by Juniper Hart
“I really mean it when I say don’t try anything. You don’t have to act like you love me, but at least act like you’re tolerating me. Got it? If they’re able to tell that something is up, I won’t hesitate to kill your girlfriend. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal,” he seethed.
It was going to be soul-crushing to act like everything was okay. They both got out of the car and headed toward the palace doors. Before they stepped onto the doorstep, Mylora grabbed his hand and placed it on her hip. A dull look fell over his face, the happiest expression he could conjure. A butler opened the door, and Nyle greeted him warmly. Once they stepped away from the butler, his attitude became sour once again.
“I haven’t been in here in years,” Mylora sighed, as she looked around.
Mylora eyed the furnishings, the art, and the size of the palace with a look of longing. She was fantasizing about it all being hers. The thought of his family home in her possession made his hands shake with anger. Oh, how he longed to tear her to shreds.
He guided her down the halls, knowing his parents would be having breakfast with some council members since it was Saturday morning. A guard was stationed outside of the dining hall doors. The guard looked at Nyle in surprise before graciously opening the doors to enter.
“My son,” his father instantly called from head of the enormous dining table. But Thalydias’ eyes then fell to the woman on his arm, audibly gasping. “And Miss Firebloom. To what do we owe the pleasure?”
“Mind if we join you for breakfast?” Nyle asked.
“Of course not, my darling,” Asalei spoke up, as she gestured for them to sit at the table.
As they drew close to the table, Nyle’s eyes locked with one of the council members—Evryn. He knew about Mylora’s deceitful plan. Nyle tried to scream ‘don’t say anything’ with his eyes, afraid that the old man would try and speak out on his behalf. And surprisingly, Evryn seemed to understand, though his eyes then loomed on Mylora. Nyle watched as Mylora poured herself a cup of tea.
“The palace is just as beautiful as I remember,” Mylora spoke aloud in a dreamy drawl to no one in particular.
“Well, thank you, Miss Firebloom,” his mother spoke. “Did you two arrive together?” she asked curiously.
“Why, yes, we did,” Mylora grinned, resting a hand on Nyle’s knee. He did his best to keep a flat expression.
“Really?” Thalydias questioned, his eyes narrowed in on his son. “Does this mean you’ve reached a decision, Nylyrias?”
His jaw set in place, having to look over to his father and speak as calmly as he could, “Yes. It does. Mylora and I are to be married.” The words felt so wrong to say.
“Nyle,” Evryn spoke up. “Are you sure about this?” he asked carefully.
Nyle wanted to scream out that it was a rouse and he was really in love with Daisy. Every fiber of his being itched to tell them that he was being blackmailed by Mylora. It took him a moment to form the words, but he nodded at Evryn.
“Yes, this is what I want.”
“This is so wonderful!” Asalei exclaimed as she stood from her chair and rushed over to her son. She hugged his neck tightly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You have no idea what a relief this is for your father and me.”
Nyle didn’t say a word, though, just watching as she moved to Mylora and took a seat next to her.
“And you, my child, welcome to the family,” Asalei gushed, pulling her into a tight hug as well.
Mylora happily hugged her back.
“Thank you so much, Your Majesty,” Mylora gushed right back.
“So, have you two discussed a date for the ceremony, or am I getting ahead of myself?” Asalei asked Mylora, giddiness in every syllable that passed her lips.
“Well, we haven’t formally discussed it, and I know this may be soon, but I was thinking maybe we could turn the gala the company is hosting in a month into a wedding? Of course we will still take the donations for the non-profit group. However, I figured since they already have an amazing venue picked and everyone will already be there, why not? Is that crazy?”
How in the hell did she know about the gala and the museum? And what kind of person turns a fundraiser into a wedding? Nyle thought to himself. The event was a month away. Did that mean she planned to keep Daisy hostage until then? He couldn’t imagine marrying someone so vile in the place that Daisy had picked out. The thought made him sick to his stomach.
