A Throne of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales – B&tB Book 2)

An hour after the sun went down, I walked down the stairs wearing a slinky little black number that plunged down my neckline and showed off most of my back. The bottom fell to my knees with slits up both sides. It was lovely and fit me perfectly. My dagger was out of place hanging at my hip, and the throwing knives around my thighs only added to the look.

Leala had done my hair in an overstated updo and applied extra makeup. The goal was to look vain and extravagant and foolish. To encourage the demons to underestimate me. Besides, swinging wildly out of character would keep them from guessing my real personality.

Maybe I was foolish to think I could go toe to toe with the demon king, but I had to at least give it a shot. Otherwise I’d be under his thumb like everyone else, and the kingdom would definitely be doomed.

All was quiet on the third-floor landing. Not a soul stirred. On the second-floor landing, I heard shouts and laughter. A man ran by the foot of the stairs on the first floor, leather straps crisscrossing his body, studs lining the straps. A demon woman followed, cackling madly, shiny pinkish scales covering her body and her tail whipping out behind her.

Usually the demons wore their human masks around the castle. For the most part, anyway. Apparently they were letting it all hang out tonight.

“Need an escort?”

I turned to see the demon king sauntering up behind me. The duster and pleats had been replaced with a tuxedo and a black bow tie. His reddish eyes and slick smile set me on edge.

“Actually, no. I doubt your people will approach if you are hovering around like a ghoul.”

“My goodness. So prickly. Do you ever drop the tough-girl act?”

Tough-girl act? my animal thought. Give me time, ass clown. I’ll show you how much of our personality is an act.

I kept from smirking. Dolion would definitely die one day, and it would be my blade sticking out of his neck.

I shrugged. “It’s your circus. I’m just trying to fit in.”

He stuck out a hand, indicating we should take the stairs to the first floor. “You dressed the part.”

“Of a tough girl? Hardly.”

“The dagger, the throwing stars…”

“You’re out of touch, love,” I said, borrowing from Hadriel’s playbook. “Shifter ladies like to accessorize. We do it with fine daggers and perfectly balanced throwing knives. I do need a new belt for the sheath, though.”

“Shifters, yes. Nothing but animals growling and spitting at each other. It never sat right with me that they should have so many kingdoms, such an abundant population, and so many seats on the council.” He smiled at me, and I kept my face perfectly blank.

Council? That only vaguely rang a bell. I was sure it was mentioned somewhere, in one of the many books I had poured over lately, but it hadn’t been touched on enough to stick.

Yet another thing to add to my continual research list.

“But that’s enough of politics,” he said. “One of those seats has been given up, and it will remain vacant. I can see you like that dragon—he’s quite striking, I must admit, except for the scars—but you’d do well not to get too attached. Consider it a hint from a friend.”

“Oh, we’re friends now? Fantastic. Except friends don’t threaten each other, bub.”

His brow furrowed. He’d probably never been called “bub” before.

He walked me to a grand ballroom. The doors had been thrown wide and candlelight spilled out into the corridor. Raucous laughter reverberated around me, and I was starting to clue in to the fact that these nights produced no other type of laughter.

He stopped by the door, his smile sly and eyes twinkling. He thought he was about to throw me to the wolves.

“Enjoy yourself,” he said, and walked away.

The scene in the ballroom stopped me for a moment. It reminded me of the first night in the castle, when I’d walked into what was essentially one big orgy. Except this time, the demons were in their true forms. Scaled beasts hunched between creamy thighs. Demons thrusting with their tail curled around the ankle of the receiver. One demon looked very like a minotaur.

“Super,” I said, forcing myself forward.

Their demon magic hit me immediately, but it wasn’t all sexual. I felt rage and sorrow, too, suggesting these demons fed off a whole range of emotions. They all hit me at once, a clusterfuck cocktail.

“Double super.” I sauntered right into the middle, because what the hell else was I supposed to do? It wasn’t like I was here to watch, and I definitely wouldn’t partake. My goal was to kill any demon that gave me the opportunity.

“Hmm, come to join the fun, my sweet?” A demon scuttled closer, its head reaching to about the level of my breast. Its forked tongue flicked out, possibly sampling the air like a snake. Or maybe it was just gross. Its hard brow ridge arched over shiny black eyes that showed no whites. Small spikes rose along its arms, and the rest of its nude body was covered in leathery skin. Two batlike wings were scrunched up behind it.

