Page 92 of The Heart of the Dragon

"What? He doesn't allow you to shift?"

He shook his head. "Not unless he needed the dragon for some reason. The king is paranoid and trusts absolutely no one. As long as he had that spell on me, keeping me loyal and available only to him, was an easy enough task. But in general, he was afraid of my power."

"Why? You're family."

Magnus scoffed. "I think family means two very different things to us than it does you. In all the four kingdoms, family are the ones you can practically count on to betray you. Power is an intense motivator and all fae want is more and more of it."

"That sounds selfish and unrealistic. Why do they even want more power? What are they going to do with it?"

"Keep themselves and their families safe from other fae predators, of course."

"Ohh." Okay, maybe they weren't all selfish. "But your uncle never felt that way? He never tried to protect you? Even when you were growing up?"

"Don't get me wrong. He did sort of protect me. My brute strength and fire-breathing capabilities in the wrong hands would be disastrous for everyone. But his schemes and plans had to be protected. He made it very clear I washisguard dog, and as such, I needed to learn and keep my place. To help anyone else was tantamount to treason and punishable by death no matter who I was."

My stomach churned again. With every new detail, my anger for his uncle grew exponentially. And so far, the rest of the realm was not making me love my decision to come here. Although from everything that I’d seen, there were small glimpses of what could be or what hid behind some of the darkness.

While Magnus had to deal with the underbelly of the realm his whole life, it sounded like there were plenty of other places not as infected by the King's poisonous way of ruling.

There were good people here. I believed that with my whole heart no matter what happened. And I'd be lying if I wasn't dying to explore magic and science here as well. I was convinced they could go together.

When Magnus set me down on his bed, my eyes were already wide with the sumptuous space. To my surprise, it wasn't a big room at all. There would be no dragon shifting in here.

It was also dark like a cave, despite how light it was outside. Thanks to dark green paneled wood walls and heavy velvet curtains, it would be easy to rest in here at any time of the day or night.

The chandelier hanging over the bed was as ornate and intricate as any I'd ever seen, and the piles of thick, furry blankets made for a completely lush experience that I was never going to want to leave.

I grabbed at the blankets and pillows and immediately began piling them around me. "My goddess, this bedding is the most luxurious thing I've ever felt on my skin. I can't get enough of it."

"When you spend a lot of time alone, you tend to surround yourself with all of your favorite things."

I froze at his words. Was he in my head? "I'm not sure I can picture you all alone for very long," I said absently, pulling more of the blankets around me. I could already feel the pull of sleep coming closer as I did.

"Ahh. That's where you're wrong. Dragons don't play well with others at all. We spend lots more time hunting and hoarding treasure than we do with people."

"You keep your treasure here? What kind of treasure?" I asked sleepily.

"Well, at the moment, you are my treasure. I'm going to hoard and keep you."

"That sounds a little stalkery," I laughed. "Are you going to lock me up too?"

"Call it what you like. But I will keep you here if that's what it takes to ensure you're safe."

I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open, but that didn't mean I couldn't issue a warning. "Magnus, if you try to lock me up or hide me away, you should know that I will poison you in your sleep."

"You could try, but you won't find any valerian here."

A small smile crept across my face. "Don't forget, I am a botanist, and I was raised by a bonafide kitchen witch. I guarantee I could find something that would do the job."

Finally, his smirk faltered, and I beamed because of it. While he was busy making assumptions about what was going on between us, it was important for him to remember that I wasn't a pushover. "You should see the look on your face. It's priceless. And while I may be swayed by your antics in the bedroom, it doesn't put you in charge of all things me. We're either in this together as a team, with both of us making decisions, or we're nothing."

His eyes widened, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. And while I knew that was short-lived and that my dragon-man, as Ensley so succinctly put it, would never be a docile creature, I got the impression he was definitely listening.

"Point taken, my little dark fae." He settled down on the bed next to me and pulled me against his body. As much as I enjoyed the luxurious bedding, nothing could compare to the warmth of him. And the safety I felt nestled in his arms. Not that I intended to say that to him out loud. His ego was already big enough. And I'd always believed that actions spoke louder than words anyways. No matter how cheesy that sounded the multitude of times I heard that from my mother...

Sadness blanketed me. The woman we'd confronted just a few days ago had been so different from the woman I'd grown up with. Her interest in my well-being had seemed functional, not motherly. And all the logic in the world about how she'd dedicated her life to protecting me didn't make me feel an iota better about it all.

Magnus suddenly lifted and leaned over me. "What's wrong? You're shaking."

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