AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her expression shutters, but not before I glimpse a flash of hurt. Perhaps Ransom was right after all, that the deception was a step too far. But it’s too late now. She’s been rutted, healed by his power, even if it didn’t leave her punch drunk and pliable in the way I’d hoped. Her hand clenches into a fist at her side, sparks playing along the tips of her fingers almost absentmindedly as her anger rises.
“I needed you whole. Maddox took you down too roughly.”
Blaze’s expression twists in disgust as the truth begins to dawn on her. She rubs one wrist, where Maddox bound her not long before. Her eyes flash pure fire in my direction. Yes, we’ve definitely made a misstep. A bitter laugh bubbles from her throat.
“Gods, I can’t believe I’m so stupid.”
“You aren’t stupid.”
She shakes her head. “It was all an act. He set me up,youboth set up. You let me think I was a captive so that Ran...could swoop in and play big strapping hero. You wanted me to be so damn grateful that I’d spread my legs for him and give you exactly what you wanted. And it worked. I let a fucking hellhound take me because I was literally too blind to know any better.”
I bite my tongue. I don’t tell her the truth of the matter, that Ransom was meant to do far more than heal her. The knowledge that I’d tried to force her compliance will only send her stalking away from me, putting our cause further behind.
“It was necessary.”
“So that you could use me, you mean,” she snaps. “Just like he used me. You want me to free you?” She laughs, shaking her head. “You should have just come out and asked.”
I can’t contain a snarl this time. It trickles between my teeth, echoing around the room like a roll of thunder. Blaze rises to her knees, fire kindling in her palm as she prepares to do battle.
“Would you have believed us if we hadn’t gone to such lengths? Or would you have just put it down to a ploy on Morningstar’s part?”
Blaze’s jaw works, but she doesn’t reply. It’s as good as a yes.
“We had to prove ourselves to you.”
“By healing me with sex,” she says, tone waspish. “Well done, I feel like a valued member of the team now. Are you going to gift me something else with your cock, oh mighty king, just to prove your sincerity?”
I’ve never been spoken to with such disrespect by anyone. My subjects are all too reverent or fearful to try it. It would be refreshing if it weren’t happening in such a dire circumstance.
“If you want my cock, you’ll have to beg for it, Chosen one. I don’t give it to just anyone. That’s Ransom’s purpose in our clan. He continues the line, as one of the most fertile among us.” I soften my tone when she blanches, hand flying to her stomach. “Don’t worry. Our seed cannot impregnate a human female. Even if he spilled inside you, it won’t result in a child.”
Color rises in her cheeks and she glowers at me for a long moment, trying to gather herself again. “Arrogant prick,” she finally mutters.
“Prickly female,” I shoot back. “Stubborn, willfully blindfemale. We’re offering this alliance for your good, as well as ours. Our reasons are twofold.”
“And those reasons are?”
“One, you don’t seem to grasp what our freedom means for you. Imagine every hellhound on a battlefield suddenly defecting and turning on Lycaon and his fellow generals. That kind of chaos breeds opportunity. But more than that, we had to warn you.”
“Warn us of what?”
“That Vita and Kronos are persuading Lycaon to cut ties with Morningstar.”
“We know that some of his generals are defecting. That’s why I was running from Morningstar’s camp earlier. We were tipping him off, sowing division in his ranks before he marches on Delerood.”
“What you don’t know iswhy,” I press.
“Then tell me.”
“They’re tired of losses in Fantasia. They want to try to subjugate another realm, just as they did ours. And when they do, Lycaon will take us with him after putting the dirk in Morningstar’s back. Vita is spiteful, and she’s planning on poisoning this branch of the world tree, just to undermine Morningstar if he prevails. He’ll have fewer resources to track them down than when he started.”
“Winning by attrition,” she says in a soft voice, the truth beginning to dawn on her. “It’s not a victory if our land dies off.”
“Precisely. Your Queen Carmine is prophesied to defeat her. We can help you both accomplish it, in exchange for our freedom. What say you?”
Blaze is silent for a while, contemplating my words. She still looks unhappy, but her focus has turned inward, the struggle internal for once since we met. Her hands clench and unclench, her anger building like an oppressive storm cloud the longer she thinks. When she finally meets my eyes, they’re full of contempt.
“I’ll help, but don’t think for a second that I trust you. When you’re free and Morningstar is defeated, I want every trace of your people gone. But more than that, you will stay the fuck away from me. You tricked me, and that’s not something I’m going to forget or forgive lightly. It makes you a bastard in my book, not an ally.”
