by Sophie Stern
Liam rolled over onto his bed and stared at the ceiling as Angelie dressed herself.
“Thank you for your time, Majesty,” she said softly as she leaned down to kiss him goodbye.
The king grabbed her hair and pulled her in closer, giving her a deep, lingering kiss.
“Until next time,” he whispered in her ear.
And then she was gone.
As the door slammed loudly behind her, Liam heard Kel’s voice murmuring softly, then fading away as the pair made their way down the hall. Liam knew that he was making sure she made it back safely to her own quarters with the King’s other girls.
Almost as soon as she was gone, Liam was left again with his own thoughts.
Being with Angelie had been a welcome break to his sulking and worrying, but now he found himself once again completely alone.
And he wished for anything that it would be over.
17
“He wants to see you again,” Sanguine told Kaira as they sat in his bedroom.
“Who?” She asked, lounging around on the bed, thinking about their perfect day together. She wasn’t much for being captured, but somehow Sir had managed to make things seem brighter. She found herself irresistibly attracted to him in a way that she couldn’t explain, in a way that she didn’t want to explain.
She thought about taking him back to her father, of begging him to let them be together, to rule over Naga as one.
She knew that he would never agree.
He would never consider letting someone who had been a friend of dragons reside on the throne.
He would never let someone who wasn't royalty sit on the throne.
“Sanguine,” Sir said simply to Kaira. He cocked his head slightly, staring at her. She had been perfectly amazing during their time together, but he needed her to see all of him, even dragon him.
Kaira sighed and didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to see the dragon again. She thought of his horribly appearance and his beastly eyes. She didn’t want him looking at her, staring at her, thinking about her. She didn’t want to be his prisoner anymore.
She wanted to be rid of his place and of its dragon stench.
Kaira started to cry.
Sanguine rushed to her side, “My princess,” he whispered to her. “Tell me, what is the matter?”
He didn’t need to ask her what the matter was. He already knew perfectly well that Kaira had not taken kindly to him in dragon form. He didn’t blame her. He had been, after all, rather terrible to her. In her weakened state, she had been frightened. She had been cold. She had been locked in a cage like some unwanted animal.
And now he was asking her to face the very beast who was responsible for imprisoning her.
It didn’t seem fair.
“I’m scared,” Kaira cried into his shoulder. She felt weak admitting it. She felt timid. She felt helplessly vulnerable and she hated it. Why must she face the dragon? Why must he speak to her? Why couldn’t she just talk to Sir?
Sir was nice and warm and caring, at least once you got to know him. Sure, he was still fierce and brooding, but he was also passionate.
Kaira grew slightly wet thinking about their passionate exploration earlier that day. At the thought of Sir’s dick inside her, she grew excited and warm. Why couldn’t she just explore the caves, roam about, and fuck the dragon’s assistant?
Why must she go see the dragon?
More importantly, why did he want to see her?
Even though she tried not to think about it, Kaira couldn’t help wondering for the millionth time if he was the type of dragon who liked to eat little lost princesses.
She had very bad luck.
It might just be bad enough that he would kill her.
Sir’s gentle touch assured her that she had nothing to worry about.
“My princess,” he said, kissing her cheek softly. “You have nothing to fear. He will love you as I love you.”
“What does he even want with me?” She moaned, closing her eyes again, trying to focus on the issue at hand and not the warm sensation growing between her legs.
As if reading her mind, Sir reached down and slid his hand softly up Kaira’s leg. When he reached her pussy, she was already dripping.
“Excited again so soon?” He asked, kissing her neck. Kaira let out a soft purr at his touch and wrapped her arms around him.
“Please don’t leave me,” she begged as Sir rose to leave.
“I’m afraid I must, princess. It’s time for you to get some sleep. Tomorrow, you will meet with Sanguine.”
“I don’t want to!” Kaira complained, hitting the bed with her fist.
Sir frowned. “Kaira, you will do as I say. Go to sleep. When you wake tomorrow, you will meet with Sanguine.”
“What if I refuse?” She stuck up her nose arrogantly, questioning him, pushing her boundaries.
“Kaira,” said Sir, standing in the doorway, “that is not a choice you want to make.”
And he closed her door.
Kaira heard a lock slide into place and she threw herself down onto the bed, finally allowing herself to sob openly and loudly. After all, there was no one to hear her now. There was no one to save her. No help was coming. No one would rescue her from this place.
She had so many feeling enveloping her that she didn’t know which ones to trust, which ones to cling to, and which ones to let fade away. It seemed like everything she had never known was slowly becoming part of the past, of a girl she once was.
After today, after this week, she felt like she was evolving into someone new.
She didn’t know who yet.
But she was sure to find out.
Outside the door, Sanguine stood, listening to her cries of loneliness. His heart ached for Kaira. His soul yearned for hers. He knew that the pain would slow down and fade away, with time.
But, he suspected, time was not something he had much of.
