by Emma Hamm
“Ah, yes. It is. I am on the Tenebrous Council and we’re already talking about how to get him the prettiest girls. The King doesn’t care at all for intelligent women, I’ll warn you of that.” Borovoi stroked his chin, looking her up and down. “You have enough beauty to tempt him, I suppose. But there are more beautiful girls throughout this realm. What you need is a miracle.”
“Thanks for that,” Lore grumbled. She might not be the most beautiful, but at least being an elf had to get her somewhere. Didn’t it?
“I’m going to help you. I’ll prepare the meeting for him. Any king would be pleased with a party that I host. And then we will get to work on making all this...” He waved a hand up and down her body. “More presentable.”
“That’s it? That’s your help?”
“And I’ll train you on everything I know about the King.” Borovoi nodded firmly. “Only in exchange that you let that armor down a bit more, Silverfell.”
“No deal. I’ll figure it out on my own.” Lore moved to leave, already done with these ridiculous rules.
“Fine!” Borovoi called out. “Fine. I’ll prepare you and nothing else. Is that what you wanted?”
It was. She hardened herself, grinding her teeth and watching the butterflies float above their heads. “Just teach me how to tempt the King, Borovoi. I already know how to kill a man.”
Chapter 6
Abraxas
“Are you ready for the party, Abraxas?” Zander strode into the cavern with all the confidence of a man who never had to worry about a single thing in his life.
His clothing was pressed into points, the royal amethyst fabric plastered to his faintly muscular body. His hair slicked back and coiffed to ensure that his grey colored wings were on display. Jewelry dripped from every limb that could have it, and he wore four necklaces around his neck.
In contrast, Abraxas had been told to be more careful with how he dressed. No one wanted to look at the dragon for very long. Especially not longer than the King.
Zander had sent his servants to make sure Abraxas was ready. So he wasn’t sure why the King would waste his time asking if his dragon had prepared himself for the party. Of course he had. The plain black suit was too starched, and it rose up to his very chin, almost as though it were strangling him.
Or maybe that was the memory of the King plunging that knife into his future. Like he’d done since he had inherited the throne from his father.
Either way, he didn’t really know how to reply to the King. “I suppose I am.”
“Come now, old chap! You should at least be a little excited about this endeavor. The ladies do love to see you when you’re in this garb.” Zander waved a hand up and down, gesturing to his form. “Although I’ll be honest, I can’t see what they see in you.”
The King rarely understood women being interested in anyone other than him, so Abraxas wasn’t all that surprised. The King especially didn’t like it when a woman was interested in Abraxas. It was unnatural for a beautiful mortal to find herself in the arms of a dragon, he’d once said. That was the only reason why. The only reason. Of course.
Abraxas wasn’t so sure that was the truth. Zander hated anything magical, and he definitely didn’t want a dragon getting anything that the King himself couldn’t have. And a woman who had eyes only for the dragon?
That would never happen.
Sighing, Abraxas stuck a finger underneath the neck of his suit and shook his head. “I don’t understand the point of this, Zander. You’ve said yourself, many times I might add, that you want nothing to do with anything magical. And yet, here we are, going to a party hosted by one of the oldest creatures in the book.”
“Borovoi is not old,” Zander corrected him. “He’s a young buck with a hope for getting into nobility someday. I don’t know why you’d even think to call him magical!”
Had the leshy cast a spell on the King so he thought the creature was mortal? No, the King was protected by more than just the Umbral Knights. Abraxas thought it more likely that the King was disregarding the fact that the leshy was one of the creatures he wanted to kill. And that was because Borovoi made the most intricate, beautiful parties there were. The nobility loved it, therefore, the creature was useful.
How many mortals could fill the air with stars that twinkled within reach and butterflies that landed on the hands of maidens the King wished to woo? No one. Not a single person could do all that.
Now, he wondered what the leshy had up his sleeve for tonight. The party seemed a little... odd. It had been announced out of the blue, and though Zander was certain it was because Tenebrous wanted to ensure that his brides were offered in the most glorious of settings, Abraxas had seen their faces.
No one wanted to give their daughter to the King. He feared tonight could turn bloody.
Zander caught a glimpse of his expression and rolled his eyes. “Are you going to be so sullen all night? If that’s your plan, then you should stay far away from me. You’ll scare all the lovely ladies of Tenebrous away and then where would we be?”
“Exactly where we are now.” Abraxas blinked at his king. “There are no lovely ladies in Tenebrous, or have you forgotten? They are where we send everyone who doesn’t deserve to live in the Umbral Castle or the surrounding areas.”
“Oh, that’s right,” the King waved a hand. “Well, it’s been a long time since some of them have been there. They are bound to have made some beauties. But you bring up a very good point, my dragon. I should inform all the other nobles that their daughters should be added to this whole affair. It doesn’t matter if I’ve tasted my wife before!”
