32. Killian
Too late.
My horse’s hooves beat the ground in a steady drumbeat of fear.
Doesn’t matter if I am too late. I’m not leaving without her. Not unless Briar asks me to.
Outside the city’s walls, I drag my horse to a halt. He’s flecked with froth.
The gates to the city are barred. A manticore prowls the stone barrier, seeking entry. Atop the wall, archers train their bows on the beast.
I swing down from my flagging horse and pull open the enormous double doors with a loud protest.
First, I have to get past the manticore. Then the gate. Then into the city.
I am totally going to lose my nuts today. I’m a knight, not a stealthy assassin. There’s no way I can sneak in without getting caught.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath.
But seconds later, a huge shape soars over the walls, causing the guards to cower and the manticore to halt its prowling.
A dragon. A bigger one than the one I saw in the forest. Female, judging by the dull sheen of its scales. I’ll bet the smaller one is its hatchling.
The beast careens wildly from side to side. A white speck clings to its tail. Once they’re past the wall, it descends into the field beside the road.
I slide off my anxious horse.
The dragon drops heavily to the ground.
She casts a baleful glare at my armor.
Comprehension dawns. I drop to one knee.
“I killed your mate.”
Now she’s keeping mine from me in retaliation.
She slinks forward. My horse whinnies and backs away. I can’t spare him a thought, not with my head bent and the dragon’s hot breath chuffing across my neck. Slowly, I unfasten the armor. Placing it in a pile, I push it forward.
“Take it. This is what’s left of him. I’m sorry.”
The dragon huffs. Twin smoke trails rise from her nostrils. I close my eyes.
“Killian?”
My head jerks up at Briar’s voice and my jaw drops as she ducks from beneath the dragon, patting its neck and whispering to it.
“Briar?”
Her wariness shakes me to my core.
The sight of her steals my breath, not only because she’s the most gorgeous woman on earth, but because she’s talking to a dragon like it’s her pet.
Queen of monsters. And now she knows it.
“What are you doing here?” I’m on my feet without noticing I got up. The dragon eyes me, then the armor. Briar gathers it and offers it to her.
“We’re sorry. Truly sorry. Please take it and mourn him. Thank you for sparing my mate.”
The dragon takes my armor in her teeth and lurches past me. Something akin to regret settles in my midsection.
If not for Briar, I’d be a heap of smoking ash right now. I’d deserve it.
“I couldn’t go through with it, Killian,” she says, playing with a strand of her hair and avoiding my eyes. “Even knowing you didn’t want me, despite having nowhere to go, I simply could not marry Alistair.”
Didn’t want her?
“Briar—”
“Let me finish.” She glances at the gates, where the manticore is leaning against the sun-warmed oak, preventing anyone from going in or out. We have time.
We have all the time in the world.
“You were right that I was waiting around for you to save me, when I was perfectly capable of saving myself. I want you to know that I chose you today. I would choose you again tomorrow, and the next day, all the way into?—”
I rush forward and take her into my arms, cutting her off with a kiss.
“I didn’t abandon you. I was coming back for you, and I was prepared to either die or ride off with you. No other outcome.”
“Why did you leave in the first place?”
“Alistair threatened to castrate me if I ever set foot in Belterre Castle again.”
Her eyes flare wide.
“He’s that envious?”
I laugh. It’s a strange sound, rusty with disuse. “That’s your first reaction? I love you, Briar. I should have told you that sooner. I should have done a lot of things?—”
“Shh.” She taps my lips with her forefinger. “You’ve done enough, Killian. You’ve fought your way here to me, and we’re never going to be parted again.”
Behind us, the dragon flaps her wings and leaps into the air. The downdraft flutters Briar’s dress. She leans into me with a sigh, watching the monster disappear into the horizon, then turns to me and says, “Shall we go home?”
Home.
My heart swells with fullness.
Minutes later, I’ve retrieved my exhausted horse and we’re riding double with her behind me and her arms around my waist.
Naughty little princess. She can’t resist slipping her hands down my trousers and grinning at me, until I cover her hand and move it to my heart.
We arrive at the base of the castle without interference, after spending a night at the inn where I spent ten days recovering. A sack of coins ensured the innkeeper’s silence, and as a bonus, she repaired Briar’s original dress.
In the morning, we stop at the blacksmith’s and swear on a holy book to cement our union. Instead of rings made from blades of grass, I present her with a thin gold band and a small diamond. It’s nothing like the ring she would have had from Alistair, but her eyes shine with unshed tears as I unsteadily slip it on her finger.
I never thought I’d marry anyone. Never believed I was worthy of it.
At the pathway to the mountaintop castle, the thorn forest parts for us in a rustle of leaves. We no longer fear the harpies roosting on the lee side of the steep slope, though they tilt their menacing heads at us as we pass by.
At the grand front entrance, she stares up at the graceful sweeping columns. I see the castle with new eyes as evening light cuts across the grand hall. It’s a monument to her. Elegantly designed and simply adorned, the way she prefers.
“It wasn’t right of him to promise this to you.” She means Alistair, whose name we have both avoided saying.
“It’s yours.” I’ll give her everything I possess. I can have no peace without her. There’s nothing left of the knight I once was. Everything I strove for, it’s all gone. My place in the royal guard. My oath to the prince broken. All that’s left is me, the man.
“It’s not yours to give, either.” She smiles faintly.
“According to this it is.” I offer her the rolled parchment proclaiming me a duke and this castle mine. Briar takes it, examining it with a tiny pleat on her forehead, and rips it in two.
“I propose a compromise, Killian.” A mischievous smile plays around the corners of her lips. “What if we share it?”
She holds out both hands. I take them and let her lead me inside.
With the curse broken, the castle has been wholly repaired. The huge, ring-shaped candelabra I turned into a makeshift barricade is back hanging from the ceiling in the nave. Her coffin-bed is gone.
She leads me up to the next level, where a ballroom takes up the entire floor.
Above that are living quarters. An enormous bedroom appointed in blue, gold, and white, with red roses everywhere. Everywhere we explore, the castle has been transformed from a ruin into magnificence.
Hand-in-hand, we climb to the top of the highest tower. Below, the thorn bushes have knitted into an impenetrable wall, but they’re alive with bright blooms. Pink, white, and red roses dot the thickets.
“The fae didn’t abandon their creatures,” she says, gazing out over the land. “They sent me to protect them, and gave me beauty to pull them into my orbit. But I was cursed and had no way to know.”
“Why did you choose me, Briar? I killed them. I hunted the creatures you are meant to protect.”
Indeed, there are harpies nesting on a rooftop below, and a basilisk basks on the ivory balustrade, soaking up the last rays of the day’s sun.
“You can’t be king of the monsters if you fear them.” She lifts one shoulder and lets it drop, still staring out at her domain as if she can’t believe it’s real. Then she turns to me, somber. “Can you imagine what the prince would have done if I really could control them?”
I inhale so sharply it feels like breathing in powdered glass.
Part of me regrets treating my only friend the way I did. But Alistair is the one who tried to claim what didn’t belong to him. He is the one who took what he felt was his due, then left me to die in a run-down inn.
Briar chose me.
Her beasts accepted me.
This is our castle.
This is our reign.
I draw her into my arms and drop a kiss on the top of her warm head. “My sweet Briar.”
She curls her hands over my forearms and leans against me. “Welcome home, Killian.”