Chapter 3 #3
Balor whined and recoiled from her to slink back to the corner where she figured he’d been placed to keep watch over her.
It was better that way; no reason he should be punished for actually having a modicum of empathy for another being.
Audrey held her breath, mostly because breathing equaled agony, but also to see if she could pinpoint where the Chancellor was hiding.
She knew he wouldn’t be far. He would’ve stayed close so he could hear her struggle and writhe in pain.
She hadn’t given him the satisfaction—nor would she—and for that, Audrey was sure the bastard would be back sooner rather than later.
The princess once again called on a strength that came from the knowledge that no matter what she had to endure, Rian would be okay. The Chancellor would not have her mate. This time, she even lifted her head, although doing so caused the blood from the wounds on her back to flow more freely.
Looking around, Audrey cringed at the rivers of her blood creating some sort of horrific mosaic as it flowed between the large grey stones of the floor.
Her stomach, empty from all the times she vomited during her attack, rolled at the splatters and splashes decorating the walls.
It was evident they could’ve only been achieved by someone who loved their work.
And Adramelech did indeed love his torture.
He’d literally turned it into an art form after his many millennia in hell.
Closing her eyes to focus her energy and block out what had already happened, Audrey injected as much of the hate she felt for Adramelech into her voice as she could and shouted with a voice so ragged not even she recognized it.
“You wanted to know where I was didn’t you?
Who I was with? How I escaped you even if it was for just a few moments?
Wasn’t that what you worked so hard to beat out of me? ”
Pausing as spots danced before the darkness behind her closed eyelids and her breath came in tiny spurts, Audrey refused to give up until she’d gotten the Chancellor back into the room.
He would finally finish what he’d started.
She would so whatever it took to get him to kill her.
Enough was enough. The bastard had been her jailor, her tormentor, and the bane of her existence for long enough.
She and Rian had tried for every moment of their less than conventional relationship to find a permanent solution to her confinement, only to come up empty handed at every turn.
There was no way she was going to continue to let one of the best men she’d ever known take any more chances with his life for her.
Today was the day. This was the spot. Audrey Dobresou, Princess of the Green Isle Kingdom, would make her final stand, and God willing she would die as she’d lived, with her head held high and no regrets.
One quick breath and she said the words she knew would bring not only the Chancellor but her demise.
“I was with the dragons…my dragon. And it wasn’t the first time.
I have seen him every full moon for the last ninety years.
I have kissed his perfect lips. I lay in his welcoming arms and I have pledged my undying love to him. ”
She paused as the click of large talons against stone reached her ears.
The bastard was coming and it was time to nail her own coffin shut.
One quick prayer to the God she knew had never left her was quickly followed by the profession of her unconditional devotion to her mate.
She pushed all the everlasting love and affection she had for Rian through the iron-clad bond that flared to life every time she saw him.
Opening her eyes because she wanted to see the fury on Adramelech’s face, Audrey did what she had to do; she taunted the bastard.
“Don’t you feel like a complete and total failure?
I mean the other demons have to be laughing at you.
After all, you are supposed to be the all-knowing, all-seeing Chancellor and President of the High Council of Demons and a little insignificant princess from some backwater kingdom got one over on you. Wow, you must…”
Her words were cut short by the strike of a humongous claw-tipped paw right across her face.
Her neck cracked so loudly it bounced off the stone walls as her head flew back from the impact.
A small smile curved the edges of her bleeding mouth.
She’d done it. Made the beast of all beasts lose his tenuous control.
It was the first time Adramelech had ever touched her face.
He was out of his mind as punch after punch landed on every available surface of the front of her body.
Sliding into blessed unconsciousness, Audrey could only feel the sweet release of impending death.
A single tear slid down her cheek as Rian’s face floated across her mind.
Her only regret was that he would live a life without love.
Sinking farther away from reality, Audrey begged the Universe for one final wish.
“Please make sure he never forgets how much I love him and let him find another to love him as he rightly deserves.”
Warmth spread throughout her dying body from the spot where the bond she shared with her dragon warrior lived and removed all her pain. As she took her last breath, Audrey heard, “All will be well, my child.”