Sliding the dress over her head after putting on the elegant undergarments, that on any other occasion Audrey would’ve been thrilled to own, the princess turned toward the mirror and immediately wished for her petticoat and heavy gown. The dress fit like a glove, emphasizing all her curves and highlighting a cleavage she didn’t know she had with its deep V-neck. Looking at herself from all angles, the princess had to admit she liked what she saw, which was something she’d never thought before in her life.
In her day, many suitors had admired Audrey for her beauty. The princes her father had tried to match her with all complimented her on her full figure and one even commented on her behind, saying he’d ‘like to take a bite out of that apple’ when he thought she was out of earshot. Audrey had always wished she could be thin like the other princesses she’d met at court, but that had not been in the cards for the raven-haired girl.
It was all very flattering, mostly because she looked just like her mother, Bianca, who’d been brutally murdered when Audrey was only six years old. The princess still missed her mother every day of her life. There had been a time when she’d thought her father’s troops would find whatever enemy had chosen to strike out at the king by killing his wife and father-in-law and do to them what they’d done to Audrey’s loved ones.
Many days of Audrey’s childhood were spent trying to forget the image of Bianca and Gabriel’s heads on pikes in the courtyard of their castle. She remembered crying until there were no more tears. Breaking everything she could get her hands on and screaming until she could no longer speak before collapsing from exhaustion, only to wake up and have to face the people of their kingdom as they came to pay their respects to their dead queen.
Her father had helped her into the first black gown she’d ever worn and slid her tiny feet into the matching ballerina slippers. He’d explained that it was going to be a difficult day and he would understand if she needed to step away to cry but warned her not to let the commoners see her tears. They could never see, even while in mourning the loss of a loved one, any weakness in their monarchs. It was just the way it had to be. He kissed her on the forehead, stood and took her hand, leading her to the ballroom where she’d gotten her first pony just a few months earlier. But on that day, it served as a mortuary.
Audrey’s memory blinked out of existence as Jeeves wheezed, “Time to go, mum.”
One last look in the mirror and a pinch to both cheeks for color and the princess was out the door. Jeeves insisted she take his arm on their slow trek to the formal dining room Adramelech only used for his fanciest parties. The tiny heels of her bejeweled slippers tapped against the stone floor. Audrey’s reminder that she had been teleported back to a happier time but was actually being coerced into only the devil knew what by a sadistic Demon Lord.
Entering the dining room, the smell of roast pork and vegetable invaded her sense. Audrey stomach growled and it was then she realized it had been over a month since she’d eaten.
“Damned black magic,” she growled under her breath, sure Adramelech had heard her comment from the way the tiny earflaps on the top of his grotesque head quivered. She was suspiciously surprised when he did not react.
Yeah, he’s up to something for sure.
Making a spectacle out of standing up, the Chancellor met Audrey halfway to the table and after bowing to her, took her hand, placed it on top of his, and escorted her to a rather ornate golden chair she’d never seen before. After sitting, the princess smoothed the tablecloth and almost fell out of her chair. The table, and after closer inspection, the chair, just like the furniture in her room was wooden, not bones and skulls as was the Demon Lord’s usual choice of medium for his interior décor.
Immediately noticing her reaction, Adramelech asked, “Do you like the improvements to our home, princess?”
The use of ‘our home’ was not lost on Audrey, but she decided to play dumb to see where the Chancellor was going with their conversation. Using the voice her father had taught her to use when speaking with dignitaries from other kingdoms that she didn’t care for, Audrey responded, “I do. It is very nice. Thank you for my bedroom and all the clothes. They are beautiful.”
Appearing pleased with her reaction, Adramelech pointed to the huge silver dome in the middle of the table. Jeeves shuffled over and, with a great deal of struggling, lifted the lid, revealing the roast pork and accompaniments Audrey had smelled upon her arrival. Again, her stomach grumbled and her mouth watered.
