Chapter 23
Cora
“You don’t haveto trust me,” I said, not hiding my frustration. “You can stay here and wait for the fae if you’d rather take your chances.”
“We already defeated the fae once. We’ll do it again,” the woman said through the crack in her door.
“That was a decoy. Don’t you understand? They’re going to return with their full forces.” I was getting tired of arguing with people who had no sense of survival. Sophia had much better luck than I had. Nearly everyone she’d encouraged to leave had packed their belongings onto their backs and headed toward the palace. Meanwhile, I’d been spit on twice and had a door slammed on my face.
“Fine. Stay here. I don’t care what you do.” I turned and marched to the next home, hoping I’d have better luck.
The door opened before I arrived, and a timid woman peered out. “Is it true? They’re evacuating to the palace?”
“Yes,” I confirmed. “Please, please just go. Even if I’m wrong, the worst thing that happens is you go back home in a couple of days.”
“I have children,” she said.
“Bring them. And bring only what you can carry. There isn’t much space,” I replied.
“Alright. We just go to the palace grounds?”
“Yes, they’ll be waiting for you.” A knot in my chest loosened. Finally, someone was going to listen to me.
Suddenly, she let out a yelp and slammed the door on me. I jumped back in surprise, colliding with something behind me.
I spun quickly to find Bahar glaring down at me. “Why are you out here unaccompanied? Where are your guards?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I am capable of taking care of myself.”
“No, you’re not. I asked about you. You have no weapons training, no fighting skills. No diplomacy training. Nothing. You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“Well, when you say it like that…” I could feel my cheeks heat. I couldn’t exactly counter with the fact that I’d been taught how to seduce and lie to get what I wanted. I’m sure that’s not what someone wants to hear from their future wife.
I looked at the closed door behind me, then back at him. “You terrified that woman. I was trying to help her.”
He rolled his eyes, then knocked on the door. To my surprise, it opened a crack. The woman squeaked when she saw Bahar.
“My apologies, kind lady. I arrived to accompany my bride-to-be on her tasks to help her people.” He inclined his head as if greeting a royal.
The woman’s cheeks reddened, and I balled my hands into fists as jealousy flared. I shoved it away quickly, hating the stupid way I reacted to him.
She opened the door wider. “We’ll leave as soon as possible.”
“Thank you.” I forced a smile, hating that I was angry at her for the way she was looking at Bahar.
She closed the door, and I returned my attention to the Dragon King. “Why are you here?”
“I came at your request,” he replied.
I started walking to the next home. “I mean why are you in town and not at the palace?”
“I came for you, so I found you,” he said.
I caught sight of several people peering out their windows or doors watching the king. “Fine. But you need to stay out of the way. You’re scaring people.”
“As long as I know you’re not out here alone,” he replied.
I looked over to where Sophia was speaking with a family across the street, checking that she was doing alright before I moved to the next home. We’d already covered most of the city and had enlisted the help of a few priests to cover other neighborhoods. We’d be finished soon. My stomach tightened in anticipation of what would happen when we returned to the palace.
I shoved the thought away and walked to the next house, knocking before I could think more on my upcoming wedding.
“I thinkwe got a lot of people to understand,” Sophia said as we walked toward the palace.
The streets were full of people carrying far too much in their arms and on their backs. “I hope so.”
“You did what you could,” Bahar added. “And I anticipate you’ll see more head to your gates when they see the fae ships arrive.”
I slowed down, letting Sophia get ahead of me. Bahar matched my pace. “I’m sorry I asked you to leave your people. What’s happening in Drakous?”
“The Fae King’s men occupy our city, but they won’t hold it if we can eliminate the king,” he said.
“What makes you think he’ll come here himself? He didn’t last time,” I pointed out.
“Pride. He wants to claim the credit and he thinks he’s invincible,” Bahar said.
“Is he?” I asked.
“He could be. We have to hope getting him in the open is enough,” Bahar admitted.
“Did you know about the sorceress?” I asked.
“Not in time to save my sister,” he replied darkly.
I stopped walking, grief washing over me. It was as if I could feel his anguish. “You had to watch it.” I didn’t know how I knew, but I did.
“He’s not going to stop until he destroys anyone who might be a threat to him,” Bahar said.
I set my palm on his bicep. “I’m so sorry.”
He placed his hand on top of mine. It was warm and the touch was comforting. “You’d have liked her.”
“I’m certain I would have.”
“Cora? Everything alright?” Sophia called.
I turned to see her waiting ahead, watching us with curiosity. I dropped my hand. “We’re fine.”
We started walking again and I couldn’t help but feel guilty for calling Bahar away from his people. I was so worried about saving my own that I’d left them unprotected while he was here with me. “If you need to return, I understand. I shouldn’t have summoned you.”
“I belong by your side. Kabir is there in my place. He can handle whatever arises in Drakous while I’m here. And I brought some dragons with me. We can help. When the Fae King arrives, I will fight alongside Athos to ensure your safety.” He was staring straight ahead, not looking at me.