Abraxas wanted to hit him. He wanted to change into a dragon and devour the King whole, but then where would he be? His eggs would forever be locked in that damned box, and he would be alone for the rest of his life.
Best to wait until the King had a child. Then he could kill this one, raise the boy or girl on his own somewhere in the wilds. That would give him enough time to convince them to open the box and release the last two dragons into the world.
Three dragons left. Slim pickings for the growth of his kind. Maybe he would bring those babes into a world where they would eventually suffer the same fate that he fought against. They might become the last of their kind, knowing that their children would only make the pool of their magic even smaller.
But he had to try. If there were three of them, three minds searching for others, then he was more likely to find dragons who were still out there. Or, at the very least, more forgotten nests that had solidified into stone. Buried under the water, perhaps? Someone had to have hidden their children in the hopes that another would find them someday.
“Abraxas!” the King shouted.
His name echoed throughout the chamber. Bouncing back at him as though he had been summoned by a god.
And in the eyes of the last dragon, this King unfortunately was exactly that.
He focused on the tiny man before him and forced his lips into something that resembled a smile. “Yes, my king?”
“What has gotten into you today?” Zander tossed his hands in the air, and the jewelry hanging off his wrists clanked. “Is this all still about the egg? That was a week ago, my friend. Let the past stay in the past.”
Easy for the King to say. He hadn’t had someone kill his children in front of him, nor did he then have to work with the murderer and keep him alive for a night of drunken foolishness.
Abraxas knew he was letting all this get to him a little more than he should. He’d never had this issue before. He’d always been able to separate the man from the monster when he worked for Zander’s father. The previous king had been no less devious or cruel. And yet, there was something about this king that wiggled underneath his guard no matter how many times he tried to still his emotions.
Maybe he had simply gotten tired of being underneath the royal thumbs.
Zander watched every expression on his face before rolling his eyes and making his way out of the cavern. “
Is that how tonight is going to go? You’re worse than a wife, Abraxas. I have only a few more months of freedom before I have to look at someone wearing that exact expression for the rest of my life. Would you give me at least a slight break?”
No. He wouldn’t.
With the King’s back turned, he let a snarl cross his features. If he had been in his true form, then the King would have trembled in fear. But this mortal form only allowed him a small amount of intimidation, though still it was impressive, or so he’d been told.
His dark hair swaying in front of his face, he marched up the stairs behind the King. With every step, he reminded himself of all the terrible things he could do to a man like that. He could devour him whole, of course. But he could burn him to death like the King had bid him to do to countless others. He could pull all his limbs off, one by one, forcing him to stay awake by burning the bloody stumps so he wouldn’t bleed out too quickly and die.
A thousand ways to kill a man all rested in his ancient mind, and he could do none of them to this mortal child who apparently thought it was fun to torment a dragon.
Someday.
Someday.
They strode out of the castle, likely a strange pair. Even the carriage man eyed Abraxas as though the dragon was about to reveal himself at any moment.
Zander stepped up onto the carriage, held onto the door, and leaned back to grin at Abraxas. “Ah, I forgot. Listen, after the whole jumping out of the carriage and then turning into a dragon episode, the servants would prefer it if you didn’t scare the horses like that.”
“We had planned for me to remain a human, anyway,” he grumbled.
“Yes, but...” Zander shrugged. “The servants are frightened of you as well, my dragon. They’d prefer it if you stayed a safe distance away while we travel. You know how it is.”
“So you want me to arrive at the party where your potential new brides will be as a dragon?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “That sounds like a fantastic way to scare all of them off. Their fathers aren’t going to send them away with you if they think their daughters will end up with me. You remember the old legends.”
Part of the reason everyone feared dragons was that they used to steal “brides”. They weren’t actually marrying the women, of course, but there was a time when the dragons wondered if they could mix their own lineage with that of mortals. Unfortunately, it never worked out the way anyone planned and the women were eventually released into a village where they could live their own lives.
The dragons had never treated their captives poorly, but explaining that to a father who missed his child was difficult. Especially when that child didn’t want to return home because living in a kingdom of dragons on her own was easier than going back to the mortal kingdoms.
Zander made a face, but then waved his hand in the air. “Yes, yes. I see your point. Traveling with you gets more and more difficult, you know that? Just land in the woods outside the area somewhere and walk, will you?”
And with that, he shut the door to the carriage. A faint pounding could be heard from the interior and the carriage man winced before he snapped the reins on the horses.
Right. Abraxas would have to find his own way to Borovoi’s party and then make sure no one saw him arrive. After all, it would be rather suspicious to see a dragon fly over the woods, disappear, and then have a man walk out.
The first King was the one to ask Abraxas to remain a secret. Separate from his draconic form. And the King had been smart for it.
Now, all the royals of that line had two men working for them. A personal guard with powers stronger than the average man. And a dragon who burned anyone who stood in the King’s way.
He sighed and walked to the central courtyard, where he was allowed to turn into a dragon.