If King Liam was as feisty of a ruler now as he had been as a young man, Sanguine knew that it was only a matter of time before the knights of the realm – or at least one, who happened to be very brave, very loyal, and very handsome – would be waltzing into the cave, demanding a fight.
Sanguine did not plan to give them a fight.
And he did not plan to give them the princess.
18
By the time Kaira stopped crying, she was completely exhausted.
It wasn’t her first time throwing a tantrum, nor would it be the last. It was, however, her first time crying alone with no one to comfort her.
And it felt awful.
Kaira curled up in the corner of her bed and wrapped herself tightly in the thin blanket that covered the mattress. She squinted into the darkness. There was still a torch that burned slightly by the door, but it cast strange shadows that danced upon the stone walls of her room. She almost wished it wasn’t there, that she was lost completely in the darkness.
That way her physical situation would mirror the darkness she felt in her heart.
She had always been the type of girl who lived fast and loved hard. She had always gotten her way. She had always been protected by her father and loved by the townspeople. Being locked away wasn’t exactly something she had a lot of experience with.
Father.
Kaira wondered what her darling king was doing while she was away.
Did he miss her?
Did he even notice that she was gone?
Did he prefer her invisibility?
Was he glad she had vanished?
She and her father had been close, once upon a time. That was before her mother fell ill. That was before the King shut himself away. That was before the world had grown solitary and dark.
She missed walking with her dad through the gardens. She missed exploring the kingdom. She missed laughing with him for hours over silly jokes that the two of them made up.
Perhaps most of all, Kaira missed her father’s embrace when he hugged her and would promise her that everything would be okay.
/> Because right now, it felt like nothing would ever be okay ever again. How could it? How could she ever escape from this? Even if she managed to leave physically, would she ever get over it emotionally?
Kaira had been captured. She had been captured. She had been held against her will in a dark cave in a cage. She had almost died. She had slept with one of her captors, or at least with her primary captor’s right-hand man. She was hungry and she was cold and she was scared.
More than anything she wished she was home.
She wished things were back to normal again.
She wished she had never left the castle in the first place.
Oh, why hadn’t she listened to her father?
Kaira sighed and tightened the blanket around her. She had to meet the dragon tomorrow. She had to talk to him. She might have to get close to him. She had to answer his questions and she had to do it respectfully.
Who knew how he might punish her for disrespect?
She doubted that he would be particularly tolerant after her recent escape attempt.
Why-oh-why couldn’t things be simple?
Kaira closed her eyes and thought about the one good thing that had come from being stuck in a cave: Sir.
Her feelings for Sir were mixed.
Kaira had not been with him for long, but she already felt attached; more so now that she had given in to her lustful urges. While she despised the fact that he worked for the dragon, she couldn’t help but love the fact that he was always there when she needed him. He was always around. He was always…
She slipped off into a deep slumber, worn out from her tears.
***
Kaira dressed slowly in the morning, taking her time. She brushed her hair and splashed some cool water on her face, blinking hard in the small mirror. She looked pretty, but she no longer looked Royal. There were dark circles under her eyes and her lips were chapped and cracked. She knew she shouldn’t have spent so much time crying.
Why did she always spend so much time crying?
When she was done getting ready, she tried to open the door. She wasn’t surprised to find that it was locked from the outside.
“Can’t say I blame him,” she mumbled out loud, kicking the door gently. She aged wood of the door creaked from the hit, so Kaira kicked it again, reveling in the sound.
Maybe if she kicked it hard enough, the door would break and she could spring free.
Kaira kicked the door again, but this time her bare foot hit the cracked wood just so. She yelped in pain and leapt onto her bed, examining her injured foot. A bit of blood appeared on her heel to match the pain of her small wound. She glanced around the room, looking for something she could use to stop the bleeding.
She hobbled to the wooden set of drawers that sat in the corner. The top drawer was empty. So was the second. The third drawer held a small blanket.
And the fourth drawer held cloths.
Kaira grabbed one and dabbed her foot gingerly, wincing slightly from the pain. As she reached down to close the drawer, she noticed a small dagger wrapped in the folds of one of the rags. She pulled it out and examined it. She was no stranger to weaponry, but this one seemed especially magnificent. The blade was sharp and the hilt was covered with sapphires and emeralds.
“Why is this in a drawer?” She wondered aloud, shifting it in her hands. Did Sir know this was here? Did the dragon? Had someone been in this room before her? Why was it simply placed in the rags?
She thought briefly about hiding it in the folds of her dress, of bringing it with her. She could attack Sir easily, at any point. Not that he was the one she wanted to attack…he was, after all, the only good thing about each day.
No, Kaira had no interest in attacking the one person who seemed to care, at least a little, about her well-being.
She twirled the dagger in her hands, letting her fingers run over the blade slowly.
Would it even be enough to attack a dragon with?
Not likely.
She remembered just how big Sanguine had been.
The dragon had towered above her. He had been intimidating. He had smelled strange. And most of all, he had been in complete control of everything. The dragon was the one calling the shots. Sir could help make Kaira’s transition to the world underground a bit easier, but that was all he could do: help. Sanguine was the one in charge.
