My head jerked up. “Don't do that.”
The King lifted an eyebrow. “And why not?”
“You've given me so much. Please don't lower yourself to entertain me. I couldn't bear it.”
The Dragon King searched my face. “Eliel, making you smile is not debasing myself. We're alone in here. If my acting silly brings you joy, I see it as a triumph. I've had many victories in my life, but none of them have made me feel as satisfied as hearing you laugh.”
“Not even winning the throne?” I teased.
“No, not even that.”
My hesitant smile fell open into a gape.
“Don't you see?” He leaned closer, but didn't touch me. “We've just moved forward, you and I. We shone a light in the darkness he left inside you. The monsters have fled. They can't live in happiness. Keep laughing, Eliel. With every smile, you take another step closer to true freedom.”
“I am free.”
“No, darling, you're not. He still has a claw in you. But it's all right. You're digging it out. You'll win in the end. I will ensure it.”
I sighed, knowing he was right. Bara had more than a claw in me. He had claws and teeth and cock. I still felt him inside me in so many ways. I wanted to expel him like a wandering spirit. Send him to his god for judgment. But I couldn't do it alone. I met the King's gaze. Tears overflowed my eyes, but I didn't care. Let him see. He already knew how broken I was.
I couldn't stop the whisper from hissing past my lips. “Help me.”
The King wedged his mug into the basket. “Tell me what you need, and I will give it to you.” He dropped to his kneesbefore me and opened his arms. “I will hunt down all the evil in this world and destroy it for you. I'll give you my strength when you need it. I'll even stand back when you don't. Just tell me how to help you, Eliel.”
I looked down at my meal.
Gently, he took the pie and set it in the basket. Next, my mug got nestled into the basket beside his. At last, he sat back on his heels and waited.
With him so close and me positioned on the edge of the bench, my wings brushed his shoulders. I could feel him through the feathers—tiny twinges of joy shooting along my wing bones and into my spine. They quickened my breath. Or maybe that was his scent—sweet sage and musk. It filled my world. As he did. I felt saturated with him. Maybe he could give me strength. And maybe someday, I wouldn't need it.
“Just say it,” Raventar whispered. “Tell me what you want. I won't act without your permission.”
I sucked in a shivering breath. “How can you do this?”
“Do what?”
“Give me such control over you?”
“Eliel, don't you understand yet? I have no choice. You took control the moment you walked into my life.”
“No. No, I didn't.” I leaned back. “Please don't say pretty things to seduce me. What I need from you, if you really care, is honesty.”
The Dragon King chuckled, but it was without mirth, as if he directed it at himself. His head fell back, and his eyes closedwhile his arms fell limp to his sides. “Honesty, he asks for. Honesty.”
“I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I didn't mean to offend you.”
He laughed harder, bringing his head up, and opened his eyes. “Eliel, I have never been more honest in my life. That's why I laugh. I just bared myself to you, and you think I'm lying. To seduce you, of all things. How can you say that when I've rejected your offer to bed me?”
I blinked. “Oh. I see. Uh. You . . . I don't understand.”
“I am not giving you control over all of my actions.” He put his hands on the bench to the sides of my thighs and leaned closer.
My heart sped up. I couldn't breathe, only stare into his ocean eyes. They caught the light and glittered.
The King brought our faces together, a mere inch separating us, so that his words warmed my lips. “I am giving you control over us.” He angled his head to the side, almost kissing me. “Over how and when I touch you. You will control our courtship. Do you understand now?” He leaned back to meet my gaze.
I nodded.
