Warriors of Wind and Ash (Merciless Dragons #2)

But I do sleep, against my will and my worries. My body demands rest, and punishes me with nightmares in which I sprout wings and try to fly back to Kyreagan, only to be endlessly buffeted by a storm until I crash into the ocean and drown in the deep.

Morning crawls between the curtains, a drab gray light from an overcast sky. Parma assists me with a bath and dresses me in a silky white gown that splits in the front, just below my breasts, and flows open when I walk, revealing my body. The cups of the bodice are covered with crystalline gems and edged with lace, drawing attention to my cleavage. It’s like the gown a bride might wear on her wedding night, and the undershorts I’m given to wear beneath it are equally silky and lacy, cupping my hips and thighs like a soft, sinister promise.

Parma helps me into the white lace stockings, ribbon garters, and high-heeled shoes I’m supposed to wear with the ensemble. She arranges my hair in loose golden waves, then adds a few silver bracelets.

“Just as the King commanded,” she says quietly, as she tints my lashes, cheeks, and lips with cosmetics.

I submit to all of it. I don’t want to make trouble for Parma, and I need to pick my battles with the King. I haven’t seen him since the Vohrainian guards found me in the alley and brought me back to the palace, but I’m sure he’ll have plenty to say about my attempted escape when we meet again.

“What about Callim and Ondette?” I whisper to Parma.

She shakes her head. “I couldn’t find them last night. It was late… ‘most everyone was in bed, Your Highness.”

“Thank you for trying.”

Knuckles rap sharply on the half-open door of the bedroom and a guard leans in. “The King demands your presence in the rear courtyard, Conquered Consort.”

“‘Conquered Consort’ is such a mouthful,” I say coolly, rising from the chair. “I’ll take a ‘Your Highness’ instead. Or a ‘Your Majesty.’ Rolls off the tongue, don’t you think?”

“You’ll be less mouthy once you see what’s waiting for you in the courtyard, bitch,” he replies. “Move your ass.”

Lifting my chin, I stalk past him with the haughtiest expression I can muster, one that would have pleased my mother immensely. But when we reach the rear courtyard, a tremor runs through my body, and all my strength drains out of me.

Callim and Ondette kneel beside the fish pond. The King stands before them, facing away from me. He’s naked to the waist, his broad, muscular back thickly dotted with freckles. He’s holding Ondette by the chin, speaking to her in low tones. Her teeth are bravely clenched, but there’s terror in her eyes. Callim’s head hangs low, despair in the slump of his shoulders, his defiance extinguished.

At the sound of my footsteps and the guard’s, the King turns around. “Ah, Spider, here you are.” His eyes widen as he takes in my outfit, and for a second he doesn’t speak.

He has mentioned his appreciation for my body before, but this is the first time he has openly admired me. There’s a hint of vulnerability in the admiration—a sliver of a crack in his stony gaze.

“Why am I here?” I speak as calmly as I can.

Rahzien clears his throat, his eyes still roving my body. “Surely you recognize these two servants? The ones who helped you leave the palace last night?”

I arch an eyebrow and shrug. “I’ve probably seen them around the palace before, but not recently.”

“Leaving me and lying to me?” Rahzien frowns. “I thought we were past this kind of defiance, Spider. In fact, I’d planned to let you off easy at the dinner with the nobles tonight, allowing them nothing but a kiss or a squeeze—but perhaps I’ll give one or two of them more liberties with your royal person.”

I swallow and pinch my lips together.

“Tell me the truth, and I’ll set boundaries for tonight,” he says. “Keep lying, and forfeit my protection. Did these two servants help you escape? They have each sworn they never saw you.”

“They’re right,” I say tightly. “They didn’t help me. I escaped alone. I used a secret passage, stole clothes, and sneaked into the refuse cart without being seen by anyone.”

Rahzien gazes flatly at me, but I’m beginning to read him better, and I can see a jealous kind of sorrow at the edges of those hard gray eyes. “I’m disappointed, Spider. Because of these two egregious sins, the lying and the leaving, I must punish you severely. I don’t want to, do you understand? But you’re forcing my hand. Tonight, you will share your bed with a man of my choosing. One of the nobles of Elekstan.”

Oh… shit.

“But you want me for yourself,” I falter.

“Yes. But you’ve proven that you’re not worthy of me yet, and tonight is all about proving to the nobles of Elekstan that I can be generous to those who swear allegiance to Vohrain. I intend to bind the nobles to my will, and there’s no better way than by getting them all to compete for a forbidden prize, a shameful pleasure. Don’t worry, Spider—if the winner comes inside you, you’ll be given a tonic to prevent pregnancy.”

“Enough,” gasps Ondette. “I confess. I took the Princess to my room, and I gave her my clothes and shoes.”

Callim speaks up, his voice trembling. “And I hid her in the refuse cart and transported her beyond the palace walls.”

Rahzien closes his eyes and smiles. “Honesty. How beautiful.” Then he spins around, seizes Callim’s head in both hands, and snaps his neck.

Ondette screams, but the sound is cut short as Rahzien grips her skull as well. The crack of her spine reverberates in my bones.