Afterthat,Ino longer resisted my need for him.Ispent every night in the king’s room.Hewould wake me with a kiss as he left for his morning meetings, andIwould take breakfast there before heading out for training.Ino longer suffered nightmares, my sleep calm and peaceful.
Ispent my afternoons on patrol whenIcould.Kaleoshad recovered well, no doubt due to the very attentive hands ofOryx.I’dinvited the healer to join us for lunch, but he merely blushed and refused.
SomenightsIattended galas and court events and realizedIhad become quite comfortable with the courtiers.Myinitial judgment of them had been horribly wrong.I’dfoundLadyLovatia, whoIhad thought was just another gossip, to be the most connected woman in the kingdom.Herinformation aboutKoronand theCourtofFlameshad been invaluable to my plan for rescuingJun.
Theonly thing holding me back now was thatIhadn’t found the information on breaking his enchantment.Nothingin the library had been useful, butLadyLovatiaknew an old scholar from theRiverKingdomand that she would reach out discreetly.Wewould hear back soon, and thenIwould be ready.
Thethought of leaving sent a pang through my heart, butIshoved it away.Ihad been doing that a lot recently, much to the protest of my inner voice.ButIneeded to ignore it.Junwas my goal.Everythingelse was just a temporary distraction.Avery enjoyable one.
Tonightwas another casual gala, and whileIhad tried to hold a conversation and learn more about the trade and economics of the kingdom, it seemed allIwas really able to do was stare atAbraxasacross the hall.Somethingabout seeing him all dressed up and holding court…Well, it had me more bothered than usual.
Itdidn’t help matters when he stood next to me as he joined our conversation and gently placed his hand on my lower back.Hedelicately traced his fingers over my skin, but he might as well have been branding me the way it set me alight.Icouldn’t take it anymore, soIgave him one quick meaningful glance before excusing myself and making my way down a vacant hall.
Ionly had to wait a few minutes beforeIfelt him approach.Onlya moment later he had me pressed up against the wall, my legs wrapping around his waist as we crashed our lips together.Neitherof us bothered to be discreet as he slid himself into me, andImoaned into his ear.
Ourfucking was fast and brutal, my head slamming into the wall more than once as he held me up, but stillIcould not get enough.Ihad never been like this before, so completely overcome with desire.I’dstopped trying to control it and gave in at every opportunity.
Whenwe were both momentarily sated, he gently lowered me down and helped me adjust my dress.Hekept me pinned to the wall with his body, andIreveled in the weight of it.
“I’mnever going to get anything done in this kingdom again if you keep looking at me like that, little bird.”
“Doesn’tseem like you mind very much,Abraxas.”Iwas still basking in his glow, high on the smell of him.
“Infact,IthinkIshould come to all your meetings, how much more fun would they be if you had me under the table while you worked.”
Hegrowled then, andIfelt his tongue trace over my neck, “Carefulwhat you wish for,Princess.”Icould feel him already growing hard against me again.
“Takeme there right now,Abraxas.”Hewas carrying me beforeIcould even react.
* * *
Wereachedthe small room off his bedroom thatIhad assumed was an office.Itwas just large enough to hold a long table that was covered in maps and other documents.Itried to get a look at them but didn’t have much time before he slammed me down on top of the table and crawled over me.Igrabbed him with my knees and flipped him on his back.
Iclawed at his shirt and pants, and he laughed at my urgency, “Needyprincess.”Islammed my mouth against his to shut him up when my eyes caught on something in the corner of the room.Itwas just a chair, but it stirred up my memories.Isaw the king sitting there, one leg crossed over the other, reading me a bedtime story.Ijerked away from our kiss and took in the rest of the room.Thefurniture was different, butIhad no doubt this was the ceilingIhad stared up at for days while my arm had first been healing.
“Wheredid you go?”Theking looked at me with concern in his eyes.
“Thisis whereIwas whenIwas healing.Youhad me here, in your study?Inyour room?”Ihadn’t noticed whenOryxhad taken me out of the room,I’dstill been in too much pain.Butnow, it seemed so obvious.Ilooked atAbraxas, who still looked quite concerned.
“Ofcourse.Ihad to watch over you.”Myheart was racing.Iremembered my dreams.Ofstrong arms and soft kisses.Ofa deep voice calling me home.Butit couldn’t have been him.
“Butwe hadn’t even…”Aftermy rescue,Iknew it hadn’t been the same.
I’dtold myselfIdidn’t care.Thatthe softness of it didn’t comfort me in the night, that my dreams hadn’t changed from brutal fuckings to tender kisses.Butthis… he’d cared for me with so much tenderness long beforeIhad ever surrendered to him.
No.Hewas theDragonKing.Hewas a monster, a tyrant.Ipictured him bathed in blood and gore, the snapping of a soldier’s neck, the beating of a severed heart.Butunderneath all that blood were his emerald eyes that held something so deep and precious—more valuable than any gem.
Ithought of allIhad seen, ofOryxtalking about owing his mother’s health to the king, ofAvlyn’sundying loyalty, ofCiara’srescue fromKoron.Evenof the soldiers' love and admiration for him.Hispeople, who were cared for and happy.
Myhands shook violently, andAbraxasclasped them in his. “Tori, what’s wrong?”
“You’rea monster.You’rewhat mothers tell their children to fear in the night.Aconqueror, a beast.”
Ilooked down at him andIsaw it.Thehurt in his eyes.Ialmost missed it.No,I’dchosen to ignore it.Forso longI’dwanted to hurt him and tried all the wrong ways.Here,Ifinally could, and it broke my heart.
“Iam.Andare you afraid,Tori?”
Iwas terrified.Butnot of him.Ithad never been him.Icouldn’t be weak;Icouldn’t let him see.Controlyourself.ThatvoiceIhated echoed in my head.ButIhad never been able to control it, only push it away.Sothat’s whatIdid,Ipushed him away.AndIran.
