Page 112 of The Heart of the Dragon

One second later I spied Magnus's dragon claws extend and swipe across the king's face, leaving behind deep, disfiguring gashes. My inner self cheered while I tried to push people out of my way so I could get closer. Magnus took another swipe, until the king's face looked marked eerily similarly to his own.

Was that what the king had done to him? My stomach revolted.

"Magnus!" I couldn't stop yelling his name. Not with the red I saw blooming across his entire shirt and running down his side. None of which had seemed to slow him down yet.

This time, he didn't turn to me. He kept his focus on the bastard in front of him. "You are done and I am King, now. And my first act as such is to sentence you to death. Although I should imprison you and make you live with the mangled flesh of your precious face."

A sick, gurgling laugh sounded from the older man still managing to stay upright in the face of Magnus's wrath. If I was honest, it both surprised and impressed me that he hadn't tried to run.

"You'll never be king," he sputtered. "No one here will accept you. The bastard dragon that even his own mother didn't want to keep. Please."

I gasped, coming up short at the sharp blade of his words digging into my own skin as much as I imagined it did Magnus.

However, the nastiness spurred me into action again. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I was damned sure going to do something to shut him up. He couldn't talk to my mate like that.

"How dare you!" I screamed, the words seething through clenched teeth, finally close enough to be heard without shouting. "He's far more king already than you have ever been. My mate is superior to the likes of you in every way and you deserve nothing less than to burn in a pit of fiery hell of his making."

Both the King and Magnus fell silent, turning their shocked gazes to me. If we didn't make it out of here after this, I had a feeling the look on Magnus's face at this moment would carry me into the afterlife as a happy woman.

There was nothing but pride and love shining in his eyes.

"What would you know? You're only an omega. And I've yet to see any evidence that is even true, so maybe you are even less. Which gives you no right?—"

"He gives me the right. The fact that he is here to end the reign of the tyrant bastard king. Don't you get it? You've already lost. One more breath and you cease to exist and there isn't a damned thing you can do about it. So why don't you shut the hell up, and let me talk to the important man in the room?"

I positioned myself in front of Magnus, providing him with just enough cover while we both kept our focus on the king. Fortunately, no guards were stepping in to intervene. The shift in the room's power was already unmistakeable. A quick glance at the dagger embedded in Magnus’s side made my own face pale. With blood pouring from the wound, it did not look good at all.

"I'm fine," he growled as if reading my mind.

"You're not." I worried my lip and contemplated how the hell we would fix this. "We need a doctor."

Laughter erupted from the old man in front of us and I whipped my head around to glare at him. "You think this is funny?” The outrage in my chest was enough to make me feel like my head was about to explode. It was then I realized I still held a sword in my good hand.

"It is funny. Watching you guard him like you're his little pet dog is adorable. But too bad it won't do either of you any good. He's going to die. And once you know the truth about him, you'll be glad he's gone."

The finality of his words made my blood run cold. That didn't sound like an idle threat. He seemed to know something I didn't. I swiveled my head back and forth between them waiting for someone to give me a clue.

"What?" the king continued. "Did you think I wouldn't know? That a demon spell would hide her heathen ears from me? I could smell the dark fae on her the moment she walked into the castle."

I looked between the King and Magnus, more confused than ever before. My hands flew to the sides of my head before I couldstop them. To be honest, I'd once again completely forgotten about them. There'd been no time to get used to them before they'd disappeared. But what did my ears have to do with all of this?

"Your prejudices about where I might have come from don't matter anymore. You've been defeated."

The King snorted. "Silly girl. If you think you can get rid of me that easily, you might as well cross back over to your side of the realm. At least until I'm ready to take care of you—again." He laughed maniacally. "Although I guess this time I will have to take care of it myself instead of letting Magnus do it."

The shock of his words nearly stopped my heart. My head was about to explode. I dropped my hands back to my sides and clenched my fists opened and closed several times.

"Fuck," Magnus hissed.

"Liar," I shouted.

"Don't believe me?" he continued. "Then ask him yourself. But you'd better do it quick, little girl." His laughter deepened. Because that's not just any blade I ran him with. It's forged with stygian steel and laced with a concentrated dose of valerian. Both deadly to a dragon."

I shook my head. It couldn't be true. I'd seen first-hand what that herb did to him. "You're wrong," I seethed again. "He and I have already dealt with that poison. It maims, not kills."

"Not at that dose, it doesn't. I knew this day would eventually come and I've had years to plan for it, and plan for it I did. The steel is said to have been mined from the depths of the underworld, making it perfect for delivering poison directly intoa dragon's veins. " His sick laughter continued until I couldn't take it anymore. I turned to Magnus, noticing that while he still looked as big and imposing as ever, his color no longer looked right.

Fuck. Was it actually possible?

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