Chapter 26 Twenty Six
Chapter 26 Twenty Six
Cupid
Guards lined the corridors, massive Nexium soldiers in dark armour who watched us pass with carefully blank expressions.
They were wise enough not to question why their king was dragging a collared prisoner through the halls, though I saw more than one set of eyes linger on me with undisguised curiosity.
“My king,” they murmured as we passed, dropping to one knee with fists pressed to their chests.
Dragus acknowledged them with barely a nod, his pace never slowing.
I struggled to keep up, the leash tight enough that if I fell even slightly behind, it would choke me.
The ridiculously high heels on these shoes made things so much worse, because of course, the dress came with impractical shoes, making me stumble every few steps.
“Could you slow down please?” I gasped after the third time I nearly fell.
He didn’t respond. He just kept walking forward and I had to half-jog to maintain the pace.
We turned left, then right, then left again through a maze of identical black corridors. I tried to keep track and memorize the route, thinking maybe I could count the doors or note any distinguishing features that I could use to trace my way back.
But there were none. There was only endless volcanic stone and the occasional lava channel casting everything in that same unnatural red glow.
After what felt like an eternity of walking, we reached what appeared to be a dead end. There wasn’t anywhere else to go, only a blank wall with no door, no markings, nothing.
“I think we might be lost,” I ventured. “Should we maybe turn back?”
“Be quiet.”
He tugged sharply on the leash and I stumbled forward with a yelp, barely catching myself.
Anger flared hot in my chest at being yanked around like that, so I stuck my tongue out at the back of his head. It was definitely childish but satisfying all the same.
“I saw that.” He said, his voice cold and flat.
I went pale. How could he possibly…
He didn’t turn around; instead, he raised his free hand. Dark magic swirled around his fingers, forming into a key made of shadows and smoke.
Then pressed it to the blank wall and intricate runes flared to life, spreading across the stone and working out Nexium words that I couldn’t read.
Immediately a hidden door materialized out of nothing and swung open silently.
He pocketed the key in his left coat pocket, and I made sure to note carefully which pocket, filing that information away for the future before he pulled me in through the doorway.
The room beyond was familiar in the worst way.
It was his private study. The same room where we’d first met, where he’d caught me and pinned me to the door and called me out for being the spy that I was.
It was the place where he’d commanded me to strip before taking me for the first time on that very desk—
I quickly pushed the memory away, focusing instead on my surroundings. The massive desk covered in papers and intricately detailed maps, the shelves lined with ancient texts. The—
“When you said you had to leave for an emergency,” a voice said from the shadows, “I didn’t realize it involved the Heartwalker girl.”
I jumped in fright, not having noticed anyone else in the room.
A man stepped into the light, he was tall and broad-shouldered with the typical Nexium colouring.
But his eyes were sharp and calculating, and the way he looked at me made my skin crawl. Not with lust or hate like so many of the soldiers, but with cold assessment, as though he was plotting all kinds of evil things in his head.
“Return to your work, Kael, and let that be the last I hear of you today,” Dragus commanded.
So this was Kael, I realized. The second-in-command who’d deceived the Heartwalkers by pretending to be Dragus while the real king was back here, ravaging me.
Kael’s expression soured but he turned back to whatever he’d been studying at a smaller table in the corner.
Dragus pulled me over to the massive main desk, littered with spell components and strategic maps showing Heartwalker and Nexium territories.
He sat in his chair and gestured to the floor beside him. “Kneel.”
I stared at him. “Like… on the ground?”
His expression darkened and I caught myself. With his second-in-command watching and that impatient look in his eyes, I couldn’t afford to disobey.
Slowly, hating every second, I lowered myself to my knees at his feet.
The collar felt heavier than ever, the leash pooling on the floor beside me while my breasts threatened to spill out of my dress. I’d never felt more humiliated in my life.
Dragus returned his attention to the papers on his desk, apparently dismissing me entirely now that I was positioned where he wanted me.
Several minutes passed in silence. I knelt there feeling the cold stone bite into my knees, trying not to think about how I looked; collared and leashed at the Dragon King’s feet like some kind of pet.
Then he spoke, his voice unexpectedly casual: “Aren’t you curious what I’m working on?”
I looked up at him, startled. Was this a test? Or maybe a trap?
From across the room, Kael’s head snapped up. “Is that wise, my lord?”
His voice was sharp with disapproval. “Heartwalkers are deceitful by nature. Liars and manipulators, all of them. She’s most likely plotting against you even now. We must protect our plans, not share them with…”
“Get out.”
Dragus’s words were quiet but absolute.
Kael froze. “My lord, I’m only trying to—”
“Your head will be separated from your shoulders before you finish that sentence.”
Kael’s mouth snapped shut. For a long moment, he just stood there, his face flushing with humiliation and rage at being spoken to like that in front of the enemy.
Finally, he gathered his papers with sharp, angry movements and stormed toward the door.
“This is a mistake,” he said as he passed us, his hurt ego clearly showing. “You’ll regret trusting her.”
The door slammed behind him hard enough to rattle the hinges.
Meanwhile, Dragus didn’t even look up. “Ignore my incompetent second-in-command,” he said, his tone almost conversational. “He will be replaced soon enough.”
I stared at him, trying to make sense of this. He’d just dismissed his own general, someone he presumably trusted enough to make his second-in-command, just so he could continue talking to me.
A spy. His prisoner… Why?
“As I was saying,” Dragus continued, finally looking down at me. “Are you not curious?”
I should agree with Kael, I realized. In fact, I did agree with him.
I was a self-confessed spy after all. I was plotting against him—or trying to, anyway. And here he was, apparently willing to share information about his plans.
It made no sense. Unless…
Unless he was testing me, trying to see if I would take the bait.
Maybe he was waiting for me to reveal myself as the threat that Kael claimed I was and finally give him a good reason to rip me apart.
But I couldn’t help myself. I was curious, desperately so. This was the whole reason I’d infiltrated the castle in the first place to learn about him.
“Of course I’m curious,” I admitted carefully. “I just… wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate to ask.”
His eyes glinted with dark amusement.
“You’re helpless,” he said bluntly. “You have no power here, no allies, no escape route. You know better than to risk Aerion’s life by attempting anything foolish.”
He leaned forward slightly, his presence overwhelming even from his seated position. “So unless you want that pretty mouth of yours stuffed with my cock…”
Heat flooded my face at the crude image, shame and unwanted arousal twisting together in my gut.
“…you’ll put it to good use and ask the questions I want you to ask.”
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. Part of me, an incredibly shameful, traitorous part of me that was growing more and more bold with every hour I spent here in this fortress, was actually turned on by the thought.
By the image of me under his desk, on my knees, his hand fisted in my hair while I—
No. Absolutely not.
This was about information, which was what I’d come here for to begin with. So whatever game he was playing, I needed to take the risk and pretend to play along.
“What are you working on, my king?” I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.
He smiled slowly, and the expression sent chills down my spine.
“Now,” he said, spreading his hands over the papers before him, “that is the right question. Let me tell you about my great plot.”