“My sweet? What are you, a storybook villain?”

I made sure I didn’t face it directly. I wanted my shoulder to be the closest point of contact for it, because that meant it was the body part most likely to be touched.

Another demon walked out of the fray, directly toward me. This one was about my height and covered in greenish scales. No horns marked its face. No nose, either. Its bald head had bony ridges, and its absolutely massive dick stuck out much too far.

“You,” he said to the leathery demon at my side. “Go.”

The leathery demon scampered away with a strange sort of squeal. The newcomer stalked toward me, and I could tell he had something in mind. Some sort of action.

Watch, folks, as this big fucker gets handsy and loses the thing on his body with the farthest reach.

Please stop talking to imaginary people, my animal thought. People are going to have proof that you’re batshit crazy.

I huffed out a laugh.

“You have humor, animal?” Dong Song said, stopping in front of me.

“That’s not very nice,” I told him. “Do you know what else isn’t very nice? Me calling you an ugly cunt. But I really want to.”

“You are meant to come with me.” He gestured me onward. “Come.”

“No thanks.”

He waited for a moment. “Come!” he demanded.

“Does that ever work? Offering no foreplay and then shouting at women to come?”

In a flash of anger, he reached out to grab me. It took everything I had to stop from slapping his hand away and stabbing him right then and there. I had to wait for him to go for me, though. I didn’t want the demon king to get one up on me because of a technicality.

I didn’t have to wait long.

He grabbed me around the throat, something Nyfain and I had worked on a lot. It was one of his moves, after all, and he wanted me to be able to fight back in the best way possible.

I didn’t use any of those moves now, though. I just smiled, then wheezed out a laugh as the demon tried to jerk me in the direction he wished I would go. I stuck my dagger in his gut with one hand, grabbed his dong with the other, and then pulled out the dagger and sliced downward.

Incredibly, he didn’t start screaming.

“Come!” he said again, attempting to twist and pull me along. His brow pinched when the movement didn’t work out so well. He looked down in confusion.

With a dagger this sharp, it would take a moment for the pain to get to his brain, but this was ridiculous.

“Bud, I am literally holding your severed dick in my hand. Why the fuck aren’t you freaking out right now?” I asked, aghast, then dropped his dick, because great goddess it was gross.

His eyes widened, and he belted out a high-pitched wail. He reached for his dick. He clearly wasn’t as concerned about the gooey deep red blood gushing out of his stomach.

“Oh, good. Phew.” I nodded at him. “That’s the reaction I was expecting. If you’d done that in the beginning, I would’ve made a quip about only coming for one man— Oh, never mind.”

I stepped on a diagonal and stabbed him in the kidney.

“Night, night.” I continued on, really not sure what to do about my bloody blade.

A woman off to the side lay on a blanket, propped up on pillows with her legs spread wide. A purple-scaled man-thing licked up her flesh and sucked a nipple into his broad, flat lips. He continued to crawl up her body before sitting back and wrapping his clawed fingers around his knobby, curved dick, like a road through a mountain pass. In the middle it kinda ballooned up, thicker there than at the base. I’d seen a lot of ugly dicks around here, but that one had to take the cake.

“Oh no, no, don’t let him put that thing in you,” I whispered, transfixed, like watching a disaster in progress.

He threaded it into her clearly slick depths. She moaned, rubbing her hands along his bent back, tracing the pointed edges of the fin along his spine. It was good defense to keep someone from hugging him from behind. He thrust, slipping in that thick bit, and she shrieked in pain turned pleasure. He shoved against her, pushing in as deeply as he could go, before pulling back about halfway and lightly thrusting back and forth, as if he were working her G-spot with the thick bit.

I stared with a grimace as she swung her hips up against him, clearly getting the friction she needed as he kept rubbing his dick in the exact right spot. She spread her legs wider, leaned back hard, and pumped her hips before slapping her hands on the ground. She came in an actual scream, writhing like she was possessed.

“Right, well…fuck. I guess I stand corrected,” I muttered, finally tearing my eyes away. “Gross dick for the win.”

It took all of one moment for me to realize that distraction had put me at a severe disadvantage. A wall of seven demons had noticed me killing one of their own, and they’d lined up to face me, anger clear on their faces.

Ah. I wasn’t here to see the sex. I was here to battle. The sex was just a distraction. A very thorough distraction.

