A Queen of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 4)

I held out my hand. “I’ll keep the first part of the story brief so we don’t have Porfino running over here with more accusations of slander.”

I smiled despite knowing it didn’t reach my eyes. Given Yuna and Caron didn’t even pretend to take up the joke, they could read me easily. More power to them.

“I traded myself into Dolion’s…care to help Nyfain’s kingdom. I wasn’t queen at the time. I was a commoner.”

“And his true mate,” Caron said.

“Correct.”

“But you could’ve broken the curse as soon as you knew about your true mate status, right?” Caron narrowed his eyes. “Or do I have that wrong?”

“Yes, but we were a kingdom on our knees,” I said. “Many of us were gravely sick and dying. Our animals were suppressed. All we had as protection from the demons was Nyfain. He kept the kingdom from utter ruin. Under the terms of the curse, Dolion could not kill Nyfain. Without the curse, though, we had no such protection. If we’d broken the curse then, he would’ve attacked with all his demons and killed us. I know that because that’s exactly what he did after the curse was broken. Except by then we’d formed enough of a defense to chase him away. Anyway, my deal with Dolion essentially meant his dungeons were my new home. Thankfully, Nyfain’s stench scared the demons, or I would’ve been forced to be a sexual slave for his people, like everyone else—”

“I keep hearing my name.”

The voice rang out across the room, holding all the power and authority he’d always used in his court. It really put into perspective what he thought of the sanctity of these meetings.

I didn’t bother acknowledging Dolion as he pushed off from the wall. I was never going to do Arleth proud, I knew that now. I was never going to be the perfect queen playing nice with a bunch of assholes. It just wasn’t in my nature.

I continued speaking.

“Dolion had imprisoned several dragons from our kingdom, and as Nyfain will address that tomorrow, I won’t bore you with the details. But he’d also taken dragons from yours. And wolves from various places. And faeries. They decided they owed me a debt for helping them escape. They helped us free Wyvern from Dolion’s grip, and then they stayed and helped us rebuild. They’d grown attached by then. They’d found their kind, and Arleth wanted to stay with her son… I’m sure you can understand. The wolves stayed, too, most of them. It has turned into a great place. You should visit sometime.”

“As I said…” Dolion wandered closer, his drink held as a prop. A slick smile twisted his lips. “I keep hearing my name.”

“That’s because I’m talking shit about you.” I crossed my legs, and now I did lean back. I gave him a genuine smile. “So nice to see you again, Dolion.” I held up my hands. “I don’t have any guards surrounding me this time, though. That must make you nervous, huh? No guards, no bars, no weird-looking creatures with whips. It’s not at all like old times, is it?”

He glanced at Hannon. “There is a large representation of Wyvern in this room. I wonder who greased the wheels, so to speak, to make that happen?”

Nyfain started laughing.

“I can leave, if you’d like?” Hannon asked, bending forward.

“Don’t be absurd, Hannon,” Nyfain waved his offer away. “You are a phoenix. Everyone is curious about you.”

“I must admit, I am.” Caron laughed, but his heart didn’t seem to be in it. Was he trying to defuse the tension?

“Have no fear, everyone,” Nyfain said. “Hannon’s animal is new to this world. He’s still learning his way. He is no great threat.”

Keep your damn face neutral, my dragon thought. Don’t let them know he’s full of shit.

I’m trying! Though it’s mostly true.

It’s not even remotely true. The second someone he loves is threatened, his phoenix is going to go fucking crazy. I can’t wait to see the sparks.

“King Dolion actually assisted in Hannon’s first shift, did you know that?” Nyfain asked pleasantly.

A muscle twitched in Dolion’s jaw. “Careful, dragon. There is a law against hearsay. The penalty is steep.”

Nyfain’s brow notched upward. “A law against hearsay? Is that right? I can only imagine who would benefit from such a law. I’ll look at the verbiage later, and we can discuss it in more detail this week. Until then, I will simply state what I know, how’s that? Hannon was…poached, I think is the word you and King Xeno use, from King Starvos’s inner gardens and held against his will until we came to claim him. Demon creatures attacked him before we could, however. That was what initiated his first shift: being murdered. The others who died weren’t so lucky, however. I lost some of my people, and so did King Starvos. He won’t be here tonight, sadly. It was a long journey. He’s tired.”