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“We have fought several beasts,” Lian adds, the three of them obviously covered in wounds and torn clothes.
“Your word means fuck all to me right now,” he snaps and glances over his shoulder. “Guards.” He flaps a hand, calling them over with a flick of his fingers. “Dawn, you may be the one responsible, but know that your actions today have resulted in all four of you being held accountable.”
I swallow the lump in my throat, trembling. “I’m sorry,” I say. “Punish me. Leave them alone.”
“No!” Lian barks. “I go where she goes.” Corvin and Kazak nod just as much.
The king snorts. “Don’t fret. No one will miss out.”
I hug myself, unsure how to fix what my dragonfly has done.
“Your Majesty,” Corvin continues with a steady voice. “I understand your anger, but let’s not make hasty decisions. Delicate alliances bind our realms, and such decisions could damage them. Let’s discuss this without our emotions ruling us.”
The king snaps his attention to Corvin. “You dare stand before me and raise the topic of alliances.” His voice cracks loudly. “You four enter my home and have the audacity to terrify and threaten those under my protection, but you want me to care about the fucking bonds between our realms?”
No one speaks at first, and my heartbeat bangs in my ears because I’m imagining the worst possible scenario, where he’s going to kill each one of us.
Corvin doesn’t back away. “Our sincerest apologies, as it was a grave mistake out of our control, but we will do whatever it takes to show you how genuine we are in our remorse.”
The king’s lips twist into a sneer. “You, of all people, boy, should be aware that alliances are about mutual respect and trust. If you believe I will sweep aside today’s events, you severely misunderstand the kind of king I am.”
I feel the blood drain from my face as my throat dries.
Gods, what have I done?
A flare of nausea crashes over me. The king’s fury is terrifying, but hearing him say this incident will impact the alliances between Earth and Grimvale tilts the world around me. I’ve risked a threat of war between the kingdoms because I can’t control my dragonfly. I lower my head, wrapping my arms around myself, wanting to vanish.
The guards arrive at the king’s side and close in around us. “Take them to the dungeon in the compound,” the king orders.
“We’ll go in peace,” Corvin says, his voice darkening.
One roughly snatches Corvin’s arm, and another shoves Lian in the back, who moves without fighting, which isn’t like him.
Another guard comes at me, grabbing my arm hard enough that I wince from the pain. We barely take a step before Kazak shoves his huge, monstrous hand into the man’s back, sending him reeling forward and releasing me.
“Get your fucking hand off her,” Kazak snarls, standing beside me with those enormous shoulders squared.
“Enough,” the king commands. “Just get them out of my sight, now!”
The guards pummel their fists into Kazak to get him moving, but no one lays a hand on me, and I remain close to my monsters. My heart sinks down to the pit of my stomach because this is all my fault.
I don’t say a word as guards shove us into the carriage, and we’re carried across the city in silence. In the confines of the carriage, I stare out at the spectacular city that now reminds me of the humiliation and the dreadful certainty that nothing will be the same after today.
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
LIAN
We’re in a dungeon, and of all the fucked-up things on my list of shit that could go wrong, this wasn’t one of them. Yet, here we are, all four of us in a dimly lit prison. It’s big enough for a king-size bed, and surprisingly, the floors are polished clean. On the bright side, it doesn’t reek nearly as bad as it could, so there are some saving graces.
I’m lounging on the ground, back to the wall, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, because there’s nothing to do but wait for the king to punish us as he sees fit.
The dick didn’t even hear us out, and that infuriates me.
Kazak sits nearby, Dawn settled on his lap, her back reclined against his chest as if he’s her own personal monster armchair. He insisted she’d be more comfortable on him instead of sitting on the cold stone.
Of course he’d say that, because who doesn’t want a beautiful petal like Dawn sitting on their cock… even if it’s over his pants? But that’s not the point; it’s that she’s not on my lap.
