Chapter 27
The Dragon King
I stormed through my private rose garden, the crimson roses and fiery sky matching my mood. What the fuck was I going to do with her?
Locke hovered at my side, a miserable shadow that kept reminding me what a mistake it was encouraging Belle to practice her magic.
“That woman is a threat to everyone in this castle,” he muttered, strolling beside me with his hands clenched behind his back. “I’ve never seen innate strength like that—or such a stunning lack of control.”
“That’s why you were supposed to train her,” I said dryly. He was right, and I hated it when he was right.
“She’s untrainable,” he snapped. “Unfocused, unwilling to assert her dominance. It’s time to end this little experiment.”
I had to suppress the grin at the corner of my lips. I’d never seen Locke so bothered by anyone before. He was typically as cold and impenetrable as the frozen peaks above the Bloodvale Pass, and yet somehow, she’d gotten under his skin, too.
“Perhaps the fault lies with her teacher,” I said, unable to resist needling him.
He scoffed and shot me an icy glare. “It’s plain you want the girl. Is that what this is all about? If so, just fuck her, and be done with it.”
If only it was that simple. That dangerous glint in her eyes right after she’d almost impaled me in my study, the soft curve of those defiant lips. Gods, I was desperate to know how she’d taste on my tongue, what pretty sounds she’d make when she came undone.
“Desire has nothing to do with it,” I said, grinding out the lie.
“Fine,” Locke said, shrugging. “Delude yourself—but I can see her effect on you. She’s no different from Jezebel DuBois—manipulating you to an end you’re too blind to see.”
I clenched my fist, the barb sinking well beneath my armor. “They’re not the same.”
“If you can’t see it, you’re a fool,” he said. “Belle was a spy for the human resistance, and if she ever gains control over her powers, you can be certain she’ll try to betray you to your brother or kill you. She’s attacked you twice already. Get rid of her.”
“I’m not getting rid of her. And I’m not killing her.”
There was no way I would ever let her go. Somehow, she’d sunk her claws into me, as deeply as the curse, and the truth was that her unrelenting desire to sink a dagger through my heart only stoked the flames of my interest.
Locke lifted his hands in grudging acquiescence but eyed me curiously. “Why are you so protective of her? What are you not telling me?”
I paused in front of the statue of an angel, letting the silence hang. I had to restrain myself from snapping off its wings.
“I’ve been your advisor for decades, Your Highness, but I cannot do my job if you hide things from me.”
The truth pressed down on me like a millstone. Why had I kept it from him—the one person I’d learned to trust? Had I completely lost my way?
It burst out. “Belle has the power to break the curse.”
Locke’s muscles tightened, and his expression became an impenetrable mask. He inclined his head like a raven, interrogating me with the ruthless gaze he usually reserved for his guests in the dungeons. “What, exactly, are you talking about?”
“When I flew to the Bloodvale, I spoke to the old, one-eyed witch. She gave me a prophecy.”
He stared, then his mouth twisted. “Have you lost your mind? I’ve warned you not to speak to her. That witch destroyed your life once. She’s likely at it again.”
I glared back at him. “She warned me not to overthrow the mages. I didn’t listen, and I’ve paid the price. Maybe I need to listen now.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “That woman wasn’t helping. She was playing games with you, and she fed you just enough rope to hang yourself. Perhaps she simply wanted you out of the way and knew the mages would see to it.”
You weren’t the right king for the Bloodvale, Valen…You weren’t the right king for her.
The bitterness of it stung. He was right. Again.
Locke’s fury passed as quickly as it rose. “The old crone manipulated you then, and she’s manipulating you now.”
The weight of my exile pressed down. The helplessness of my position. The bitter irony of what I had to do, and what I could not.
“You know I’m right,” Locke said softly as he placed his hand on my shoulder. “The witch is offering you the one thing she knows you won’t be able to resist—hope, in a beautiful package. She knows your vices and is manipulating you to ensure your own destruction.”
I swept his hand off. “She might be playing me, but her powers of prophecy are proven. She can twist the meaning of words, but it must be the truth. Belle has the power to save me.”
His eyes flickered with dark curiosity. “What did the prophecy say, exactly? You know how important the wording is.”
That lesson needed no repeating. The demon’s words had deceived me, condemning me to kill my own brother. There was no way I was going to let myself be tricked again.
“She has the power to save me from the curse, but it will cost me everything…my kingdom, my power, my dreams. Everything.”
He released a sharp breath. “You can’t be serious.”
I continued on past the walled hedges, the white blooms ruddy in the fading light, their scent thick and sweet. “I have no intention of paying the cost. We’ll control her, learn what she’s capable of, then find a way to force her to break the curse on our terms.”
Locke glanced at me, a glint of amusement in his eyes. “That woman hates you. She’ll never help you willingly.”
“Then I’ll find a way to change her mind.” I loved nothing more than a challenge, especially when it involved a beautiful brunette with lavender eyes.
“Only a fool thinks he can win a hand of cards against the Fates.”
I scoffed. “I’m damned no matter what I try, so I might as well try to win.”
He stopped short, turning to face me. “You talk of winning, but you understand the implications of everything, do you not?”
“The old woman left little doubt, rattling all I’d ever hoped for in this life.”
“Clever. List it all, except the truth.” He drew close. “Belle is going to take your life. That is what everything means. She will save you from your fate by killing you…how else could you lose it all, even dreams?”
No. Siggy couldn’t have meant that.
And yet…the princess had been aiming for my heart.
Fuck. Could he be right?
I clenched my fist. Of course he was.
How had I been so blind? I’d fallen for hope time and time again only to be betrayed. Belle wouldn’t be my savior. She was a beautiful trap.
I turned away, staring at the roses and their falling petals. I’d accepted I was a doomed man long ago—that if I couldn’t break the curse, I’d end things myself. What difference did it make if the little vixen held the knife?
“Perhaps it’s better to die as a man than to be a beast forever.”
Locke placed his hand on my shoulder. “Not as a man, but as a puppet of the Fates. The plaything of conniving women.”
Just as I’d been for Jezebel.
The beast within me twisted, and a low growl built in my chest. “Then what am I to do, if I cannot hope to win?”
Locke was silent.
“Perhaps you’re right,” I said. “And perhaps you’re wrong, and she’s the only weapon I have.”
“Then you must be smart. If you won’t kill her, then treat her as a blade that needs a sheath. I can craft a collar that will repress her magic, and if she attempts to kill you again, you take control.”
“You have the power to craft something like that?”
That would change everything. And it would truly make a monster.
Locke looked at the path ahead, his features grim. “It will take time and power. I’ll need exclusive access to the castle forge, and a strand of her hair.”
“The forge is yours. I’ll procure a lock of her hair.”
He glanced over at me, a cautionary expression on his face. “Until the collar is finished, you should stay as far away from the little witch as possible.”
I smiled darkly, though the words were bitter on my tongue. “I’m not afraid of the woman, and I have no intention of staying away. I intend to learn everything about her, so that when the time comes, I can break her and bend her to my will.”