Page 10

M y eyes peel open at the sound of thunder and then, BOOM!

I sit up on the bed, my hands fumbling over the soft sheets, so different from the scratchy cotton of my dorm room. I blink rapidly, the room swimming in and out of focus until my fingers graze the cool metal frame of my glasses. I slide them on, and the room sharpens. The dark stone walls loom, the flames from the hearth snuffed out.

The hint of dawn filters through the small window, basking the room in twilight. A gust of wind slips through the open window, carrying with it the scent of sulfur. My nose wrinkles.

“What is that smell?”

I push off the bed, my bare feet meeting the cold floor. Every step is a reminder this isn’t a dream. After Kainen took care of my cuts, he sent me back to my room with Nieve in tow and a tray of food. I was relieved he didn’t have my hands shackled.After Nieve left with my tray, no one came back. I must have fallen asleep.

After freshening up, I rummage through the wardrobe, my fingers brushing over soft silks, delicate laces, and leathers. My leggings and sweater are crumpled in the corner, still thoroughly stained and smelling of ash and earth beyond salvation.

Blowing on a puff of air, I pull on a suede dress that hits mid-thigh, its color muted like autumn leaves, the leather sandals cool against my skin. The dress is too short, the cut too revealing, but I have no other choice.

I catch a glimpse of myself in the large square piece of metal hanging on the wall by the wardrobe. Big glasses, tired eyes, and a dress that makes me look like I want more than to go back home. I swallow the rising fear and open the door.

My steps are silent against the stone. The corridor is dimly lit once I make it to the last step. The sconces flicker, shadows slinking along the walls. The air is charged with mystery. The castle shifts as if the stones are alive, my hand on the wall for balance as it trembles, bits of stone and dust falling above. I gasp when the ground shakes again; a low guttural roar reverberates through the stone.

My stomach twists. “What the fuck was

that?”I follow the echo of voices that leads to a corridor. Giggles, soft and sharp, are followed by the thud of a closing door. I step back, pressing myself against the wall as two petite figures emerge with barely anything on before catching sight of two more topless on the bed.

Nymphs.

Their pointed ears peek through glossy hair, their gossamer dresses floating around their ankles, skin luminescent in the dim light.

When the door shuts, a blonde with pale silky hair and a white dress pauses and gives me a smile. They’re both gorgeous. Petite, with skin so perfect you would think it was porcelain. Flawless.

The Nymph next to her gives her a glance, and then they both burst into a fit of giggles. I’m stupid not to think they are laughing at me because of my glasses. I’ve been subjected to it often enough.

“You must be Selene,” the blonde Nymph says.

“Yes, I’m sure you’ve heard about me.”

“My name is Vel.” She then points to the dark-haired Nymph. “This is Angeline.”

Angeline waves at me.

“If you go through there…” Vel gestures to the corridor I came through last night, leading to the dining room. “You will find breakfast. Prince Kainen requested it be ready before you woke up.”

“Where is he?” I ask.I want to explore the castle. See if I can find a way back home.

“Oh, he left us earlier.” I glance at the double doors they both exited through.

“And that’s…”

“His chambers,” Vel interrupts.

He sleeps with more than one Nymph at a time. Shouldn’t be a shock. A male like Kainen has power and obviously stamina. He’s the type that needs more than one body to meet his needs. Not that I give a shit.

He isn’t here, and common sense would have me running for the nearest exit, but where would I go? I have no idea where I am or where to go to get back. At least I have food and shelter. A place to sleep.

The ground shakes for the third time this morning. Tiny pieces of rock fall from the walls. I look up.“What was that?”

“Oh, that would be Malachi,” Angeline says. “It means Kainen is back.”

Shit.

“Get some breakfast,” Vel says. “He’s been training and will meet up with you soon.”

Training? What for?

But before I can ask, they disappear in the opposite direction.

A strong breeze tinged with the scent of sulfur catches my attention. There is an open doorway past the dining room. Stepping closer, I look over my shoulder, finding it odd that none of his beastly guards are to be found.

I find four doors open, leading to some sort of courtyard. The smell of dawn swirls with the wind, baking in twilight with the promise of the rising sun.

