Page 21 of Exquisite Monster (Dragons of Viria #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY

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ENDRE

T he door to my cell burst open with such force it hit the wall, revealing Andaros striding toward me with a blade in his hand. He gripped my hair and tilted my head back. My neck strained, and it was hard to breathe.

With my hands encased in iron and my ankles cuffed, they’d allowed enough length in the chains for me to sit. Not much. Which was why I had nowhere to go as Andaros forced my head back into the stone wall.

The tip of his knife pressed against my throat. “How did you do it?”

“I’m not sure what you mean, Your Majesty. You and your soldiers make it very difficult to do anything.”

“How did you keep her alive?” His voice was low and deadly.

My stomach twisted. He knew now. Fuck.

“What are you talking about? You killed her.” I let my grief at the fact that he touched her at all seep into my tone. “You murdered my mate.”

He shoved me, making my body strain against the chains. “If I murdered her, then why is one of my soldiers here, telling me that Katalena is very much alive? What did you do to her? Turn her into some kind of filthy hybrid?”

He knows . I told them. Andaros knows Lena is alive. He confirmed it .

The others swore.

Pain rocketed through my skull, my neck aching from the force of the blow I’d just taken. “You will speak to me when I ask questions.”

“Or what?” I glared at him. “You’ll imprison me? I’m locked in this cell. You’ll torture me? You’re already doing that.”

His blade was at my throat again. “I could kill you now.”

“Do it. If you think I fear death, you are mistaken.”

But he wouldn’t kill me. Not yet, anyway.

Until he was truly desperate enough to break us that he no longer cared about us as a unit.

One dragon could still hold command at our level of power.

Three was better. Three could cover more ground if you were planning an assault that would take over a continent.

“I will bring her back,” Andaros said. “And this time I will kill her in front of you.”

“When every threat is dire, they lose effectiveness. Something you might want to learn if you plan on ruling an entire continent. ”

Andaros dragged the tip of the knife over my traitor’s scar. “What wound is this that it would heal such?”

I didn’t answer.

He didn’t slide the blade into my heart, instead stepping back and sheathing it.

The injuries from the many weapons he’d used on me were gone.

Their human mage had healed them. Of course Andaros had collected one of the few humans that could harness magic.

And who claimed to know the ways of dragons.

“Maybe this is a good thing. There is one question that has plagued me since I dropped Katalena off the edge of the world, and it keeps coming back to me.” Stopping, his gaze took me in from head to toe. “Why you?”

I had the same question, but not in the same way.

Why us? Why would the Fallen choose to gift us a mate when we were shackled to Elders who hated everything we wanted?

Why give us the most precious gift this world could offer and then separate us?

What had we done to deserve a mate when everything good we’d tried to do had failed?

“What magic did you perform on Katalena that she would bed not one but three dragons?” He chuckled. “My men were shocked that you all have human forms.”

I snarled out of reflex. “Nothing.”

He scoffed.

“What reason would I have to lie to you? Magic had nothing to do with Lena’s choice.” It was the truth. Mating was far deeper than magic.

“Then what did you offer her?” He crouched down, close enough that I could smell the fish he’d eaten on his breath. “What was it that made her not wait to be rescued and become a queen?”

I didn’t answer. Pain erupted from the other side of my face, and I spat blood onto stone.

“Answer me.”

Letting my head hang, I took a slow breath. The three of us had plenty of time to talk. Andaros was erratic and emotional. He was, like Nelis called him, a fucking fool. Andaros acted on impulse and instinct. He did what made him feel good and powerful, even if it wasn’t the right strategic choice.

That impulsivity saved Lena’s life.

If he’d really wanted to break us he would have brought her here when we left Doro Eche. But he hadn’t.

We all agreed that if we could get him angry, he was more likely to make some kind of mistake. Something we could take advantage of. Because Lena was alive, and we had a promise to keep: that we would find her .

“I didn’t have to do anything. She asked.”

Another blow, this time directly to my stomach.

“No,” I spoke through the pain, my voice thin. “She didn’t ask. She begged . She begged me to ruin her so that even if she was recused, you would be so disgusted that you’d never touch her. So we did.”

It wasn’t the truth. Lena never begged. When I’d asked her to, she refused. And we would never take what wasn’t willingly offered. Andaros didn’t know that. He would assume the worst about us.

Because he would have ruined her. Without hesitation.

Knuckles slammed into my cheek, my head knocking back into the wall. Fuck .

“Why are you angry? Did you not try the same thing the night before your wedding?”

Andaros turned red. “What?”

“Katalena told me only a blade stopped you from taking what wasn’t yours that night. Or do you deny that?”

I watched the king stand up and pace back and forth across the small space, his armor clanking together loudly. “I deny nothing. Nor do I justify my actions to a fucking dragon.”

“I’m flattered, but I’m not a fucking dragon with anyone but my mate. Or are you interested in ruining me too?”

Rage took over his face. He stormed toward me, and I braced myself for the blow that never came. A soldier entered the cell through the still-open door. “Your Majesty.”

“What?”

“The delegations from Denao and Zastea have arrived. They await you in the throne room.”

Andaros crouched down in front of me once more, gripping my jaw so hard my bones creaked.

His smile was slick and oily. “You dragons think you’re untouchable.

All the humans think you’re untouchable too.

But I’m about to show them you’re not. I’m about to show the entire human continent how easily you wither into ash.

And when I break you? You’ll be the one I use to show them how easy your kind is to control. ”

He stood and strode for the door. I called after him. “We’re not draygs, Andaros. Even if you were able to break us, we’ll never be easy to control.”

“We’ll see.”

The door slammed shut behind him.

I pushed him , I told Sirrus and Zovai. As far as I could. He’s angry.

Good , Z said.

I sighed, cringing and finally moving to ease the bruises he’d just delivered. Even if he snaps, it might not be enough .

Not with Aeghi’s command binding us in place. The only way we could? —

Focusing on every impossible circumstance we needed to escape this place wasn’t helpful. Instead, I dove deep into my head and started once again, thinking of every possible way out.

I wouldn’t stop until I was back with my mate.