A little boy wandered past him, a footman in training if the uniform revealed anything about the boy’s job. He staggered to a stop in front of Abraxas with his mouth wide open, then forgot to move as the dragon walked right into him.
“Sorry, sir!” The boy stumbled, almost falling onto his behind. “I didn’t mean to get in your way, you see. I just... well... I thought to see the King first, and then I realized that I was going to be late and...” His eyes widened in fear. “Please don’t eat me.”
They all did this when they were young. He’d seen so many servants come and go as their lives ended or began. At this point, he barely even remembered their faces, let alone their names. Some of them were kind. Others were downright frightened. But none of them had ever taken the time to talk to him.
Of course, there were always the odd ducks. The random children who weren’t afraid to talk to a monster rumored to eat mortals in one bite. And it was always the children who were willing to give him a chance.
He didn’t have it in him to be the terrifying monster right now. Abraxas might feel a little sentimental considering the loss of his own child. But he had the time to bend down on his knee in front of the little boy and brace a forearm on his leg. “I don’t eat children. You’re all bones and not enough meat.”
The boy’s eyes widened even further. “What about when I’m all growned up then?”
“Grown up,” he corrected. “And that all depends on how good you are. If you don’t make the King angry, or you don’t get in trouble, then I probably won’t look at you.”
“My father says all dragons eat humans as snacks, and that the King feeds you people he doesn’t like in that cavern.” A tremble shook through the child’s shoulders. “I said that seemed horribly scary, but I don’t know. People don’t seem like they would taste all that good.”
“And they’re quite small,” Abraxas added. “I much prefer cows or deer.”
“So you don’t eat people?” The hope in the boy’s voice was infectious. He hated to burst the child’s bubble when he was already so excited that the dragon might be a hero in the story.
Dragons were never heroes.
“I’ve eaten my fair share of people. Some of them are legends in your stories that came to my home to kill my family. Some of them were wanderers on a path they didn’t know.” He clapped a hand to the child’s shoulder and then stood. “I’ll be honest about my failings, boy. I’ve killed more people than you’ve met in your life, but you have less to fear from me than your king.”
The boy’s forehead wrinkled as he thought about what the dragon said. Seeds of doubt took root in his mind about the King his father claimed was perfect.
Perhaps the boy would become a martyr. Maybe he would join the rebellion against the King and try to overthrow this reign of torment and terror. Abraxas didn’t care. Some part of him hoped that the mortals would eventually see their rulers for who they were.
For now, he had a party to attend.
In the future, he hoped it would be a pyre with a crown atop it.
Chapter 7
Lore
“I know you’re nervous, but you shouldn’t be,” Borovoi said. He stepped back with a pin in his mouth, looking her over as though she were his newest art piece rather than a person standing in front of him. “After all, you’re only meeting the King today.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” she grumbled.
Lore knew she didn’t look like herself. She could feel it. The dress the leshy had chosen covered so little of her skin that it made her want to scratch it off. All this gossamer and spider silk was wasted on a person like her.
He’d spent the better part of four hours pinning cherry blossoms and pink dahlias to the dress, starting at her right shoulder and tumbling down her chest, her stomach, all the way to her hips where they barely covered her skin at all. The rest was a gauzy fabric that would look better on a window than it did on a person. And the butterflies. So many pale pink butterflies that opened and closed their wings, covering the parts of her that no one should see without permission.
Yet, the King was coming. And the King was sorely tempted by those hidden parts of women.
She couldn
’t be any less surprised.
He’d always had a way with women, at least in the rumors that went around Tenebrous. Lore had caught the tail end of a few conversations where women claimed they’d spent a night in the King’s bed. They always bragged about it, but she’d never heard them say they actually enjoyed their heated moments with the King. In fact, the conversations were always that they had bedded a royal. And that was it.
“Do you think the King is horrible in bed?” she asked.
Borovoi spluttered, all the pins falling from his mouth as he coughed. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve heard women talk about him before. It’s not like he hasn’t gotten around a bit. But they never say they had a good time with him.” She lifted a brow. “So I’m asking you, because you seem to know the King more than most in this city. And I want to know if he’s horrible in bed.”
“I don’t think you’ll have a reason to find out.”
“If bedding him is what it takes to put that man in a compromising position, then that’s exactly what I’ll do. I don’t care what it takes to kill him.” She’d killed a man before. A couple, in fact. They always cried and screamed when they realized their death came at the hands of an elf.
She wondered if the King would cry. For all the things he’d done to her people, she’d liked to see a few tears before she plunged a knife into his heart.
Speaking of... “Are you going to put a knife in here somewhere?”
“A knife?” He parroted her as though she were speaking in tongues.
“Yes, a knife. I’m supposed to kill the King. How am I going to do that without a weapon of some sort?” She pointed to the table. “There are a few items on there that would do. I could always strap one to my thigh. A dagger is better, but if you want to give me a shard of bone, that’ll do.”