“You will pay for what you have done,” said the female demon in the middle in barely contained rage. Good goddess, she had a great set of blue-scaled knockers.

They started forward, forming a vee. I reviewed the parameters. I could kill if they touched me without consent. Touched me without consent. I had to wait for them to make contact.

Although…the demon king had agreed I could try to kill them if they touched me. He’d said nothing about beating on them until they got a shot in, then using that non-consensual touch to shift into kill mode. It was important to always look for those little loopholes.

“Milady, should we help?” someone asked from the side. I didn’t dare turn to look in case there was some sort of fuckery going on.

“No!” I commanded, and a shock of power filled the room. Gasps rose. I’d pulled out the shifters’ animals. Lot of good that would do any of us. “Leave me to it. The deal was for me to get involved, not you. You will be punished just to spite me.”

My animal throbbed in my middle as the first demon reached me. Power pumped through my veins. Strength filled me. My senses went on high alert.

The dragon is on standby, my animal said. He’ll feed us as much power as we can handle.

I’m surprised he isn’t rushing in here to fight by our side.

He’s confident we can handle it. The man is not so calm.

The demon hovered right in front of me, as though waiting for something. I assumed it was a knife in the gut. Instead, I punched her in the nose, stepped down the line, and slammed my foot in the second demon’s balls. At the third, I slashed my dagger shallowly across her boob, accidentally slicing off her nipple.

“Ah shit, sorry! That’s a low blow. I didn’t mean for woman-on-woman crime. Also, I do not want to be touched!” I figured I better get that out there. “I do not consent to touching!”

Nipple-less hissed at me, showing fangs, before slicing down my arm with claws.

“You’re out!” I took my dagger in two hands and sliced across her throat. At the end, I jabbed downward, sticking the blade into the base of her neck.

Another clawed hand grabbed my arm, and yet another swung at my face. I pulled back just enough for two claws to graze my cheek. The rest of the demons crowded in, quickly surrounding me.

In the past, this might have been cause for alarm. Now, however…

I used my will to push the ones who hadn’t touched me yet. They bumped back, probably confused, and I made short work of the two handsy bastards. I sliced across the wrist that held me, then bent and stabbed the second one in the side. I yanked my blade sideways, gutting him. Back to the first, I sent stabbing knives of pain with my will, just to see whether it did anything. Her leathery skin slashed open in multiple places, and her insides fell out of her stomach.

“Oh shit,” I breathed.

Oh shit, my animal mimicked. That’s handy.

It was handy. And I wasn’t terribly winded from doing it. I hadn’t read about that trick in any of the shifter books, though.

I released my will and turned. Four demons immediately crashed into me.

“That counts!” I yelled, shoving them back and bringing out the throwing knives. I loved those things. I wasn’t a master by any means, but I could get the pointy end in the soft parts of dummies.

I threw two in quick succession, hitting center mass. One day I hoped to pull off trick shots, like hitting them in the eyeballs.

What was wrong with me?

I stabbed another demon and turned his body to block the one approaching behind him. I peppered my demon shield with the dagger, then ripped him away and got the one behind him in the peeper. I might not be able to hit a small target with a knife yet, but I could certainly manage it with a jab.

Something was definitely wrong with the pride I took in that fact.

Nothing is wrong with you, my animal thought. That is how normal people think.

Coming from her, that didn’t inspire confidence.

Two left, one having just pulled the knife from his center. I took it back and stabbed him in the throat before whirling around and throwing the projectile toward the other one, gaping down at the knife sticking out of her midsection. It sailed safely by. I’d missed.

“Dang it,” I said, hopping forward and stabbing with my dagger instead. I got her that time.

In what felt like a moment, it was all over. I stood in the middle of a cluster of dead or dying demons.

The music had stopped. The deep bass from the demon machines had dried up. All eyes were on me, some wide, some over smiles, and some narrowed.

I focused on those narrowed eyes, demons all. Anger kindled there. The desire to do something. But they held back. They hadn’t been given the green light to try me.

I wondered how long that would last.

A slow clap echoed through the space.

I turned to find the demon king leaning against the doorframe. He straightened up.

“Well done. I didn’t think you could handle so many.”

“I’ll be honest, I was hoping for a glass of wine before we got to the nitty-gritty. Would you have let them kill me?” I asked, walking toward him. I figured this was my go-ahead to leave the room.