As Kaira stared at the dagger, another thought entered her mind: what if it was a test? It seemed too convenient, too risky. What were the chances of Sir leaving her in a room that he hadn’t explored himself? What were the odds of the dragon allowing Kaira to stay in a room when there was a weapon in the drawer?
It was a trick.
It had to be a trick.
There was no way that he would let her get close to a knife, not after her last escape attempt. Kaira knew, even without remembering Gwen’s fairytales of dragons and princesses, just how clever the beast truly was. Dragons were nothing if not cunning.
And they were patient.
She put the dagger back.
If this was Sanguine’s way of deciding whether or not to kill Kaira today, she wanted to do anything in her power to pass. She could not kill a dragon with a dagger. She could injure Sir, but she had no desire to. He was the only one that made living here bearable. She would not make such a rash decision when it came to someone she cared about.
She pushed the drawer shut, saying goodbye to perhaps her last chance of escape, and stood to examine herself in the mirror.
She looked paler than she remembered.
She looked broken.
19
Sanguine lifted his human hand to knock softly on the door. He knew Kaira had endured quite a night.
She had, after all, been locked in a bedroom, alone, with nothing to think about but facing her greatest fear.
And, Sanguine thought, her greatest enemy.
At least, that’s how Kaira viewed him.
Oh, how he would change her mind.
Without waiting for a response, he unlatched the door and opened it. The wooden door squeaked loudly on its hinges. Fix the door, he told himself mentally, closing it behind him. Kaira sat silently at the foot of the bed with her hands folded gingerly in her lap.
She looked up at him as he entered, but did not speak.
Her eyes betrayed her silent stance: she had been crying.
“It is time,” Sanguine held his hand out to Kaira. She nodded, then stood and took his hand. He led her in silence down the hall and around the bend. They walked for what felt like hours to both of them. He held his torch high. Though he could see perfectly in the dark, he knew his princess could not. Despite his often-cruel nature, Sanguine didn’t want to harm Kaira. He made sure she knew where she was stepping.
When they reached the familiar dining hall, Sanguine led Kaira to her chair. She was not surprised to see ropes sitting in front of her space. Though Sir had allowed her to dine without being restrained after her escape attempt, Kaira knew that today was different.
Today she had to face a dragon.
Kaira was not quite brave enough to stay put without being forced to.
"I don't want to see the dragon," Kaira whispered.
Sir just shook his head softly. Kaira wondered if he thought she was cowardly or stupid. He said nothing to comfort her. He just looked at her for a moment, then he picked up the ropes.
She sat quietly and held still as Sanguine tied her wrists snugly to the chair. The ropes did not hurt, but Kaira also did not try to force them off. She knew she had used up all of her escape attempts. There was no longer any point in trying.
Sanguine did not speak until the knots were tight and he knew Kaira could not repeat her attempt escape.
“He’ll be here soon, princess,” he whispered in her ear. He kissed her softly before he left, letting his lips linger a moment too long on her cheek. A single tear rolled from her eyes and splashed on his face. Kaira said nothing as Sanguine’s heart broke.
He turn
ed to leave, wondering why he liked this one so much.
Sanguine had been around many women before. He had been with old women who wanted to rebel against the monotony of their lives. He had been with young women who wanted to explore the world. He had been with middle-aged women who simply wanted a good time.
And now, Sanguine had been with Kaira.
She was softer than she looked. Despite her hard exterior, she had a tender heart. Sanguine loved it. He was baffled by her bravery, by her fierce prowess, by her courage, by her lack of timidity.
Any other princess would have been fodder by now.
But not this one.
This one Sanguine did not want to eat.
No, he very much wanted to keep her.
Once he was alone, he was ready to allow his transformation to take place. It wasn’t hard anymore. It wasn’t awkward. He had enough practice switching from man to dragon that it no longer pained him the way it once had. Many dragons struggled to bring on their human form and experienced sharp shoots of pain and anguish as they molded their bodies. Not Sanguine. Not now.
His calloused hands disappeared, along with his hair and skin. Within moments, his entire body had been replaced with scales and darkness.
His eyes were the same, though.
His bold, yellow eyes would never change, no matter how many times he shifted his body.
He pranced slowly back to the dining room, ready to meet with his new playmate.
She did not look up as he entered the room. Instead, Kaira kept her eyes focused squarely in front of her. Why she was so intently focused on the small stain in the middle of the table, Sanguine did not know. What he did know was that Kaira was incredibly beautiful. It wasn’t often that a maiden had such an effect on a dragon.
But Kaira did.
And Sanguine found her completely irresistible.
Still, she must be tamed. If she was to become his mate, his queen, she would have to learn.
Kaira would have to change.
Sanguine understood better than most how difficult change could truly be. It wasn’t simply a matter of wanting to be better or stronger. There came a point when you had to endure great amounts of pain in order to become something better than you were.