I’d rather her hate me and realize she was better off far away from me. Far away from all of the beasts lurking in the shadows of my lands. Let hate fill her heart once she finished her duties to her kingdom in this marriage, if nothing else than to protect her.
This was a contract for an alliance, and we needed to keep that in mind.
My beast lashed at the bars of the cage I kept him tucked away behind as I forced the words out. “This is just the alcohol loosening your tongue and a spoiled princess not enjoying the fact that I’m denying her as an option. You told me that my kind disgusts you, and I told you I’d never touch you. Let’s not make liars of ourselves, wench.”
I pulled back just in time to see the haze of lust clearing from her eyes, and a spark of shame burned across her cheeks. I took no enjoyment in seeing her fall onto her feet and glare at me with the intensity of a million burning suns. Her small hands pushed roughly against my chest, attempting to move me away from her. She couldn’t accomplish that herself, but I took the steps back anyway, allowing her the space to move away.
My head fell as she demanded, “Put the fireplace back on. I’m cold and we need to discuss how we are going to begin our search for a way to break this curse. The sooner, the better.”
A blood-curdling cry sounded from my dragon within, filling my head with a piercing rage as I lifted my hands to my temples.
Hush.She is not ours. Would you rather kill her while proving that point?
As I dropped my hands and turned to glance at her curled back up in her chair, staring a hole into the ground, my shoulders sagged. Even if I couldn’t have her, the brief time of not being at each other's throats that we’d just shared within this room…I wanted more of that. I wanted more of her smiles and laughs. I wanted more of her coming to my defense and feeling like someone wanted to carry the weight of my burdens with me.
“Are you going to light the fire, or should I go back to my room?” she snapped, refusing to meet my eyes.
Her offer to put out the fire had been purely for my comfort. Now that I’d offended her, I wasn’t surprised at her recension of that small act of kindness.
It was better this way.
As my eyes scanned over the damp logs within the fireplace, I murmured, “I’d need to locate more wood. I can’t use these now.”
Glancing back at her, I watched her shoulders pull back and her chin tilt up as she glared at me. “Fine. Let’s finish this conversation quickly, so I can go to my chambers. Why were you acting cagey on the way back here, and when can I expect for us to begin searching for answers?”
My lungs expanded with a deep breath and I moved to sit back in my chair across from her. An itch was spreading across my skin as my scales burned to come out, the itch to let the shift overcome me damn near overwhelming. I needed this conversation to be over so I could lose myself amongst the snowy mountainside.
“As I mentioned before, there is civil unrest with my people, and I’m afraid my word alone cannot keep them in line. Having you here may draw their focus, and I cannot defend you if they decide to assemble into a mutiny. I may be the strongest drackya here, but even I can be defeated by numbers.”
The admission wounded my pride, but after shutting down her advances in such a callous way, this was the least I could do. It was an attempt at honesty. She deserved that, at the least.
She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, nibbling on it as she seemed to mull over my words. The action drew my focus, and I had to clear my throat and tear my gaze away.
“So, tomorrow we will be heading into the mountains with the full-blooded dragons,” I shared, eliciting a small gasp from her as her eyes widened and focused on me. “We must be respectful of the nesting dragons present as they protect their eggs, but an elder dragon is currently moving them around to provide us with an alcove that should give us some protection, compared to being within this castle. The dragons are loyal to me as their king and aren’t blinded by the mating haze that’scome over the drackya. They will help to protect us, and from there, we can work on your training and our next steps for ending the curse. You will be riding my dragon to ensure we get there quickly and safely, so dress for extreme weather.”
She composed herself quickly, nodding and pushing to her feet. It was strange to not hear a sarcastic quip in response to my commands, considering I’d told her she’d never be worthy of riding a dragon, yet here I was telling her she would.
This was exactly what I’d wanted, though. Distance and clarity between us and our roles here.
Her hands smoothed along the front of the dress as she asked, “Is that it for now? I have problems within my own kingdom to figure out so that when I go home and take up the throne, I can implement new strategies.”
Take up the throne.
I closed my eyes and silently cursed her father. That bastard allowed her to think she would be the next ruler, as heir to the throne. From my letters with him, it was clear that was not his intention. It crossed my mind to just tell her that, but I wasn’t exactly in her good graces and worthy of being trusted. Not yet. And maybe not ever.
“Hold on,” I murmured, crossing to my desk near the bed. Rifling through the manilla parchments I’d saved, I noted the dates on the tops of them until I found the first from her father.
This would be the proof she needed to see exactly what her father meant for her. The items he offered me that I hadn’t taken him up on, mainly the opportunity to not only be the king of my people, but theirs as well through this marriage. I had no desire for such things, considering he demanded we reside within their human castle if I agreed to his terms.
I’d rather burn within the fire elemental’s domain for eternity.
“What’s this?” she asked, brow pinched as I approached and offered the letter.
“I take no joy in giving this to you,” I warned, knowing her mind would go there without prompting now that she felt scorned by me. Like I was kicking her while she was down. “I owe you these answers, considering you will be going back there when our marriage is done. You deserve to know exactly what you’re going back to, on the off chance your father tries to arrange another suitor for you.”
Those words tasted like ash from the fireplace had settled on my tongue, and I bit down on my lip, hard. How had it not crossed my mind until the words had come out that he would likely marry her off to another after this was over?
The guarded look I’d grown to know well from the fiery wench came back as she gave me a curt nod and strode toward the door.