It wasn’t that over the years the Chancellor hadn’t kept her well-nourished. It was just that her meals, if they were food and not some magical concoction the Demon Lord made her drink, usually consisted of stale bread, mushy vegetables, and an unrecognizable meat-like substance with an origin Audrey refused to guess at. So for her to be presented with real food after all these years, she had to figure whatever bomb Adramelech was about to drop on her was going to be huge. Like Armageddon. But she would see it out to the end. It was the only chance she had to stop whatever was coming.
Adramelech rang a small silver bell and out popped a leggy blonde demon dressed in a scant maid’s outfit, which began to serve their food. Right behind her entered a stringed quartet made up of a mixture of demons and ghouls, who sat right down and started to play Bach.
This just gets weirder and weirder.
Using every ounce of self-control she could muster, Audrey looked down at the Chancellor and smiled. She wasn’t surprised to find him staring at her. It was something he’d done all the time before what he now referred to as her fall from grace. Now more than ever, her skin crawled and she wanted to poke out his eyes. She’d always promised herself the day would come when she watched the fire dwindle in his yellow eyes but doubts had started to form lately.
Taking a bite of her dinner, Audrey wondered what the Chancellor was going to do with the huge plate of food before him. She’d never in all her years in captivity seen him eat. The princess didn’t even know if the part lizard, part wolf, part whatever else he was could eat real food. Her questions were laid to rest when he slid a small piece of meat into his mouth.
Learn something new every day.
Blessed silence accompanied the rest of their meal, including the lovely strawberry cheesecake their busty blonde servant delivered with the first real coffee Audrey had sipped in over fifty years. Several times, the princess thought about asking where all the food had come from. After all, fresh strawberries did not grow in hell. But every time the thought crossed her mind, she pushed it away, deciding ignorance was bliss.
Pushing his chair away from the table, Adramelech casually made his way to her. Holding out the same grimy talon-tipped paw that had ripped the flesh from her body so many times, the Chancellor sweetly smiled and asked, “Join me for drinks in the parlor?”
Audrey hadn’t ever seen a parlor or anything remotely resembling a parlor, but she knew his request was only a formality and one she could not refuse. Led to a part of the castle she’d never seen before, the princess stepped into a huge theatre-like room that no one in their right mind would ever consider a parlor.
Following Adramelech to the very center of the auditorium, Audrey carefully sat on the red crushed velvet seat he pulled down for her and accepted what smelled like brandy in a delicately etched glass snifter. Jeeves shuffled in with a tray of tiny petit fours and sat it on the small round tea table between her and the Demon Lord.
“I hope you like the film. I know how much you’ve enjoyed the ones the Hunter Demons brought back in years past.”
No sooner had the Chancellor finished speaking than the lights dimmed. Trailers of upcoming movies, Audrey figured the humans lucky enough to live topside would be enjoying over the next few months, played on the big screen before her. Then came the main attraction.
Audrey gasped as an overhead view of the castle she and her family had once called home appeared in vivid color. The image grew as the camera moved closer to its subject. The single violin playing a haunting melody from her childhood grew to an incredibly accomplished orchestra, as the lens focused on what she knew without a doubt was her mother and father’s wedding day.
Tears flowed unchecked as Audrey’s entire life played out in front of her; the only comfort coming from the warm amber liquid she continued to sip. The princess had imagined her uncle’s deal with Adramelech and the subsequent murder of her father many times, but until that moment, had never actually witnessed them. Her heart broke all over again to see the look of horror in her father’s eyes when he realized it was his own brother who had singed away the king’s life. The only solace she felt was that he never knew of her fate; never knew she had become the servant of a demon.
Accepting her third dram of brandy, Audrey wanted to scream when every detail of the night she met Rian came into view. She’d always known Adramelech had planned it all. What she hadn’t known was that he’d been tracking her family since her parent’s wedding. It only made sense since her fate as a dragon warrior’s mate had been decided long before by the all-knowing Universe.
The only thing she could never figure out was how the Chancellor knew. He was not in good standing with the Universe or anything remotely good, so how had he found out. Which led her to wonder if he knew that, how did he not know Rian’s name. Wouldn’t finding out who her intended was have been part and parcel of finding out she was a mate? Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Audrey’s vision blurred slightly then quickly cleared. She guessed it was from all the hits to the head she’d received recently and took another drink from her sifter.