“I think the king and I will both agree to whatever makes the two of you happy,” Asalei praised with a twinkle in her eye.
Just as Nyle was about to look over to the others, he noticed Mylora’s phone light up in her hand with a text message.
Quid dicis?
Quid dicis? That was Latin. Nyle’s eyes shuffled away, but then flickered back, watching as she thought she sneakily replied to the text under the table. His heart started pounding in his ears in excitement as he caught a quick glimpse of the message before she deleted it.
Carpe diem.
Seize the day? Really? That was her secret phrase? But as soon as it was deleted, Nyle wasted no time to tackle her from her chair, knowing he needed to act quickly.
Asalei screeched at the sudden commotion. “Nylyrias, what are you doing?”
He didn’t have time to respond as he was wrestling the phone from the Mylora’s grasp as she hissed and kicked at him. “Stop this at once!”
“Nylyrias! What has gotten into you?” his father’s voice boomed over him.
“Evryn! Help me!” Nyle called out to the elder.
Nyle managed to pin Mylora’s arms to the ground with the phone still tight in her grasp. With a snarl, he squeezed her wrist that held the phone, channeling his rage and energy into his grip. Fire crackled from his skin, searing her wrist. Mylora screamed and finally released the phone. Evryn stepped over and snatched the phone away before Mylora could try and grab it back.
“Get me something to bind her mouth,” Nyle called to Evryn as he used one hand to cover the woman’s mouth and the other to hold both her wrists down, not bothering to be gentle with the burn.
Mylora had hot tears bubbling from her eyes as her body writhed under him. She screamed into his hand. When she went to bite him, Nyle squeezed her face.
“Do you really want to try that?” he asked in a low hiss, his hand heating over her mouth as a threat.
She snapped her mouth shut and glared hard at him.
Nyle said in a stern voice, “Did you really think you were going to get away with this? That you and a couple of goons could force me into marrying you? I have to hand it to you, you had the drive, but drive and sex appeal don’t make up for the lack of brains.”
Evryn squatted down next to Nyle and helped gag Mylora with a linen napkin, tying her hands behind her back with another.
As the two men lifted Mylora from the floor, Thalydias’ voice boomed out as he stood with his fists on the table.
“Someone, explain what is happening at once!”
When he got the words out, Thalydias started in a coughing fit, falling back into his chair. Asalei rushed to her husband and rubbed his back as a guard rushed to get a glass of water for the king.
Evryn and Nyle both held Mylora in place, the woman frantically trying to get free.
“She tried to force me into marrying her, Father,” Nyle explained, looking to Mylora with a look of disgust. “She saw me with my soulmate and has been using her as blackmail to scare me into marrying her. Not for the good of our people, but for power. Mylora took Daisy hostage and texts the captors every ten minutes to keep her alive.”
There was an audible gasp throughout the room, his parents and the various councilmen all taken back by the revelation.
“What do you mean soulmate? You found her?” Asalei asked, her eyes in a hopeful gleam.
He nodded to his mother, and Asalei’s jaw dropped before she covered her mouth with her hand.
“Are you trying to tell me in the two days that I haven�
��t seen you, you’ve found your soulmate?” Thalydias spoke up, clearly skeptical of the notion.
“I know how it seems, Father, but I’m telling the truth. I found my soulmate, and Mylora has her tied up somewhere with a couple of rogue Elementals she hired for the job in exchange for sanctuary in our territory.”
“What?” he snapped. “That’s treason! Guards!”
“Father, no,” Nyle called, motioning for the guards to halt as they came through the door. “Don’t focus on that right now. I need to find Daisy. We need to get Mylora to tell us where they’re keeping her.”
Thalydias hedged before nodding. “You’re right. Sit Mylora down.”
Nyle and Evryn forced Mylora to sit in a dining chair. Thalydias paced over to her and pinned her to the tabletop.
