A Queen of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 4)

He ignored them all.

I didn’t ask him why. I assumed he was completely overwhelmed. I would be.

Little Tabitha lay at my breast, her soft cheek against my skin, drowsy from having just fed. I ran my fingers gently over her fuzzy, soft head. Her little body curled up against me and I just lay back, content in a way that I’d never experienced before. The tranquility of these mornings, and the soft glow of my heart, infused every fiber of my being. I’d thought I was happy before, but it was a pale representation of what she had brought into our lives.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Nyfain said softly as he stepped out of the glass sliding door.

I lifted my gaze to him with a small smile, drinking him in. My mate was so fucking handsome it was distracting. These months of virtual peace had been great for him, and my pregnancy and now Tabitha’s birth had been even better. He’d relaxed some, but more importantly, he was happy. Deliriously happy. I could feel it through the bond, matching my own feelings. So was his dragon, and mine. We had each other, more in love every day, we had family and friends around us all the time, and we had song and love and laughter to brighten our days. The people of the kingdom respected us, trusted us, and the court was down to earth and helpful to the kingdom at large. The kingdom was absolutely thriving.

Arleth and I had created a garden and a library that should outshine any other in the world. And if it didn’t, we’d damn sure start improvements. Both of us were a little overbearing about those points, and I was glad we agreed on it. With her help, and Hannon looking over the books, not to mention the incredible operations team we had in place, and of course Hannon’s magic, we were making money hand over fist. Money that we liberally put back into the kingdom to ensure the people as a whole could thrive, safe and healthy.

Weston and Micah still headed up the armies, working together even though they didn’t necessarily like each other, and Tamara kept a tight rein on my guard, training with the others for the eventuality of my battling. Not that that would happen anytime soon.

After the clusterfuck of a council meeting where we fought Dolion’s demons, the other kingdoms had learned firsthand what sort of might we possessed. They learned how incredibly strong of a shifter Weston was, and how vicious and effective our dragons were. We also had a phoenix, and we’d taken down Dolion. If there was a kingdom on the “not to be fucked with” list, it was ours.

My mate’s achievements and his happiness had softened all his hard edges and blurred all his scars. His golden eyes with the little flecks of burgundy sparkled as brightly as his glittering scales did in the sunshine.

“Do you need a break?” Nyfain crouched down beside the loveseat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear her crying or I would’ve gotten up and brought her to you.”

I smiled and pulled an arm away from Tabitha so that I could lay my palm on his forearm.

“You don’t have to wake up with me every time she needs to be fed. I get to rest all day, with people to attend me. You have to play king and queen until I return to my duties.”

I said the words because I needed to, but I knew they didn’t have any effect. One might say he was working hard to ensure he didn’t turn out to be a father like the mad king, absent or abusive, but that wasn’t it. He was the father he should’ve had, patient and loving and absolutely devoted. Arleth got misty-eyed when she watched him with Tabitha and admitted that he reminded her so much of his biological father, her lost love. Nyfain would do anything for his daughter. For me. He would make no end of sacrifices and endure no end of hardship. He was hard-wired to thoroughly protect and provide, and that included his time and his love. He woke up with me at night because he wanted to be a part of every moment of her life. He did it because he wanted to ease my burden of constant feedings and chapped nipples any way he could. He did it because it comforted him to help soothe his crying baby and tired mate.

He did it out of love. The love of a proud papa dragon.

His smile was soft as he stood and then crawled in beside me. He gently gathered me up into his arms, careful not to wake the baby, and put his large hand over mine, his thumb still able to stroke her velvety-soft back.

“I love you,” I told him, leaning my head against his shoulder.