“Yes.” I force down my disgust. “And when I heard he’d attended Princess Blossom’s ball, once again with the intention of purchasing a bride, I knew something must’ve happened between Maeve and him. If they had fallen out of love, I wanted her back with her family. No matter how much she may hate me for it. So I offered you as a trade.” Stepping closer, I curl a lock of her hair around my fingers.
“I understand. I’d do the same for my sisters.” Hurt strains her voice. “I suppose that’s why you sent me over there today then? You hoped if Elheart had me then Maeve would leave the palace on her own accord?—”
“Dahlia, you’re my wife. Let me make it clear that you belong to me as much as I am yours.” I cup her cheeks, forcing her to look at me. “I only sent you there because you expressed an interest in helping us, and I thought that maybe you could get through to my sister. Trust me, if it were up to me,” my voice lowers, “I’d have you collared in my bedchamber for the next year with clothing no longer a part of your vocabulary.”
Her cheeks heat, but she shrugs me off her. “I’m going home with my sisters.”
Air rushes from my lungs. “What?”
“You heard me,” she huffs. “I may understand your reasoning now, but you still lied to me. I can’t forgive that.”
“You’ll have to, sweetheart.” I pull her against my chest. “Because you’re not going anywhere.”
“Stop it.” She squirms in my hold. “Let me go, Tauren.”
“Not happening.” Tossing her over my shoulder, I keep one hand on her perfect rear while I push through the shrubbery towards the clearing.
“Put me down!” She kicks her legs. The carriage has already gone, but Claren left Velvet tied to a tree for us.
It takes me seconds to position her writhing body into the saddle and hoist myself up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist.
“I can ride by myself,” she spits.
I chuckle against her ear. “And have you run from me again? I don’t fancy fucking you in another wolf den, unless you’d prefer that to our bed?” I still haven’t punished her properly for running from me last time. That’ll happen soon enough. I already have a cell in my private dungeon with her name on it.
“You’re not fucking me again,” she snarls as I kick the horse into motion.
“We’ll see about that.” I grin.
If Dahlia is upset about my lies. Fine. She’s allowed to be. But if she thinks I’ll let her go that easily, she’s forgetting who she’s married to. I’m a demon lord, with a whole castle full of monsters at my disposal.
And if it takes an army of demons to make her love me back. So be it.
33
DAHLIA
“There’ll be quills you can use in the library.” Claren walks ahead of us. Maeve’s daughter follows closely behind him. Blossom and Eden walk by my side while Pumpkin is snuggled up in Eden’s arms.
According to Claren, my sisters were not keen to enter the castle when their carriage first arrived. They’d peeked out through the doorway, staring up at its looming walls, Blossom refusing to let the other girls take even a single step onto the withered grass.
But after Pumpkin scampered up to them, licking each of them before darting back inside the castle to bring them her favourite soft toy, they decided a few hours couldn’t hurt.
They’ve been inseparable ever since.
We met up around moonrise, after Tauren insisted on us all getting rest before the night began. He’d prepared a bedchamber near where Maeve used to sleep for her daughter to rest in, and for my sisters he’d given them individual suites near our tower – although they insisted on sharing.
I don’t blame them. After seeing the skulls, graphic tapestries, and blood-coloured sheets that decorate their suites, I’d hate to ever visit the dungeon.
Once I’d eaten breakfast, Tauren finally let me visit them. There, I found Maeve’s daughter and Claren about to leave for the library.
“There’ll be lots of books too, of course,” Claren goes on. “So if you’d rather point to the letters instead of writing, you can.”
Maeve’s daughter nods while hugging her chest. Like me, she’s dressed in a green demon gown with a long skirt that sweeps along the floor.
My sisters were offered new gowns, but they insisted on wearing the ones they’d brought from home. Or at least, Blossom insisted and Eden reluctantly agreed.
I’ll win Blossom over eventually. Eden will be a much easier battle. My fashion-obsessed sister has been eyeing the delicate embroidery of my gown the entire journey here.
