Page 73 of The Forbidden Dragon King (Shadow Kings #1)

“Freya is worthy of being our King’s mate.

” Wraith twists to face me. Her expression is wary.

“My Guild doesn’t want me to share this secret yet.

They certainly don’t want me to tell you.

After what’s happened with Vic, however, I don’t want to die and take this with me.

I will suffer any consequences for breaking their rule. ”

“Wraith,” Aurelius says, concerned, “be careful. You’re bound by your Guild. I won’t lose you as well.”

What secret? One about me?

I feel like I’m about to open a book and once I do, I will never be able to unsee what’s inside.

Part of me wants to keep it shut. The curious, impulsive side says fuck it.

No one has considered me worthy before.

“I won’t hide any longer that she’s not only the sole survivor of the Orm massacre but also a secret princess: the baby daughter of the King and Queen of the previous court.”

I’m shaking; I can’t stop.

“You’re wrong.” I’m talking too fast. My mind is reeling. “Why are you lying? I mourned that princess every year at the barrows, along with the other victims who died. I have a shrine for my parents. Why are you manipulating me like this?”

Aurelius tilts his head, studying me. “That means you’re the true Omega Queen of the Fang Kingdom.

It’s only King Ulf who put in place the strict hierarchy with Omegas unable to rule or lead.

It makes sense now why he’s oppressed an entire dynamic to ensure that you could never challenge him for the throne.

The golden threads knew your true identity, even if we didn’t. ”

“No.” I twist in my chains, despite the pain in my wrists. “I don’t fucking believe it. I’m nobody. Why would…? King Ulf and Bard, they’re…”

My eyes mist with tears.

What if I am wolf shifter royalty? What if I spent all those years in the dorms, being bullied and alone, cleaning on my knees, while Bard and his friends got to waltz past me wrapped in their rich, warm clothes and arrogance?

What if I suffered all this time, but truly, I should have been the elite?

Would I still be me?

Who the fuck even am I?

Is any of my life real?

I howl, heartbroken.

Who says that it’s every Omega’s dream to be a princess?

Wraith looks pained. “You needed to know. King Ulf is a distant cousin by matching and not birth. He took the opportunity to bury the royal family and their past to steal the throne. Your magic was suppressed, which is why you can’t shift.

I imagine he feared that your transformation would give away the truth.

And I’ve heard whispers that King Ulf orchestrated the massacre himself with the help of…

” She breaks off, as if she knows more but can’t say it. “Someone outside Fang Kingdom.”

I scream them, long and primal and from the depths of my soul.

“Whatever you need, love, I’m here for you.” Daire pushes himself gingerly into a crouch. His wings stretch out, as his eyes glow in the moonlight. “To be my Queen’s knight or King who rains down bloody vengeance on everyone who has wronged you.”

Tears cloud my vision. The world is blurred and unreal.

“Why didn’t they just kill me?” I whisper.

“You were a pawn,” Wraith replies. “They probably thought that you might be useful at some point. But King Ulf was confident in his position by the time of the Mate Hunt. So, he just?—”

“Let nature run its course.” I am trembling. “I should have died that night. I’m the fucking Queen, but Bard discarded me as being not worthy.”

My entire life has been a lie. I can’t untangle the truth in my mind.

When Aurelius stalks toward me, I remember how he had looked to me when I’d first seen him in the army camp. He had made Bard appear like a kid. His golden waves of hair had tumbled under his crown around his sharp cheekbones.

He’d glowed like the sun but a dying sun .

Now, I blink the tears from my ears. They tumble down my cheeks. I search Aurelius’ face for warmth, anything to remind me of the dragon who I have come to love. Yet he’s as icy looking as I’ve ever seen.

I brace myself, expecting him to slash my chains as well, hoping that this time he catches me.

Isn’t that at least Omega privilege?

Instead, he leans closer to me, caging me against the column.

I am barely able to think. My mind is a tumult of emotions since Wraith’s revelation.

The dominance of the King’s pheromones are overwhelming.

“My brother once warned me,” he whispers, “that there is always a choice about who to save and who to sacrifice because the cost is too high to save everybody.”

He takes a deep breath of my neck, kissing once over his bond bite, surprisingly gentle.

Then he straightens, resting the sword against the marble to the side of my throat. My heart is racing.

He leans in, and his breath is hot against my ear.

“Don’t hate me.” His voice is low, urgent, and painfully soft. “Don’t reject our bond, my Omega Queen.”

I stiffen.

Then he grips my chin and kisses me, brief and bruising.

I brand the feel of him onto my lips because something inside churns with dread that this may be the last time that I feel my dragon’s touch .

When he straightens, pulling away from the kiss far too soon, there is nothing soft left in his expression.

“I said a third option,” Aurelius announces, coldly, “one that will show my strength and bring peace to all the realms. I won’t watch more of my people die or lose any other friends. I have sworn a Blood Oath and dedicated my life to seeking that.”

“Third option…?” Daire narrows his eyes. “Why don’t we just go with we’re all Kings and Queens now, so fuck the options, aye?”

Aurelius ignores Daire, never looking away from me.

At the same time, I am certain that his speech is for the benefit of the Maximinus, Decima, and the Council.

It’s a performance.

Have Daire and I only been pawns in his game of war with Lanlin all along?

“I never dreamed that Lanlin would dare hit at the heart of my kingdom.” Aurelius’ eyes are hard, but there is something in them that I can’t quite read.

“He’s a ruthless monster. A beast. Shadow Gods above, I don’t know why I forgot that.

We have the best chance now that we’ve ever had, however, to buy time with a truce, before we destroy him. ”

“How?” Maximinus arches his brow. “What in the heavens can we offer him that he’d accept?”

Aurelius rests the tip of the executioner sword at my throat directly over the golden thread collar, which tingles as if in answer.

I feel like a human sacrifice .

Mesmerized, I’m caught in the cool amber of Aurelius’ eyes.

Please, don’t say it.

We’re pack.

Dragon riders.

Alpha and Omega.

Fated mates...

Aurelius presses the sword harder against my neck. “We offer him a peace deal. He didn’t want the war to start. But he will want an Omega’s blood. He will want hers .”

“You wouldn’t…” I sob.

“I’ll kill you.” Daire attempts to push himself up but cries out in pain from his injuries.

Stubbornly, he still attempts to drag himself with his ruined arms across the marble, baring his teeth.

War marches toward Daire, stomping on his back to pin him down. “Stay where you are, little fae.”

“The Raven King will be the bonus to sweeten the deal.” Aurelius never looks away from me. “Apparently, fae blood tastes like nectar.”

“Aurelius.” I weep. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Maximinus arches his brow. “I’m impressed. I didn’t expect you to have the balls to send your mates to the Bloods as food.”

Decima smiles, vicious and satisfied. “Or are you sending them to be pets?”

I stare at my Alpha.

He has to tell them that this is a mistake. He didn’t mean it. He has another way out .

Right?

“Hadrian,” I whisper, fiercely, “I need you. Please, come out. I’m in danger. Hadrian .”

“Did you ever truly love me? Am I not enough without him as well?” Aurelius’ expression tightens.

Then his face smooths into a mask again.

I’ve lost him. I’ve lost everything. “I have a plan to trick Lanlin and burn his soul to ash. We don’t need to execute my mates because they will help us end the war and destroy our greatest enemy.

I’m offering Kit to become Lanlin’s Blood Lover.

And my Little Spark? She will travel to the heart of the wicked nighttime Blood Kingdom and become the Shadow Vampire King’s bride. ”