“Don’t you dare shift and ruin my dining table,” he warned her. “We greatly outnumber you, so trying to escape will not end well for you, my dear. If you can do this calmly and tell us the information we need to know, I won’t charge you with treason. In fact, I’ll let you walk free as soon as my son’s mate is returned to him safely. But, if you want to throw a fit…” Thalydias went on, drew a jewel studded short sword from his hip, and carefully applied pressure to the back of her neck with the blade. “Do you understand?”
Nyle was proud that his father stood up for him. Even though he knew he wouldn’t be so quick to help if he knew she was half human, the gesture still humbled him.
Nyle reached and grabbed a fistful of her hair, holding it at the roots to push her face harder against the table.
“And don’t forget, he isn’t the only one who can kill you,” he warned her, alluding that she better keep quiet about Daisy being human.
Nyle might need his people’s help, and he probably wouldn’t get it if they knew who she was. After Mylora nodded carefully, Nyle released her hair and untied her mouth, but the king’s blade was still held against the back of her neck.
“You’re a real bastard, you know that?” Mylora hissed at Nyle. “How do you really think your life is going to work out with someone like her as your soulmate?”
“Settle down,” Thalydias warned, applying pressure to the back of her neck. Mylora closed her eyes tightly to brace herself. “Now, tell me where the girl is, and we can get this over with.”
Mylora just glared up at Nylyrias.
Being impatient, Thalydias snarled, “Now!”
“Fine!” she yelled. “Halfway to town, there’s a small gravel road called Bailey Lane. She’s in an abandoned barn at the end of the road.”
“You better not be lying,” Thalydias growled.
“I swear!” Mylora pressed, but then Nyle tied the linen back around her mouth to keep her quiet.
The father and son locked eyes, Thalydias nodded at Nyle.
“Take a couple of the guards with you. Your mother and I will stay here and monitor the phone. Hurry back with her.”
“Thank you, Father,” Nylyrias said, squeezing his father’s shoulder before moving toward the door.
Two guards joined his side, as did Evryn. Nyle looked at the old man with a questioning glance. Elders didn’t see combat…
“I’m standing with you,” Evryn said with the corners of his mouth turned upward in a smile. He was referring to the conversation they’d had the night before, when Nyle asked if he would help defend Daisy being his mate.
Nyle’s heart soared. He clasped a hand to Evryn’s shoulder and gave him a nod before the four of them quickly navigated out of the palace. As soon as they passed through the front door, Nyle took his tie and jacket off, discarding them to the ground. As he walked down the front steps of the palace, his bones began to shift, an internal skeleton sliding out from under his human one.
He’d grown numb to the pain associated with shifting through years of training, and now just felt pressure and a tightening sensation as his skin changed pigment to his cream scales, and his body lengthened and grew into his dragon form. All the remaining clothes he had on ripped like tissue, and Nyle, Prince of the Royal Dragons, in all his glory, stepped onto the grass. His golden eyes slid side to side, seeing the three men with him shifting as well. Then, with a leap, Nyle launched himself into the air and let his wings spread. He was going to get Daisy back, no matter what it took.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Daisy’s entire body felt like it was filled with cement, her limbs heavy and hard to move as she started to drift back into consciousness. It took a great deal of effort for her to raise her head, having been slumped in a chair. Daisy’s eyes opened, groaning as she struggled to steady her vision, still woozy from the chloroform. As the chloroform wore off, she became more aware of her aching body. Memories of the car crash and the dragons grabbing her started coming back in flashes. The sound of crunching metal, the fear that ran through her at the sight of Mylora, and the pain of glass digging into her flesh as the two men dragged her from the car made her wince in fear.
Her vision cleared the more she blinked. The floor was dirt with weeds sprouting up everywhere, ivy growing up the wooden beams and walls.
Where am I? Daisy wondered, panic tightening her chest.
It was clear she was in some type of old barn, but where was the barn? How long had she been out? Daisy’s eyes scanned around and noticed sunlight leaking through cracks in the slats of the roof. Then, her eyes fell on them; the two men who had dragged her from the car. They were by the only door, one sitting on an old bale of hay and the other propped against the wall.