The courtyard is before me, where wild grass and weeds claw through mosaic cracked tiles. Statues of knights line the sides with cracked faces and missing limbs. Shadows pool in the corners, but the air reeks of sulfur and a scent I can’t place.

The wind shifts, carrying a low howl. Suddenly, heat blooms on my skin like I’ve entered a furnace burning at a thousand degrees. My eyes sting from the heat, and I ask. The outside walls of the castle are charred as if they were on fire.

I walk deep into the labyrinth of the unkempt courtyard, looking down to avoid tripping over the vines until I reach something long and sharp, like a sword scraping against the stone, creating a cloud of dust.

“What is that?” I mumble, my eyes catching the crimson sheen of what looks like scales flickering in the early morning light.

I look up and let out a screech but freeze, every instinct I possess telling me to run, yet I’m caught by the fire burning in the dragon’s eyes. His gaze locks onto me, making me feel like a mouse caught by a hawk. But this is no hawk. It is a red dragon crouched on the pungent tang of burnt moss.

My heart hammers against my ribs, the beat counting every second. In the light of dawn, the dragon’s scales flare into brilliance as the sun begins to rise.

"Aen’viorr! Aen’viorr!"

“Who’s saying that?” I ask aloud.

“I haven’t said anything,” it says, showing rows of razor-sharp teeth.

I step back in panic. “Holy fuck! It talks!”

“Well, of course I do.” I point to its mouth, my heart about to break out of my chest like it’s a ticking time bomb about to detonate. “My name is Malachi,” it says.

“It has a name,” I blurt.

Malachi grins, punctuating its sharp teeth like swords. Its tongue swipes over its jaws like it’s about to eat, and I’m its lunch.

“Yes, and yours is Selene.”

“How’d you…”

“Because he’s nosy.” My gaze shoots to the left, where a wall is layered with vines. Kainen is leaning casually against it, with one of his knees bent, the sole of his boot flat against the wall, clad in his black armor, ready to fight in some sort of medieval battle. The muscles on his arms bulge as he pops almonds in his mouth. He looks bored, not remotely worried he has a red dragon in his courtyard, most likely the root cause of the destruction.

“Um…” My voice trails off. I swallow thickly, trying to keep my eye on the dragon. “There’s a d-dragon in your courtyard.”

“I’m aware and not surprised you didn’t miss him with how thick your seeing eyeglasses are.” He pops an almond in his mouth. “I hope you weren’t thinking of escaping after I was nice enough to upgrade your accommodations.”

“I wasn’t…” I close my eyes briefly. “I wanted some fresh air. It smells like the place is on fire.”

“Are you not going to share?” I jolt when the dragon speaks, the wind from his breath an oppressive heat that smells like matches.

Kainen chuckles at my obvious discomfort. Asshole . “Come on, Malachi, don’t I always?” He pushes off the wall, walking past me toward the dragon’s mouth.

Kainen tosses the almonds into the dragon’s mouth, landing on the dragon’s tongue. A puff of smoke comes from the dragon’s nostrils.

“Hmm,” the rumble from his throat shakes the ground. “That is so good.”

Oh my god, it’s hungry. It might eat me. “Will he eat me?” I blurt.

“You have three seconds before he swallows those almonds.” He leans close, the manly smell of him—bergamot, amber wood, and almonds—making me dizzy. The breeze from his breath brushes my cheek. “You better run, Selene.”

I take it as my cue and bolt. I don’t look back until I’m inside near the dining table. My lungs are burning. I take large gulps of air and glance at the door every few seconds.

A small elf comes inside with a chalice in his hands, placing it in front of the chair I was sitting in last night. The table is filled with an assortment of fruits, cheeses, meats, and nuts. There is no trace that anything was broken or moved. Everything is in the exact same place, as if last night didn’t happen.

“Some water,” the elf says courteously.

I look inside the chalice and smile. “Thank you.”

“If there is anything you need, let me know. My name is Ash. It’s short for Ashenvel.”

“How long have you been here?”

It’s no secret that most of the beings here come from different parts of this world and have had no choice but to unite here.

