Chapter 6 #3
Blessed silence accompanied the rest of their meal, including the lovely strawberry cheesecake their busty blonde servant delivered with the first real coffee Audrey had sipped in over fifty years.
Several times, the princess thought about asking where all the food had come from.
After all, fresh strawberries did not grow in hell.
But every time the thought crossed her mind, she pushed it away, deciding ignorance was bliss.
Pushing his chair away from the table, Adramelech casually made his way to her. Holding out the same grimy talon-tipped paw that had ripped the flesh from her body so many times, the Chancellor sweetly smiled and asked, “Join me for drinks in the parlor?”
Audrey hadn’t ever seen a parlor or anything remotely resembling a parlor, but she knew his request was only a formality and one she could not refuse.
Led to a part of the castle she’d never seen before, the princess stepped into a huge theatre-like room that no one in their right mind would ever consider a parlor.
Following Adramelech to the very center of the auditorium, Audrey carefully sat on the red crushed velvet seat he pulled down for her and accepted what smelled like brandy in a delicately etched glass snifter.
Jeeves shuffled in with a tray of tiny petit fours and sat it on the small round tea table between her and the Demon Lord.
“I hope you like the film. I know how much you’ve enjoyed the ones the Hunter Demons brought back in years past.”
No sooner had the Chancellor finished speaking than the lights dimmed. Trailers of upcoming movies, Audrey figured the humans lucky enough to live topside would be enjoying over the next few months, played on the big screen before her. Then came the main attraction.
Audrey gasped as an overhead view of the castle she and her family had once called home appeared in vivid color.
The image grew as the camera moved closer to its subject.
The single violin playing a haunting melody from her childhood grew to an incredibly accomplished orchestra, as the lens focused on what she knew without a doubt was her mother and father’s wedding day.
Tears flowed unchecked as Audrey’s entire life played out in front of her; the only comfort coming from the warm amber liquid she continued to sip.
The princess had imagined her uncle’s deal with Adramelech and the subsequent murder of her father many times, but until that moment, had never actually witnessed them.
Her heart broke all over again to see the look of horror in her father’s eyes when he realized it was his own brother who had singed away the king’s life.
The only solace she felt was that he never knew of her fate; never knew she had become the servant of a demon.
Accepting her third dram of brandy, Audrey wanted to scream when every detail of the night she met Rian came into view.
She’d always known Adramelech had planned it all.
What she hadn’t known was that he’d been tracking her family since her parent’s wedding.
It only made sense since her fate as a dragon warrior’s mate had been decided long before by the all-knowing Universe.
The only thing she could never figure out was how the Chancellor knew.
He was not in good standing with the Universe or anything remotely good, so how had he found out.
Which led her to wonder if he knew that, how did he not know Rian’s name.
Wouldn’t finding out who her intended was have been part and parcel of finding out she was a mate?
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Audrey’s vision blurred slightly then quickly cleared.
She guessed it was from all the hits to the head she’d received recently and took another drink from her sifter.
Just another conundrum…
All of her questions mattered little at this stage of the game. Adramelech had her. The Demon Lord had accomplished that much, but Audrey had stopped him from getting Rian or even her mate’s name, and that was information she was taking to her grave.
Listing to the side, Audrey squinted against her now constantly blurring vision as recent pictures of Rian and his brothers appeared in living Technicolor before her. Setting her drink on the table, the princess grabbed the arms of her chair and held herself upright as best she could.
Something was wrong...really wrong. Not only was she having trouble sitting upright and her eyes refused to focus, but now the room seemed to be spinning.
Summoning all the strength she had left, Audrey stared at the screen.
The crescendo of the music swelled, making her ears ring as she watched Rian instruct what had to be the men he’d told her about over the years.
Some she recognized from pictures he’d shown her… others merely from his descriptions.
Her mate stood tall, obviously in charge, pointing at a huge map stretched across a massive wooden table. The camera angle changed and now she could see what they were looking at, where they were planning to go, and all she could do was scream, “Noooooooooooo….!”
There on the table was a map of hell. Rian, her wonderful, amazing, stubborn as a mule dragon was mounting a rescue.
He was coming to save her. Her heart was overflowing with the love and admiration for the man the Universe had chosen for her while she tried not to slide off her chair. He hadn’t given up on her.
She smiled a sad smile, praying to God and the Heavens to do whatever they could to stop him. It was a trap. A trap set by the Demon Lord sitting right next to her. Her mind was foggy, her senses failing, and her consciousness slipping away.
Adramelech scooped her out of the chair before the movie was over, but Audrey had gotten the jest. The bastard was one-step ahead. They’d gotten away with fooling him all those years, but now; he had the upper hand and was going to use it to destroy them all.
He carried her out of the parlor through the dining room as her vision narrowed to a pinpoint.
Handing her off to someone she didn’t or couldn’t recognize, the Demon Lord ordered, “You know what to do. I never want to see this traitorous piece of trash again,” just as Audrey’s vision was failing and the ringing in her ears made it impossible for her to hear.
Rian…don’t…come…