Trying not to waste any time, Daisy moved her wrists and ankles, trying to pull herself from the fog of the chloroform, but she was tied down. Thick ropes strapped her to a rusty metal chair. As she tried to tug one of her wrists, the chair shifted a bit, causing the bolts holding the seat together to squeak.
“She’s awake,” one of them said.
The two men stood up straight and faced her.
“Leave me alone,” Daisy tried to call bravely, though her lip was already trembling.
“We aren’t going to hurt you unless we have to,” one with shoulder-length hair chuckled.
The phone in his pocket chimed and the man pulled it out just long enough to check the screen before putting it back in his pocket.
“Well, you have ten more minutes. Lucky you.”
Daisy didn’t understand what he was talking about, though her stomach churned and wondered what would happen in ten minutes.
Silence filled the room. The two men appeared to be bored with the entire situation, while Daisy felt like she was on the verge of sobbing. How had this all become her reality? How had she gotten herself into a situation where she was tied up in a barn, with two dragons ready to kill her at any given moment? She couldn’t help but blame herself. It had been completely idiotic for her to go out in the middle of the night on her own, especially with knowing the threat Mylora had presented Nyle. Mylora had said they had until morning, so she figured it was safe. Daisy had been foolish to think that Mylora had a sane, or honest, bone in her body.
She wondered if Nyle even knew she was missing. After all, she had left that note on her pillow. However, she had no idea how much time had passed since she’d been kidnapped. Nyle might have thought she was at her mother’s if it was still morning. If he was coming for her, would he get there in time?
Daisy had never walked so close with her own mortality. She’d been a cautious soul her entire life, always taking extra measures to avoid possible injury or emotional pain. Yet, she had gotten sucked into a whirlwind romance with Nyle and dropped her guard at the absolute worst time. It wasn’t like she regretted meeting Nyle. While everything she’d learned since meeting him was hard to process and completely overwhelming, the meeting wasn’t coincidental, and there had to be a reason they were meant to be together. The concept of them being soulmates was still strange to her, but the energy she felt from Nyle helped her cope with her doubts. It was something she felt physically, and to her, that was the most concrete proof she needed.
“So, is all this worth it?” an Elemental called over to her.
“What?” Daisy questioned, not understanding what he was referencing.
“Is having sex with a billionaire really worth getting caught up in all this drama? You should have backed out when Mylora gave you both an option.”
Her mouth fell agape. Did they really think Daisy was just sleeping with Nyle for his money? She couldn’t have cared less about his money, but before she got angry, she understood their perspective. They didn’t know what she was or what she knew. The Elementals likely assumed she was just a dumb human who was having a fling with Nyle. They didn’t know she was his soulmate, nor that she was also half dragon.
“It isn’t like that,” was all she said, looking to the side.
Chuckling erupted from them, souring Daisy’s face. “Oh, yeah? Then what is it like? Because you don’t really fit in with his family.”
Daisy was growing tired of their little digs at her.
Without thinking, Daisy blurted out, “Is money worth betraying your people by working for a crazy bitch?”
“What did you just say?” one hissed.
Both men rushed at her. One of the men tackled her to the ground, keeping her strapped into the chair. A strong hand grabbed hold of her jaw, squeezing it to the point where she thought he would break it.
“Are you trying to piss us off?” he growled in her face, his silver eyes looking almost like mirrors as he glared.
Her blue-gray eyes couldn’t have been wider, glossing over with a new wave of tears, terrified for her life.
“I-I-I’m sorry,” she stammered out in a voice softer than a whisper.
“What do you know? Huh? What kind of lies has Nylyrias been telling you?” the other barked, kicking the side of the chair to scare her.
That it did. Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. Her eyes stayed on the ceiling, trying to hold herself together. Was she really going to die at the hand of dragons? Would that morning be the last time she ever saw her mother? Would she ever get to see Nyle again? The chair was kicked again, Daisy letting out a sob, her chest heaving as she began to hyperventilate from the anxiety.
