Page 45 of Dormeo
His talons drum against the wooden trunk, and he raises an eyebrow at the excuse for a father standing before him. “And it would be especially unwise to actually encourage rescue missions to somewhere like this. In fact, it would be akin to sending men blindly on a suicide mission.”
Farly’s eyes land on the trunks once more.
“And if you used these rescue missions as an excuse to off some of your rivals, pretending they had gone off to sea, when in fact, they lay dead in your stables, well, that might be somethingyou would pay greatly for, too. Blaming their deaths on my actions, on my kidnapping of your daughter, for example, would be unforgivable. If their families were to find out, I mean, who knows how they would retaliate.”
Farly blanches, knowing full well that my father is aware of every trick, every twist, that he’s attempted to make to ensure he comes out smelling of roses.
“And if you also planned to return a hero, and pretend you won some victory against me, and broke your daughter out of here, that would also infuriate me. You can understand how important my reputation is to our work here.”
Farly steps back, his legs unsteady, as my father advanced, growing in size as his shape morphs from the humanoid form he wears most of the time, to the much more terrifying true form he keeps hidden most days.
“I… I…” Farly stutters and fumbles his words, unable to speak in the presence of such a sight.
I watch on, waiting for him to have a heart attack and put us all out of our misery, but a faint dragging sound from one of the trunks catches everyone’s attention.
Corpses don’t scratch.
My father smiles slowly and rests his hand on the last box. “Shh, my Queen. You’re home.” He glances at Rose, who’s now gripping my hand and has stepped behind me to peer around at the box. “Rose, would you like to stay here and find out more about who you really are?”
Rose nods, but I’m a little more suspicious.
“Looks like little Rose is staying here after all.”
He winks at Farly, something my father never does, before opening the latch and lifting the lid. His jaw clenches, the sight inside something even he is not eager to look at.
“Bring her to my chambers immediately.” He looks at Farly. “Leave.”
Farly takes a step forward and is immediately seized by the two minotaurs who drag him from the room. “You can’t do this. She is mine. I’m ruined without her.”
My father laughs. “You’re ruined anyway. Everyone knows what you did. And our deal was for the return of your daughter, who I don’t have. I have the child you claimed as your own. The devil is in the details.”
Farly curses and spits as he’s evicted from the room, his toes dragging along the floor.
With a dangerous smile around the hushed room, Father adds, “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing him again soon. There are lots of people who are unhappy with him back in the human realm.”
Rose is as white as a sheet, watching in horror as the trunk containing the alivesomethingis carried from the room. I’m not sure the reality of what’s just happened has sunk in.
“Do with her as you please,” my father says offhandedly. “I got what I wanted.” With a derisive look at Lily, he shakes his head. “But your boy toy adds nothing. Either add him to your harem or return him to where he belongs.”
Lily balls her hands into fists but merely nods, knowing she’s better off not engaging in a battle of wills with him. She should know better to think he wasn’t aware she was hiding the Viking.
Everyone filters out of the room except for Rose and me. We stare blankly at each other until she finally moves, nervous, eyes darting around as if she expects my father to return. “What now?”
“Now, I get you home before he changes his mind.”
Rose looks aghast. “I don’t want to go back. I want to stay with you.” She slips her small hand into mine, and I can’t take my eyes off where our skin touches, feeling the tingles dancing along my skin.
“You don’t know what you’re asking.”
She squeezes my fingers. “I don’t care. I just want to be where you are.”
I close my eyes, allowing myself to picture what that would be like. It would be like a dream.
“There will be no going back if I don’t return you right now. I won’t be able to let you go.”
She presses her body tightly to me.
“I don’t want you to let me go. I want you to bring me back to your chambers and take me to bed. Tomorrow, you can show me what your life here is really like.”
