He slaps his hand over my mouth, but I push the blade deeper, and his strength fades. With my knee pressing down on his pathetic cock, I lift myself up high enough he can no longer silence me. “Rumpelstiltskin, you are not as smart or as clever as you think you are. I do not love you and I will never marry you.”
His scream is one of pure torment and agony, and I wrench the dagger free from his flesh and then plunge it into his neck, preventing him from uttering another word ever again.
Something crashes against the stone walls, a great presence filling the room, and I stare at my dragon. He is magnificent. Green scales with a golden shine cover his massive body, and his tail swishes once, knocking the three Fae guards still alive into the far wall. Noelle darts forward and shoves something into each of their mouths before they can rise again, and they start to convulse, then lie still.
The beast snorts and paws the floor, leaving deep gouges in the stone with his talons.
Every part of me hurts, but I pull the dagger from the Prince’s body and run for my mate. His wing wraps around me, scooping me up and cradling me protectively against his body. His chest is half the size of my entire cottage, and he is so very warm.
“Roarke.”
My dragon lets out a possessive growl, then gently sets me down, folds his wings against his back, and bows his head to nuzzle my neck. I stroke his jaw, and his golden eyes meet mine. Even in this form, I see love reflected back at me.
His legs fold, and he starts to shift before my eyes. The process takes long moments, and I keep looking over my shoulder, fearful we will encounter more guards—or worse. Another member of the royal family. Assuming there are any left.
Roarke—the man—falls to his knees in front of me, naked, his chest heaving, and I wrap my arms around him. “Aurelia, we must go. Now. Help me?”
“What is wrong? You are frightening me.” The strong, majestic beast is gone, and left in its place is a man who looks like he is about to die.
He cups my cheek, and his lips curve into a smile. “Nothing rest and being free of this place—with my mate—will not fix, darling.”
A flash of movement catches my eye from behind him, and I push to my feet, the dagger in my hand. Noelle. She stands behind Roarke with a cape in her hands, gesturing to him. Of course. He’s naked.
“Come with us,” I say, but she shakes her head, steps closer, and holds out her hand. Roarke pulls the cloak around his body as I lay my fingers over hers. She guides my hand to her forehead, and I do not even need to concentrate to hear her thoughts as clearly as if she were speaking aloud.
“I have another son. The King locked him away years ago when his powers started to grow beyond Rumpel’s. He is a good man. I must find him and free him.”
I tell Roarke what she says, and he pushes to his feet with a groan. “Will he harm the people of this realm?”
Noelle shakes her head.“No. Adrian’s powers have been…bound. Even if what has taken place this day restores them...I know his heart. He will never harm another.”
The Prince makes a gurgling sound from across the room, and Noelle’s stare hardens. She pulls a small piece of iron from a pouch at her hip. I can sense it, and I take a step back.
Stalking over to her son, she shoves the piece of iron into the wound at his neck, and his body starts convulsing as she rests her hands on her hips. Next, she turns to the King. He does not move, even after her single, well-placed kick. Noelle she huffs, then glances at us and nods. The King and the Prince are dead.
My bargain with them is broken, and I am finally free.
Chapter Fifteen
Roarke
“Aurelia, I need you.” Some of my deeper wounds have started to bleed once more, and I am weakening. My dragon demands to be released, but I fear if I let him out, shifting back might kill us both.
I ease the dagger from her hand as I drape my other arm over her slight shoulders. She should not have to bear my weight, but she is stronger than I ever knew. Watching her pull air back into the room after the Prince used his charms was the sexiest, most powerful display of magic I have ever seen outside of shifting.
Two Fae round the corner, and I brandish the dagger as I shout, “Out of our way. Do not make me end you.”
“The King is dead,” one of them says. His glamour falls away, and the tall, broad-shouldered male shrinks before my eyes. He is a head shorter than I am, with spindly arms and legs and a young, fresh face. “We felt it. We have been trapped here for centuries and now…we are free.”
Aurelia looks from the two Fae to me and back again. “You were trapped…?”
“Not all Fae are like he was. Some of us seek nothing but a peaceful existence among humans or a return to the Fae realm. When the King was banished centuries ago, he set a trap. More than half of the Fae in this castle did not choose to come here. Now, we are free. I miss my home. My family back in the Fae realm.”
My mate sucks in a sharp breath. “We…can leave this realm?”
“I do not know how the King created this place. The Fae have their own plane of existence and should never have claimed part of this world,” I say.
“The King’s magic is gone. And with it the veil that separated us from the rest of the earth. Go,” the guard says and bows before Aurelia. “We know what the Prince planned for you, and we vow—on our immortal souls—to protect you for as long as we live. Both of you.”