“Certainly. It would’ve dealt a terrible blow to the dragon, and better yet, it would’ve been his fault.”

“His fault?”

“For letting you make that deal, and for not being here when you needed him. Maybe not all dragons are loyal, young Finley, but that one certainly is. It will be his undoing.”

“Your mouth will be yours.”

I wasn’t lying. He’d basically just told me his favored method of preying on Nyfain. I’d already had a pretty good idea, of course, but this was from the horse’s mouth, as it were.

It also demonstrated his arrogance. He didn’t think it mattered if I knew about his little tests.

“So what’s my next trial?” I asked, grabbing the knives from the bodies around me. “Apparently you are under the impression I shouldn’t be enjoying myself tonight.”

“Not at all true. You are enjoying yourself, are you not?”

He had me there.

“There’s an odd thing in the air tonight, it seems,” he went on, leading me out and up to the second floor. From there, we ventured deeper into the castle. “The people of the castle are not taking to my minions as normal. They act like they are forced to be in our company.”

“I would imagine that is true, right?”

“An issue only until our magic affects them. But the magic of my minions isn’t affecting them tonight. Orgasms are faked, females are dry, and the males can’t seem to get it up.”

“Huh. Well, you’re all gross, so there’s that. And clearly terrible lovers. The things you learn when your magic is on the fritz, huh?”

We stopped in front of a closed door, and he turned to me, his eyes a dirty red that spoke of blood and death. I hadn’t realized they changed colors based on his moods. That would be handy. For instance, right now he was clearly very angry. A fact that wiggled my bowels a little despite myself.

“In sixteen years, we have warped the minds of these miserable shifters. We have bled them, poisoned them, tortured them, and slowly killed them. We’ve stripped them of their honor and forced them into depressed, shame-riddled lives until their miserable early demises. I have enjoyed watching the dragon slide into a dark pit. A few more years, and he would’ve begged me to end his life. He would’ve begged me for any way out possible.” His smile was cold. “And then suddenly a woman appears in his life, and he perks up. He wants to live again. He heals the kingdom and somehow deadens the effects of my demons. Quite the coincidence.”

I kept my mouth shut. This guy had gotten bad information. Nyfain hadn’t healed anything. Nor had he figured out how to deaden the effects of the demons. He also never would’ve begged this asshole for anything. He might’ve wanted to die, but he would’ve trucked on even after there was nothing left to truck on to. Or for. I knew that in my bones. He wasn’t like his father. Whenever he devoted himself to something, he gave it his all.

Dolion stared at me, looking for a reaction.

I gave him one.

“I must admit…I am quite the lay. I’m not kidding. My vagina brings men back to life.”

His eyes narrowed. He didn’t comment for a moment, and I didn’t rush him. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing and give too much away.

“You’ll dine with me tomorrow evening,” he finally said. “Bring the dragon. Dress nicely. We have…things to discuss.”

His tone sent a shiver down my spine.

He walked away, and all I wanted to do was throw a knife at his back. He’d preyed on the mad king, thereby cornering Nyfain and our whole kingdom into an impossible situation. A situation that might eventually result in mass murder or servitude. All for what? Gold and one less shifter seat on some council? How could a guy like that sleep? How had no one torn him down?

Fire raging through me, I pulled open the door. The demon lust magic was so heavy it felt like walking through a curtain. It turned my stomach, and my eyes started to water. A smaller orgy was taking place in this room, but most of the participants were humanoid.

“Finley.” Hadriel pushed out through the center of the crowd. He wore green lipstick and a bright pink wig that bobbed with each step. A little maid’s dress partially covered his body, but the hem only reached to his upper thighs, and his dick waggled out of the bottom. He clearly was not wearing underwear.

“What…” I wasn’t sure what to say.

“Yeah, this…” He waved it away as he got closer. “That fucker Cecil heard that I wanted a proper maid’s outfit, just in case…you know…we have to travel. But he chose to make me one for a party instead. He is getting on my last nerve. Anyway, first, I am steaming that I have to be here after taking that draught. Do you know how fucking terrible it is getting it on with…creatures? It’s fucking terrible. This is an all-time low for me, Finley, and it is all your fault. I’m going to have nightmares. Some of them have, like…knobby dicks! But I need to play along with the demons, so I think—I’ll just stick it in a vagina, right? It’s wet and warm and I’ll just look at a stacked guy across the way to keep it up.” He stared at me with wild eyes. “The demon’s vagina had fucking teeth, Finley!” he yelled. “It scraped my pecker. I was already wary of the mighty vagina, but now I’m just fucking terrified. I’m sober, for fuck’s sake! You need to talk to the master. We at least need alcohol if we’re going to keep up this tomfoolery. It’s a fucking nightmare.”