The elf glances nervously toward the door and then back, as if whatever he’s about to say could land him in trouble, but it doesn’t stop him. “After the war? Prince Kainen rescued us and took us in. He gave us a safe haven, and in return, we serve him.”

Kainen doesn’t look the type to help anyone. He looks the type to kill and destroy. “Us?”

He nods, the bulb of his nose flaring a bit. “Yes, my people.”

Kainen’s deep voice booms. “That’s enough, Ash.” Ash looks up nervously. “I’ll call for you if I need anything.”

“Yes, your majesty,” Ash says with a bow.

“Kainen,” he corrects.

Funny he doesn’t like to be called prince or your majesty. I wonder why? Kainen looks like he feeds off power.

“Sorry, Kainen,” Ash says apologetically before bowing out of the room.

The door closes. Kainen strides in, armor clinking, taking a seat at the head of the table. Every movement is measured and controlled.

He doesn’t look at me. “Eat.”

I glance at the food, wanting nothing more than to eat but needing to ask him about the dragon. It could have easily swallowed me whole, but it didn’t. What type of power does he have over a dragon?

“Are we not going to talk about the dragon outside that almost ate me?”

Kainen chuckles darkly. “If he wanted to eat you, you’d be gone.”

“He can burn the entire place down. How can you be so sure he won’t change his mind?”

Who would have stopped it if he did? Him.

He reaches for the almonds and then the meats. “Because.”

“Because…,” I mock.

He pauses, arches a brow, and then slowly grabs a piece of cheese. “I didn’t tell him to.”

The prince of darkness keeps a pet dragon. But how is that possible? Do the humans control the dragon gods?

“I can see your mind is spinning inside that head of yours,”he says between bites.

I hesitate, my fingers wrapping around a red apple, but my focus stays on him, waiting for the dagger beneath the invitation.

“How do you have a pet dragon if they’re gods? I thought gods were the creation of a world. They are usually dead and usually can’t be told what to do.”

He eyes me curiously for a few seconds, as if my question baffled him, a tiny frown appearing between his dark brows. “There is more than one, and he’s not a pet.”

“Then what is he?”

“I don’t have to answer you,” he says in a clipped tone. “Eat and go back to your room.”

My jaw tightens, a flare of defiance bubbling to the surface.“You don’t own me, and I’m not a fucking child.”

His expression shifts to something raw and unyielding. “No, you’re a lying, pathetic woman who allows herself to be used by a tyrant to deceive others.”

The room feels smaller, the walls closer, his words weaving through the air like a noose tightening around my neck. “And you’re a sick bastard who uses women.”

Flashes of what I saw in his bedroom cause something foreign to twist in my stomach. Jealousy. I don’t know how that is possible when this man has been nothing but evil to me.

“That is one thing I don’t have an issue with: women. You’re the exception.”

“You sleep with a harem,” I scoff, dropping the apple on my plate. “Have you no respect?”

“I didn’t force them, and for the record, they prefer to sleep with me.”

I push away images of him naked and fucking. He’s no different from most of the guys I’ve encountered. Cold. Unfeeling. “That’s disgusting.”

“Yeah, well, no one else thinks so but you.”

“I don’t think you’re the kind of man who gives anyone a choice.”

His eyes darken. “Everyone has a choice.”

“Then let me go,” I demand. “My choice is to leave. I do have a life to get back to.” Even if it’s a nightmare right now, he doesn’t need to know the details. I’m positive wherever this place is, an alert for me missing wouldn’t apply. “They will be looking for me.”

“I’m afraid once you’re on my land, that is not an option until I say it is, and that is exactly what I want: for him to come looking for you.”

I pull the hem over my exposed thigh and blow a puff of air in frustration. There is no arguing the point further. He’s stubborn, and it’s not going to be easy to change his mind and see the truth.

“Is there a problem…” he pauses, takes a bite. “With your dress?”

I slide my tongue over my teeth to keep me from throwing the apple at him. “Are you calling me fat?”

