I know, my dragon snarled. But we will kill him one day. One day, we will rip his head off his neck, hollow out his eyes, and piss on his remains.
A bit much, that. But in this case, I agree.
With incredible effort, I dropped my eyes. I bent my knees just a bit more. I feigned submission.
“Good,” I heard from Govam, barely more than a whisper. His hands loosened on my elbows, his touch barely there now. The only thing that kept my anger from increasing was that he didn’t sound smug or authoritative—he sounded supportive, like he knew the effort it had taken me to get through that.
Before I could wonder at it, I felt the tug of his hand, and everyone was standing once again.
“So.” Dolion crossed a thin leg over the other. His gaze roamed me before he gave Jedrek the same assessment. “The happy couple has stepped before me. What do you think of your new home?”
Jedrek squirmed, drawing Dolion’s eyes. I wondered why I hadn’t pulled his animal loose yet. Then again, maybe he was still affected by Sonassa’s magic. I wasn’t sure whether I could pull the animals free if they were under any kind of demon influence.
“My goodness, shifter,” Dolion said, tapping his thin lips. “I’d forgotten how nicely you clean up.”
“He sure does,” the demon to Dolion’s right said, her horns thinner and a little more curved. “What is his animal?”
Dolion narrowed his eyes. “This one came from the villages. He wouldn’t know.”
“Submissive,” Govam said.
“Hmm. I like the submissive ones,” she replied.
“I’m not submissive,” Jedrek grumbled.
“And delusional,” Govam added.
The demons on the dais laughed delightedly, except for Dolion, whose eyes gleamed. “A handsome and delusional ‘alpha.’ He’ll be a great favorite. How does he respond to your magic, Sonassa?”
“Like a little pussycat, your majesty,” she replied, adding a little bow. “He welcomes it. I get the impression he was fond of the demons in his village.”
“Yes, that was the impression I got when I first met him.” Dolion tapped his lips again. “Get a suit that actually fits him. Bring him to dinner tonight. No other shifters. Just him. I want to see how he does. Sonassa, you take charge of him. You’ll be more useful than Denski.”
“My pleasure, sire.” Her hips swung as she took Denski’s place, offering him a smug smile as she did so. Apparently handling the prisoners was usually reserved for the higher tiers of demons.
Dolion leaned forward a little, peering down at Jedrek. “Remember, if you cooperate, you’ll be treated well. Please me, and you’ll be pampered. Displease me, however, and you’ll find yourself in a worse place than that dungeon, do you understand? The pain you experience will have no comparison.”
“Yes, sir—sire,” Jedrek said, straightening up a little. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, and I could just see his cheeks rising. He thought this was a hand out of his current hell. Or maybe he figured gaining Dolion’s favor would get him married to me that much faster. Whatever it was, he had absolutely zero worry about what sort of duties would come next. He probably looked forward to them.
I kept myself from hunching, worried about my own fate. Worried about what duties would be coming for me. I’d be damned if I was passed around his demons. A great many of them would die before that happened.
Dolion flicked his fingers. “Sonassa, go find temporary quarters for him until we know where he will go.”
“Of course, your highness.” She offered a bow, and her magic swirled around us, licking down my body and attempting to settle between my legs.
I shivered and shrugged it off as Jedrek smiled broadly, liking the touch of her magic.
“Come on, pet,” Sonassa said it to him, but her eyes were regarding me with hunger. The chick would just not let it go.
I gritted my teeth as they left, hating the feeling of vulnerability, being left on my own. He was the worst, but he felt like the only living thing familiar to me in this harsh and uncertain place.
“What about the golden dragon’s mate?” Dolion asked. “Any trouble?”
“She is nothing but trouble, sire,” Govam said. “We have to watch her closely. She’s a dragon through and through.”
“You filthy fucking liar,” I seethed, spinning in outrage. His hands on my elbows locked me in place, and Denski quick-stepped toward us. His extendable stick came out of nowhere and crashed down on top of me. I withstood the pain as he hit me again, trying to cow me, to reduce me to a whimpering mess like he had with Jedrek.
The third strike hit me in my stomach, knocking the breath out of me. I bent with the blow but refused to let my knees buckle. Denski edged back, lowering his stick near his leg.
“Hmm, she’s a strong one,” the male demon beside Dolion said. “Quite pretty for a shifter. The smell, though…”
“Can you do anything about it?” Dolion asked. “She was claimed by the Wyvern alpha. I don’t think severing the bond will be enough with her.”
“We have never successfully severed a dragon’s mating bond,” the other demon said, entwining her fingers in front of her. “Only wolves so far. And the weaker ones at that. But…we can try to at least minimize the smell.”
“Yes, that might be within our power,” the other agreed.
Bear down, my dragon thought in sudden panic, clutching for the bond. Hold on to Nyfain with everything you have. We don’t want them to get lucky and somehow sever our connection. He’s the only thing keeping us sane in here.
“Hold her,” Dolion said as the two demons on the dais drifted down the steps toward me, their expressions equally determined.
Guards gripped my arms and sides, three on each side, and Govam held fast to my elbows, his fingers digging in. The other guards pushed in close too—not grabbing me yet, but prepared to. As the powerful demons neared me, their magic dug in, burrowing into my skin and seemingly digging holes into my bones.
“No,” I forced out through clenched teeth, the sudden pain overwhelming. Unimaginable. Quickly whisking away my logical mind. “No!”
I thrashed within the guards’ hold. The demon magic burrowed deeper, clawing through my chest, hunting for my connection with Nyfain. My spine twisted, or at least it felt that way, bending down over itself. The magic dug deeper yet, shooting bursts of pain through every inch of my body.
I screamed, eyes squeezed shut. I kicked and thrashed at the hands all over my body. My power flailed out and slashed through flesh and bone. Those near me were ripped away, but more took their place as my dragon yanked at Nyfain’s power. The gush came immediately, but it wasn’t enough to lessen my agony.
Blackness encroached on my vision, and still the pain grew as they searched for our bond. Cutting and slicing. Turning me inside out.
A little tickle worried the bond, and terror bled through me anew.
Hold on to him with everything you are, my dragon wailed, coiling around the bond to protect it. Take the pain. That is nothing compared to losing him. Don’t let them break us apart.
The tickle increased, warming. Growing. Glowing.
But it wasn’t the demons. It was Nyfain, reaching out to us through the bond. Trying to help us in our time of need.