My chest felt tight. “I don’t deserve any of the loyalty you’re showing me.”
He glanced over, a small smirk on his lips. “Careful, princess. You keep speaking like that and I might start to think you actually care for me.”
I was silent the rest of the walk to the palace, afraid I’d say something that might scare him away. Or worse, make the warm feelings I was starting to have thaw into something more intense.
There weren’t guards stationed at the wide open gates. People were flooding in, and the few guards I saw were busy directing families to the empty spaces around the palace.
A few of Bahar’s men were stationed near the front doors, as if waiting for their king to return. To my surprise, they inclined their heads in greeting but didn’t speak to him or follow us inside. They seemed to have taken over spaces usually reserved for our guards. They were already working with us, defending my people, even without a marriage. But what would happen when things got more challenging? Would they even give us a warning before leaving?
We strolled down the marble hallway, past rushing servants carrying bundles of food and fabric. Every resource in the palace was being distributed to the citizens taking over the grounds.
“So, are you ever going to tell me the reason you needed me here so badly?” Bahar asked.
I grabbed his sleeve and tugged him away from the main hallway into the breakfast room. The table was empty, and the room seemed so small without my sisters gathered. I wondered if we’d ever do that again.
“Had to get me alone, did you?” he teased.
“I want us to get married. Now,” I blurted.
The playful smile on his lips faded and his brow furrowed. “No.”
“What?” I released my grip on his tunic. “I thought you wanted to marry me.”
“I do. But not like this. Not because you’re afraid I won’t help your people,” he said.
“Lagina told you,” I said.
He shook his head. “Nobody had to tell me, princess. It’s obvious you don’t want to marry me, but you care about your city, your home. Don’t worry, I’m not going to abandon you just because you haven’t given yourself to me yet. I can be very patient.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t have time for patience.”
“You don’t want to marry me. And trust me, I have no problem getting my needs met elsewhere until you’re ready.” He shrugged.
I was fuming. “How dare you.”
“What?”
“How dare you threaten to fuck other women when you have me right here!” Rage consumed me. There was no way I would ever allow him to touch another woman. “You are an engaged man. You don’t get to bed other women. That’s not how it works.”
“You’re free to be with other men, if that’s your concern,” he said.
It felt like I’d been slapped across the face. I’d been with lots of men, for no reason other than boredom. I’d been with men to learn things for my mother, or to gain favor for my family. Then there was Tomas. The one I thought I was with for love.
None of them mattered anymore. None of them would ever satisfy me again. I grabbed the front of his tunic, low on his chest, then pulled him closer to me. His brows lifted in surprise.
“What did you do to me?” I demanded. “Why are you the only man I can think about?”
“Mating bonds are strong.” He pried my fingers off his tunic and stepped back. “You need some time to cool off, before you do something you might regret.”
“Why do you keep turning me down?” Nobody turned me down. I simply had to bat my eyelashes and I got any man I wanted. Any man but this one.
“Trust me, it’s not easy,” he said, his voice a little husky.
I glanced down and noticed the bulge in his trousers. So it wasn’t just me. I reached for him, and he caught my wrist. Slowly, he leaned down so his nose nearly touched mine. I was staring into his deep green eyes. “Naughty.”
My insides heated until they were molten. I squeezed my thighs together, then pulled my arm away. “You’re not as tough as you think you are.”
“Neither are you, princess.” He rose to his full height, a confident smile on his lips. The kind that reflected victory.
He thought he’d won.
I grabbed him again, but this time I reached higher on his tunic and pulled hard. He bent unexpectedly and before he could react, I pressed my lips to his.
He tensed, his lips stilled. I dragged my tongue along his lower lip and he groaned, then he wrapped his arms around me, lifting me off the ground. I threw my legs around his waist and dug my fingers into his shoulders to steady myself.
He devoured me like I was his last meal and I returned each stroke with even more intensity.
I won.
He was mine.
His hands found their way up my tunic and let him explore until I could tell he was at the point of no return. Then I released his waist and broke free, quickly distancing myself from him. Panting, I watched as he gazed at me with the frustrated look of a predator who’d just had his meal stolen.
“We wed tomorrow,” I managed between breaths. “Then I’m all yours.”
“You are my punishment from the gods, aren’t you?” he bit out.
I made a show of smoothing my tunic, then freed my messy hair from the tie that had held it back at the base of my neck. My long gold hair tumbled free. “I look even better when I’m naked.”
“This is your last chance for a taste of freedom,” he warned. “Once I marry you, there’s no going back. You’re the Queen of Drakous. The mother to the future heir to the kingdom. My queen. My mate. Mine.”
The growl that came out with his final word made my knees weak, but I held myself together. “I’ll arrange for a priest at sunset.” Before I could give in to the urge to tear all of his clothes off, I left the room, leaving my soon to be husband behind.