“Cheers!” I tried desperately not to laugh when he glowered at me. It really wasn’t funny. It wasn’t! But his rendition of events…

“Not cool, love,” he said to me in a dark tone.

That made me laugh harder. “Sorry, sorry.” I waved my hand. “Sorry. Anyway, Dolion—”

“Don’t tell me you call him by his first name,” he said, horrified.

I paused. “Um…I think I did. Why? What am I supposed to call him?”

“He’s a king. You call him ‘your majesty.’”

I hadn’t thought of that. Not that it would’ve mattered. Had I known, the mistake would’ve been on purpose.

“Anyway, he mentioned that Nyfain cured the kingdom and stopped the demon magic because of me.” I stared at him for a moment, making sure he wouldn’t blurt out who’d actually done those things. “It’s not likely Dolion will make you all party like this again. The demon king mentioned fake orgasms and flaccid penises.”

Hadriel aggressively pointed down at his dick. “It’ll probably never get hard again out of fear. Forget blowjobs. Fucking teeth, Finley!”

“Right, yes,” I said through laughter, thinking of my first lay with Nyfain. “Yes, exactly. So hopefully tomorrow he’ll settle for tormenting Nyfain and me.”

“Why?”

I told him about the invite to dinner.

“Ah, fuck.” He blew out a breath and directed me toward the side of the room. A woman was bent over a small table with her chin braced on her hands in an expression of utter boredom. A demon who looked like a skinny man with clearly defined ribs pumped away at her, frustration on his face.

“Sheila, darling, I need this spot.” He waved her away.

She straightened up. The demon bent his legs, still pumping away. She rolled her eyes.

“I mean, I don’t mind banging demons when they are in this form,” she said, “but I used to think they were amazing. Take away their magic, and you realize they might not even know what a clit is, and if they do, they certainly don’t know where it’s located. I’m bored to tears.”

“Then stop, Sheila. The master said we didn’t have to fuck anyone we didn’t want to. I think he hoped we wouldn’t get intimate with them at all.”

She looked down his front before pushing the demon behind her away. “How about you? You’re good with that thing even though you don’t like women.” She lowered to her knees and tilted up her face at him. “Why don’t I suck you to get you hard, and you can take me on this table? I won’t tell anyone.”

“First, you’d tell everyone. Remember when you pegged Bronson, and he shat all over? The whole castle knows. He’s a laughingstock. Second, get your fucking mouth away from my dick. Third, I don’t see what the big whoop of pleasuring a woman is. A reach-around is a reach-around. Instead of tugging, you just wiggle your fingers.” He glanced at the demon, who was currently stroking his cock in aggravation. “I don’t see you taking notes. She just said you were shit at fucking. Don’t you want to take notes from someone who doesn’t like girls but is still better at fucking them than you are? That’s an ego blow, my boy. A serious ego blow. Anyway…” He pushed Sheila’s face so he could get at the chair against the wall. “I’ve got business, and my dick hurts. Get out of here. Also, about that pegging venture that literally turned to shit, unless you are into a dom/sub thing, it makes no sense to strap on a dildo and have a man blow it. Especially a man who is not a sub. That’s just dumb, Sheila. You’re making very poor decisions these days, and that’s saying a lot coming from a guy who tried to fuck a vagina with teeth.”

She got up, annoyed. “You’re just mad that—”

She did a double take when she saw me. Her face turned red.

“Milady, I’m so sorry…” She put her hands out and curtsied.

“Are you grabbing the hem of a fake dress?” Hadriel asked. “Want to borrow my maid outfit? It would look more professional than curtsying after she just heard all of that.”

“I’m sorry, milady. The master told us to be here…” She stepped away, clearly not sure where to put her hands.

“It’s fine,” I said. “I’ve seen weirder, trust me. I was down in the grand ballroom a moment ago.”

They both said “ugh” at the same time.

“Were they enjoying themselves?” Hadriel asked.

