“How do you make that sound dirty?”
He moves around me and into the living quarters, which make so much more sense now. If I watch his fine ass tense with each step, it’s because I’m curious if he’s that toned everywhere. I can confirm he is. There’s not a pound of stray fat on this male. He drags a box out from under the bed, and I avert my eyes before I get more than I bargained for. He pulls on a pair of breeches and then spins to face me. I drop the egg into the pan with the other one.
He pulls out a chair and waves his hand for me to take a seat. I plonk my ass down and he sits next to me. “In every generation of knights, there is a king among them.”
I nod. “Got it. That’s what you are all vying for. By defeating the dragon and rescuing the damsel, you prove your worthiness for the crown.”
The smile slides off his face. “Something like that. What the history books don’t tell you is that in each generation one brother is born a dragon, and it will be he that needs to be slaughtered to come into power.”
I freeze just as Eugene pecks my big toe. “They need to kill you?”
Theo nods. “There’s a dark side to most of the fairy tales and legends you have grown up listening to, something wicked which challenges the good in your heart.” He lays his palm on his chest.
“Your father, the king—he killed his own brother?”
Theo nods. “That’s correct. But they didn’t count on us having the strong brotherly bond we have. So we play the game, and each quarter annus, one of us pretends to rescue the damsel.”
I blink and a heavy weight lodges in my stomach. “Four damsels every annus die because of your games,” I whisper. “There’s nothing good about that.”
He jerks back in his chair like I slapped him. I could happily do so. This is the first time I have thought of the Stirling brothers as having the same casual cruel attitude toward Burghers that the rest of The Hallowed seem to have.
“Of course not,” he snaps, shaking his head. “But we must keep up appearances in order for the Hallowed to believe the ruse we’ve created.”
“Then what happens to them?”
“I fly them to a village that straddles the line between Far, Far Away and So Far Away. They live out a peaceful life and don’t want for anything. I ensure they have enough food for their bellies, blankets for the beds, and clothing for their backs.”
A rush of relief cascades through me as the weight of dread lifts. They can go back to being my shiny Stirlings because they weren’t condemning damsels to a life sentence. They were giving them freedom and a trouble free existence from The Hallows. My gaze hits his as I realize what this means for me. I can never return to The Hallows. I am bound for this village in the middle of nowhere, for a life without the green-eyed, tall handsome men that have somehow inserted themselves into my world in a few short diurnals. Gwyneth will murder me.
“Why did you bring me here instead of to the village?”
He chuckles. “Because you are no damsel.”
I fold my arms and glare at him. “I’m not good enough for your precious damsel disposal village?”
He leans forward and pries my arms apart before dragging me from my chair and onto his lap. “No Daphne, because you are too good for that. I don’t know how you ended up bound to the post, but I wasn’t giving up a chance to get you to myself, alone on an impenetrable mountain.”
My lips part, and his gaze drops to them. “Oh,” I mutter like an idiot. Then my stomach rolls like a thundercloud. Stupid appetite. Now is not the time to interrupt a maiden and her knight. This is heading into sexy time. Food can wait. A growl rumbles from my belly. Apparently not.
Theo stands, and my feet drop onto the floor. “Let’s get you fed, Daphne. You are going to need your strength.”
A blush rises in my cheeks as he stalks from the living quarters into the cave. Idols save me, I’m alone with my dragon man in a snuggly cave. Expect sparks to fly—literally.
ChapterNineteen
Theo makes quick work of skinning the deer outside of the cave and before I know it, he’s started a fire on the stove and chopped the meat into a pan. The cave fills with the tantalizing aroma of delicious deer stew. Eugene and Hamish go investigating the treasure cave, and Theo eyes them suspiciously like they are about to steal his riches. If I was a capon in the presence of a scary dragon, I’d find the furthest, darkest corner too.
I stretch my legs out as I sit at the dining table and watch my man work. No, wait, not mine. I hold no claim over the Stirlings. I’m still reeling from the twist in their legend, the one where they have to murder their own sibling to fulfill their destiny. At some point, would fate force the issue?
I’m not at all transfixed by Theo’s muscles bunching and flexing on his back. I’m definitely not thinking about how they would feel under my fingertips.
Theo glances over his shoulder and grins. “What are you doing?” he asks.
I stare at my hand, which has grown a mind of its own and reached out to Theo. I snap it back to my side and then tuck them under my butt. There, no more wandering hands.
“What other wicked things am I missing from fairy tales?” I ask, diverting the attention away from my troublesome hands.
He turns and chops some vegetables, the dull thud of the knife echoing on the wooden board before he adds them to the stew. There’s no need for vegetables. I’m a full on meat kind of girl. But if he wants to add them for healthiness or whatever, then I won’t stop him.
