A Queen of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 4)

“I love you,” I told her, then wanted to punch myself in the face, cut off my dick, and just throw it to the side as I ran the other way so the dragon would get confused and not know what to chase.

I held out my hands and backtracked.

“Strictly platonically, obviously. Friend love. Family love. I-would-fucking-die-for-you-and-your-infant kind of love. Not the kind that wants a challenge from the fucking dragon, okay? My love is not romantic. I’m not into the mighty vagina.”

“Stop talking,” Leala called out from some-fucking-where. She was a rock of sense.

“Are you sure you’re not?” Nyfain asked me, arching an eyebrow, his gaze slipping to my jacket.

“Fucking Cecil,” I said between my teeth. At least the king was in a good mood and the dragon wasn’t muscling his way up to take over.

Finley laughed and reached for my hand. “Come here. You can feel. And I love you too. Most of the time, anyway.”

“Oh yes, I get it. I’m insufferable to even myself some of the time.”

Giddy, smiling like a fool, I felt her rounded belly, hard to the touch. Almost immediately, I felt a little push against my hand.

“Oh my gracious, hello!” I knelt down beside them, getting my mouth closer to her tummy. “Hello, little one. My, aren’t you so strong. You’re giving Mommy some good kicks.” I felt another, and another, beating against my palm. “Definitely a dragon.” I laughed.

Finley was still looking at me with a smile, and Nyfain was stroking her hair. Hannon stood behind us, watching the scene, his light show going full force. It was at moments like these that my heart glowed. I felt like we were all family. They were pack, an extension of Weston’s pack, and I’d never felt a greater sense of belonging in my entire life.

The birth

“Fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!” I ran through the castle, tripped on a stair, nearly fell on my head, and put out my hands to gain composure. “It’s fine. We have time. It’s okay. She just started. This is okay.”

I took a deep breath, because that was supposed to cure panic, and hurried to the back door.

“Hey, bub, watch where you’re goin’, will ya?” a ruddy-faced woman yelled at me as I ran past.

“I didn’t even touch you, you dick-fuck.” I screwed up my face and shook my head as I went. “I can’t even come up with a good put-down. Damn it! Breathe, Hadriel, breathe!”

Instead, I sprinted.

I ran out the door, across the patio, and through the plush green grass to the everlass house. The king was in the fields with Sable, singing to the plants. Arleth, Delaney, and five other people were out there too, gardeners all. The large expanse of gardens stretched out on the other side with all manner of vegetation, some of the plants extremely rare. Arleth had some sort of plant hookup that she didn’t share much information about. I got the feeling it wasn’t strictly aboveboard. Regardless, Finley and Arleth had outdone the faeries, without question.

But I didn’t care about that now.

“Sire, Arleth. Sire!” I stopped just outside of the plants. I was forbidden to enter. The dragons were a little touched in the head to think so, but they said the everlass held grudges. “Sire!”

The king stopped singing and turned toward me, waiting for news.

I swallowed roughly and caught my breath enough to speak. “She’s labor gone, sire. Gone into labor, I meant. She’s in labor!” I held out my hands as he started forward immediately. “I was supposed to tell you that she has just started, her water has just broken, and it will likely take a long time to—”

He brushed past me, heading for the castle.

“Right, yes. You don’t care. I thought you wouldn’t.” I hurried behind him as Hannon poked his head out of the everlass house.

I didn’t want to yell the news to him just in case the king got weird about it, so I made a circle over my belly, made a face, and pretended to be in pain.

Hannon started jogging after us.

“Oh good, at least there’s a good healer on board,” I said, jogging after the king like a little puppy. My heart raced and sweat dribbled down my back. I was so fucking nervous! I shouldn’t be. I was supposed to stay strong, Arleth had said so, but it was hard because I knew childbirth was painful and potentially dangerous, and also because I wanted to meet that little baby so bad. I wanted to play peekaboo and “what is this thing, oh it’s my hand” and roll through the grass. I’d never been an uncle. I really wanted to be one.

“This is exciting, huh?” Sable said as she caught up, dancing and running at the same time somehow. Her curls bounced. “I’m going to be an auntie.”