Erik glares at the being. “Open the door, key master.”
“But she didn’t agree to my deal.”
Erik sighs. “Open the door immediately, or Eron will divest you of your duties and send you back to your realm.”
The shadow dragon hisses and squeezes his body between the bars. He lifts the key and snaps the lock open, then with a flash of his golden eyes, fades into the shadows once more.Creepy.
Erik jerks his head at me. “Eron is awake and has requested your presence immediately.”
I grin at him as I stride out. Erik looks two strikes away from taking my head. “He confirmed Malice attacked us, didn’t he?”
He glares at me. “He did.”
“Daphne, you can’t leave me to rot here,” Charming begs.
“You know this liar?” Erik snarls.
I need to tread carefully. “He is attempting to woo my headstrong sister. He thought she was the maiden who had crossed into the realm.”
“So he did it for love?”
No, he did it for a floof fondle, but perhaps one diurnal, he could feel love.“The possibility of it, I believe.”
“Yes, that’s right. Love makes us do stupid things,” Charming says.
“Do you want him back?” Erik asks.
Charming’s blue gaze collides with mine. “Please, Daphne. I’m too pretty for prison. You know the stories they share?”
No, but I’m sure I don’t want to, either.“I’ll meet with Eron, then decide,” I declare. Charming growls at me.Ooh, very scary—to a mouse, perhaps.“Stop your whining. At least you’re safe here. Behave, and I may return for you. Cause problems, and I’ll leave you here to rot.”
I straighten my dress, check everything female is covered, and stride toward the door with a spring in my step. I am grabbing the diurnal by the horns and riding that sucker out of the Land of Reflection to save my sister and my knights from my evil self. So much to do, so little time.
“Hey, Daphne,” Erik calls.
“Yup,” I answer as I continue down the passage.
“Unless you want a special viewing of the torture room, you might want to turn around and follow me.”
I freeze, spin on my heel, and hold my head in the air. “I was just checking out the accommodations before I report back to Eron. All seems dark and dank, nothing too alarming.”
He chuckles low as I stride past him. “We appear to have gotten rid of one chaotic female in replace of another.”
“I resent being compared to her.”
Charming shakes his head. “If you are my savior, I’ll consider myself doomed and make peace with the Idols.”
I point at him. “Deal. I’ll see you in the next life, Prince Poopfloof.”
His mouth snaps closed, and I consider it to be a good diurnal when I make a prince speechless. Now, to meet with aking and enact a rescue plan, save my body, not fall foul of the Lady of Lake legend, and above all, reunite with sausage and cheese boards. Easy peasy. I trip up on the steps. Erik grabs my arm and saves me from faceplanting on the stone stairs.
Okay, one part at a time. I don’t want to enrage the Idols by tackling too many things at once. First on the list is... sausages and cheese. Everyone knows you shouldn’t do heroic things on an empty stomach. Meaty goodness makes everything else far more likely to succeed.
“Why are you mumbling about sausages?” Erik asks.
I raise a brow at him as we stride through the courtyard. “The more important question is, why aren’t you mumbling about them? You look like a little sausage could loosen you up.”
He blinks at me, then shakes his head. What a mellow. Sausages solve everything. I’ll show him the light.