This felt like kissing and telling, even though it wasn’t me doing it. “I saw one woman who was. The knobby demon dick apparently hits all the right spots…”

“No.” Sheila put up her hands. “No, too much for me. I have my limits.”

“Who would’ve thought we had limits, right, Sheila?” Hadriel called as she walked away. “She knows what I mean,” he mumbled.

The demon had stayed where he was, eyeing me. He pointed at the table.

“Bend over. I’ll fuck you,” he said.

“I hear you’re not very good at it.”

He grabbed my shoulder to shove me forward. Apparently he hadn’t gotten the note.

I whipped out my dagger, stabbed him in the neck, and then shoved him back. His legs gave out, and he fell, convulsing against the floor.

“Oh, fuck!” Hadriel jumped up on top of the chair as though he’d just seen a mouse. “What the… Fuck, Finley.” He braced his hand against his chest. “You scared me. That all happened too fast.”

Conversations dried up, and movement slowed. I wiped my blade on the demon’s socks, which he was still wearing, before putting it away. The seat was clear of gross things, so I gingerly sat.

“What’s up?” I asked Hadriel, who was still crouching on the chair.

He let out a breath and slowly stepped down before sitting. I was sure his ass crack was touching upholstery. It made me rethink my current seat.

“Listen…” Hadriel leaned over the table and lowered his voice. “I’m sure by now you know that demons and shifters are like oil and water. We aren’t much alike. The demon king thinks he’s got us all figured out. Including the master. You need to make sure you give him some surprises. Now, let’s talk about the end game and find a way to it. There’s a reason they won’t let me play chess anymore, and it isn’t because I got drunk that one time and tried to shove a queen up Cecil’s ass. He was cheating, though. He deserved it. No, the reason no one will play with me is because I am excellent at it. It was my mom’s favorite game, she taught me well, and I’ve been a die-hard ever since. I’m good at strategy. I’m also incredibly good at puzzles, as you know. So hit me. What is your plan?”

Later that night, I staggered up to the tower. My stomach was twisting and my knees were weak. I’d spent too long in that room with all the sexy demon magic. I should’ve taken the draught so it didn’t affect me. As it was, it had gotten bad enough that I needed to leave so I could purge my stomach.

Halfway up the third flight of stairs, I stalled against the railing, struggling to keep the bile from evacuating. I heard footsteps and recognized Nyfain’s delicious smell before his strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me in close.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, carrying me the rest of the way. “Are you okay?”

I breathed deeply and leaned my face against his neck. “Demon lust magic. It’s…” I pushed my fingers to my lips and struggled to get out of his grasp. “Going to vomit.”

He hurried me into the washroom and bent me over the basin in the corner, thankfully empty and clean. My stomach convulsed and my back arched as I purged. My disheveled hair was gently scooped up from around my face, held back behind my head. Nyfain knelt next to me and rubbed my back with his free hand.

My stomach heaved again, and I gripped the edges of the basin as sweat covered my forehead. Comfort and support radiated through my bond with him. After the third time, I sagged and moved my face to rest on my arm, breathing fast and shallow.

“Water?” Nyfain whispered. He smoothed my hair to the side.

“Yes, please.”

A moment later he handed me a glass and sat beside me, pulling me against him.

“Had a great time, huh?” he asked, stroking my shoulder with his thumb. I didn’t miss the anxiety in his tone.

“I can’t stand that lust magic.” I shuddered. “The whole room was stuffed with it.”

I put the glass on the floor and breathed in his scent, closing my eyes. The waves of nausea subsided.

“Have you been up here all night?” I asked weakly.

He lifted me up and took me to bed, stripping me of my weapons and clothes. I still needed to retrieve that one throwing knife from the grand ballroom, but I’d collected everything else. He tucked me into bed and a moment later joined me, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close.

“No. I was outside for a while, on hand in case you needed me. It seems you didn’t, though. You handled a group of seven pretty powerful demons at one time on your own.”

“How’d you know?”

“Everyone was sober tonight. I heard the full account.” Pride rang through the bond.

I curled into him, my talk with Hadriel still fresh on my mind. “Dolion wants to meet us for dinner tomorrow. He wants to chat.”

“I heard that, too.”

I nodded and curled my lips under. A tear streaked across my face.

The way forward was clear, but I didn’t know if I had the strength to start the journey.