hadriel.

“It’s still early,” I said. “Many things could go wrong. I’ve helped many women who didn’t make it through the first trimester—”

“Yeah, Finley!” Vemar walked in with an enormous smile. “I just heard. Sire, you got some warrior swimmers, eh?” He slapped Nyfain on the back. “Finley. Congratulations, hon!” He waved at me from a few feet away.

I stepped toward him in confusion, my arms out for a hug.

He held up his hand and took a step back. “No, thank you. Let’s wait until we all know how reactive the king will be now that you’re with child.”

“Very wise,” Hadriel said to Vemar. “Very, very wise. You wouldn’t be as lucky as me if he went after you. You’re not as likable.”

“What happened?” I asked as Nyfain slipped his arm around my shoulders.

“Congratulations, sire,” Tamara said as she filled with the doorway with a big smile. She inclined her head to me. “Highness. Congratulations!”

Someone else stepped in behind her, shouting congratulations at me too. Then another. My anxiety started to rise, and then dread took its place. What if something happened? I didn’t want to have to tell all these people. I didn’t want to have to explain my heartache over and over.

“Hey.” Nyfain lifted me up into his arms, already walking toward the door. People cleared away instantly. “Leala, keep them back.”

“Yes, sire. No problem.” Leala led the way toward our room as I dug my face into Nyfain’s neck so I wouldn’t have to see how quickly the news was spreading.