“Just wait here,” Sir Vanoak whispered to me. “He'll be done soon. He's already mediated the disputes. Now, he's hearing the requests.”
I nodded, though I didn't know what that meant. Then I looked up at the King. My breath caught. Knowing that I'd never have him, even if I recovered from Bara, made my bodyfill with something I had never felt for a man—longing. There was no fear about becoming the Dragon King's lover holding me back. No worries about him controlling me or abusing me. So I was free to imagine what it would be like to kiss him. In my fantasy, I could touch him at my leisure, and he could touch me without me cringing. If he really was the man he appeared to be, I could have loved him. We could have had something beautiful together, untouched by evil. But I was already tainted, beyond merely touched, and he was too perfect to be with someone like me.
“—the tribes are unsettled, Sire,” the Ricarri man was saying. “People have gone missing. There have been strange attacks in the middle of the night. A cold swoops in, and people vanish with it.”
“I will send the Talons. We will find whoever or whatever is behind this,” King Raventar vowed. He looked down to his right, where a Deldin man stood at the base of the dais, taking notes. “Juv, send word to the Talons. I want a regiment here within the hour to escort Mr. Trefan back to his tribe and conduct an investigation. Be sure they send a claw with the regiment to lead the team.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The Deldin man scribbled something and handed it off to one of the waiting servants, who then ran for the door.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” The Ricarri man bowed and turned to leave. He glanced my way, stumbled to a stop, and gaped at me.
“You may wait for the regiment in the courtyard, Mr. Trefan,” The Dragon King growled.
My gaze shot to the King. He was glaring at the back of the Ricarri's shaved head.
The Ricarri flinched as he tore his gaze away from me and nodded to the King. “Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you.”
Sir Foxren snorted.
I lowered my stare to the ground as my mind spun. So, I was still lovely. Bara hadn't taken that. Somehow, the stain of my enslavement didn't show on my face. My beauty was still a benefit and a threat to me. Sir Vanoak and this stranger had proven it. Some men, like Vanoak, would overlook my past, but there was also a whole world out there that didn't know who I was or what had been done to me. Maybe that was the answer. The King would probably ask me to leave anyway. I would travel far away, go somewhere no one knew me. Start again.
Yes, that was what I would do. The decision lifted a weight from me. In another kingdom, I could be whoever I wanted to be. I could forget Bara.
And the Dragon King who had rejected me.
I glanced at King Raventar again and then flinched. He was staring at me, his eyes narrowed as if he could hear my thoughts. I shifted my wings forward, an automatic reaction to comfort myself. Why did he look so angry? It made no sense.
Before I could gather the courage to look at the King again, the herald at the throne room door boomed out the arrival of a new guest.
“Mr. Dracal Kurvis, Your Majesty,” the herald exclaimed. “He brings a message from Lord Katai Gral.”
Chapter Four
King Raventar's head jerked toward the door, and his stare shot to the Hulfrin man who had just entered the room. I turned toward him as well. Bara had been a Hulfrin, and now the race, with their striped fur and feline features, made me uncomfortable. The claws, the fangs, the muzzle. It all read as cruel in my eyes now. But this Hulfrin was from Katai, and I recognized him. He had been one of Bara's men. This was the man who had offered to protect me to make up for what he'd done. I rejected his offer, but I also forgave him. It wasn't his fault. He had been bound to Bara with a slave ribbon just like me. I knew how impossible it was to disobey Bara when he had you bound. The crimes he committed were Bara's, not his.
Dracal reached the foot of the dais, and then, as if he could sense me watching him, he met my gaze. Then he went still. I inclined my head to him. Even though he stood before the King and should have bowed to him, he turned to face me fully and bowed to me instead.
Everyone in the room looked my way, including the King.
Dracal quickly bowed to the King next. “Greetings, King Raventar of Tabaa. I come with a letter from Lord Katai Gral.He bid me hand it to you personally.” He stepped closer and extended a letter to the King.
“Katai sent you?” The King took the letter.
I went still, a horrible ache in my stomach. There was a look on the King's face that I knew well. He had looked upon me with a version of it often enough. Though his desire had always been restrained where I was concerned. Not with Katai. One mention of his name, and the King's lust broke free. And that was when I knew I had to leave much sooner than I had hoped, even if the King didn't ask me to go. It hurt too much to see the King's interest in another man, especially a man I deeply respected and trusted. The King couldn't have Katai. He was already mated to a Dragon. But that doesn't stop desire, does it? Or the pain of seeing that desire on the face of a man I could have loved.
Katai's voice slid through my memories.“Eliel, King Raventar will protect you. There is no safer place for you to be than in the Royal Palace. Please trust me.”
I had trusted Katai then, and I trusted him now. But he was wrong. The Royal Palace wasn't safe for me anymore.
Shivering so badly that I had to clench my jaw to keep my teeth from clicking, I watched His Majesty open the letter and read it.
King Raventar nodded, folded the letter, and handed it to the Deldin. “Give Katai my thanks for the message. I'm relieved that he has found Bara's accomplice and administered justice.”
Katai found the Spider? Of course, he had. He was a hero. A real hero—cunning, powerful, and bold. He had probably stormed the weaver's home, killed them, and freed everyone theSpider had in their web. That's what he does. Katai saves people. While I just looked pretty.
An ache shot through me. I wanted to be like him. Useful. Heroic. A savior. But I didn't know how. I had no fighting skills. That became very apparent when I returned to kill Bara. It took Bara under thirty seconds to restrain me and bind me again. Then he had taken his time beating me for trying to escape him. That's when he had broken my wing. A grounded Lelurra was a sad thing indeed.
I glanced at the silver brace on my wing. Yup, I was useless. A pretty thing to put on display and fuck when you feel like it. I wasn't witty enough to offer interesting conversation or strong enough to defend myself, much less save anyone. All I had was my looks and maybe my voice. But what did that make me? A pretty bird to put in a cage and listen to it sing.
