“No! You cannot!” She fights to free herself from my hold, but I will not let her stay here, and have one leg over the sil when she chokes and spasms and fists my shirt, pulling hard enough the fabric rips, and I finally take notice of the sheer terror on her face—and the blue cast to her lips.
Once we’re back inside, she takes a deep, shuddering breath. “The Fae...charm,” she wheezes. “I cannot leave...or I will die.”
“What?”
She clings to me, her arms trembling, and her words are too muffled for me to hear as she buries her face against my neck.
“Aurelia, look at me.”
She does, terror and shame warring for dominance in her hazel eyes.
“Are any of the Fae likely to come for you in the next few hours? To bring you a meal or...” I leave off“to torture you.”
“N-no,” she whispers. “The Prince said I had until morning to...to do the impossible.” Her tears start in earnest once more, and I pull her onto the narrow cot and lean against the wall, Aurelia’s back to my chest and my arms around her.
“Take a deep breath, love, and tell me everything.”
* * *
She speaksin hushed tones about her first night, about being too weak, too scared to resist when the Prince fed her charmed food and attempted to trick her into marrying him. My dragon rails when he learns of the King’s demand that she spin straw into gold, and how the Prince will punish her when she does not complete the task.
“I will never leave here, Roarke. You should not have come,” she says with a sigh, nestling deeper into my embrace.
“You will. If only because I will not accept another conclusion to our story.” I press a kiss to the top of her head. “It is your turn to listen now. And to plot your own revenge against the bastards who would harm you so.”
“I am helpless here.”
“You are not.” I shift her into the crook of my arm so I can meet her gaze. “Aurelia, did no one ever tell you the truth of your birth?”
“What do you mean? My mother died when I was born. What more is there to know?” She sniffles and swipes her sleeve across her nose.
This is a risk. One that could end with her rejecting me or the Fae learning the secret she does not even know she keeps.
“Darling, you have seen the sides of the tower. You know there is no way to climb it.” I have to know if she will accept me before I tell her the rest.
“How did you—?” she asks.
“I am not human. Nor Fae.” Swallowing hard, I take her hands. “I am a dragon. I can transform into a great, winged beast who breathes fire.”
Aurelia blinks up at me, then a sound that might be a laugh escapes her swollen lips. Have the Prince’s charms addled her mind?
“Aurelia? Did you hear me?”
“Dragons are not real.” She shakes her head, a look of pure disbelief on her face. “No. You got in somehow. Snuck into the castle and got to the roof? Then climbed down?”
“I went to the roof, yes. But I flew there.” I loosen the buttons on my shirt to reveal a torso covered with scars. Burns—from playing with my dragon brothers during our childhood—and deep scratches from fighting with werewolves, bears, vampires, and more. “I have been trapped in this realm for decades, Aurelia. Hiding who I am from everyone—especially the Fae.”
“This is madness.” Aurelia tries to get to her feet, but she wavers, and I catch her before she falls.
“You are ill.”
She sags against me and lets me help her back to the cot. “I have not had food nor drink since this morning. And the Prince will ensure I am desperate when he comes topunishme.”
I kneel in front of her and take her hands. “Aurelia, you must believe me. Iama dragon. And you…” I tighten my fingers on hers. “What I am about to say to you must remain secret from the Fae. If it does not…your life will be forfeit.”
“Then do not tell me!” Aurelia cries. “I cannot fight him, Roarke. He forces me to drink this sweet nectar from his cup. You know how dangerous it is to accept food and drink from the Fae. After he makes me drink, my mind is no longer my own. I fear...I will tell him everything. I will have no choice. Leave me.Forgetabout me. My life is over. The Princewillmake me his. But if you go…if you abandon all hope that we can be together—that I caneverbe free—you might have a chance to survive.”
“No, darling. Do not ask this of me.” I do the only thing I can think of. I kiss her. Truly kiss her.