First, it was the barb about my glasses in the courtyard, but I let it slide because there was a fire-breathing dragon that could turn me into ash, and surviving was more important.It’s not like he’s the first to make fun of them. I’ve heard it all before—coke bottle lenses, four eyes, all the countless shitty nicknames that make you wish you could fade into the walls. But Kainen’s taunts cut deeper, his words sharp and deliberate, aimed to wound.

There comes a point where I draw the line.

I get that I’m not perfect like his precious Nymphs, all ethereal beauty and soft curves, but I’m not his toy to break.

His gaze travels over my thighs, then to my chest, slow and deliberate,like he’s peeling back layers to find the weakness underneath.

His eyes return to my face, a storm clouding over gray irises, his mouth curling with a subtle sneer. “That’s not what I said.” The sun streaming from the windows dances across his features, casting shadows that warp his beauty into cruelty.“A word of advice,” he continues, his tone like crushed glass,“I think it’s best you cover up. You don’t have to go to all the trouble he’s putting you through. I’m not going to fall for it.”

A flicker of confusion edges into my anger. “You think I’m trying to seduce you?”

His lips quirk, a half-smirk that is all derision, no warmth. “Well, aren’t you?”

I clench my fingers around the silverware, the cool metal biting into my skin, grounding me.

“No,” I snap. “I don’t like you. If anything, I hate you.” Every word is a stone hurled at his perfect facade, but his expression remains unchanged, his calmness infuriating. “You’re violent. You kill innocent people for protecting the ones they love. You’ve kept me here against my will, insulted me, and are so stubborn you won’t believe anything I say when I’ve done nothing.”

The last word hangs in the air, and for a brief moment, I think I see a crack—a fissure in his marble expression. But then, he smirks, and it’s gone.

“I saved you. Twice. Considering…”

I lean forward, my glasses slipping down the bridge of my nose, and I push them back up with my finger. “When was the second time?”

His fingers drum against the wood table, a slow, deliberate rhythm, the only sound in the room. “You think Malachi would have let you walk out of the courtyard? He would have incinerated you if it wasn’t for me. So…you’re welcome.”

He snorts, but it’s more animalistic, a sound of annoyance.

“And yeah, I am keeping you here because I don’t trust women that show up out of thin air and expect me to believe they didn’t come from Elariya. The only humans that could ever cross into Nythia are those ordered by Therion. And trust me, the last thing they would want is peace. Even if it were possible to cross, I doubt they would be traitors to the king and risk their lives by coming here knowing it’s a death sentence.”

His words unravel a thread, and I find myself pulling at it, needing to know how deep the darkness runs. What kind of monster would want to kill his own brother? This is more than jealousy or hate.

“Why does Therion want to kill you so badly?”

He doesn’t flinch, but his eyes darken, the gray churning like storm clouds, swallowing the light. A muscle jumps in his jaw, the only sign of tension. His shoulders pull back, his body a blade held taut, every part of him coiled and ready to strike like I’m supposed to know the reason and I’m playing him. “Because I am the threat to his existence. I represent everything he wishes to be, and he’s afraid people will know the truth.”

The truth.

The question I want to ask hangs like a glimmering thread I want to pull to see what lies beneath the mask. But my focus is on surviving, on finding a way back home to pick up the pieces of my shattered life.

His voice softens, but not with kindness––with calculation. “My people depend on me to keep them safe, and I’m not going to believe some woman that shows up claiming they’re lost when I know what Therion is capable of. It’s no secret that humans picked a side, and the few that have pledged loyalty are well known here in Nythia. You could save us all the aggravation and tell me the truth. I might show leniency and make your death painless.”

I swallow, my tongue sandpaper, my mouth a desert. “I already told you.”

His expression hardens, his movements sharp as he shovels food into his mouth. “Fine.” He chews, each bite a reminder of his control, his ability to consume and discard. “I’ll wait until he decides to show up, and then you’ll see the error of your ways. Death will meet you quickly.”

I want to tell him that he’ll see the error in his, but I clamp my mouth shut. I take a bite of the stewed fruit, the sweetness cloying, but I force it down.

I’ll never know when I’ll have the chance to eat again, and I need my strength. He thinks Therion will come.

There’s no question; I have to plan my escape. I can see it in his calculating eyes; he doesn’t plan on letting me go.