Page 9 of The Forbidden Dragon King
Bard confuses me. And maybe princesses have time for that shit, but I don’t. I only have time for survival.
After tonight, Bard and I will never see each other again.
“Where is it?” Fear surges through me, as I rush around Bard’s room, searching for the rune book.
Bard wouldn’t have risked hiding it anywhere but here. His dad, King Ulf, would whip the skin off his son’s back, if he discovered it.
Once, I’d have given anything to have been allowed into Bard’s bedroom. How many nights have I lain in the servant’s dorm, secretly touching myself under the blankets to the thought that Bard had built me a nest for my first heat here?
That he was touching me?
Now, I throw aside the rich fur pelts that cover Bard’s crimson four-poster bed, heaping them on the floor.
Like a whirlwind, I overturn his straw mattress, checking underneath it. I’m panting as I turn to his desk in the corner, which is carved with crescent moons.
My eyes light up.
I study the neat papers on strategy (but I suspect contain poetry), before I sweep them off with a howl.
They scatter in a satisfying tempest around me.
Exhilarated at the destruction, which I’ve never been allowed to let out before, I grin.
If I’m going to be torn apart tonight, then I’ll at least leave my mark as well.
I’ve never been good at being the quiet, docile Omega.
Vibrating both with the thrill and terror, I turn to the prince’s weapons, which are ranked against the far wall: a heavy ax and a wooden shafted spear with an iron tip.
Iron to harm fae.
I wrinkle my nose.
Shadow Fae are only our enemies because the dragons are at war with the Unseelie Kingdom and have been as long as anyone can remember. For centuries, however, the fae have beenourclosest allies. They’re the most ancient of races, the origin of the shadows.
Legend says that they’re magic and cold death.
King Ulf, on the other hand, declares them nothing but rogues.
Either way, they sound like my type of people.
It’s only the dickless King Ulf who decided to cowardly bend the knee to the dragons in order to gain protection against the vampires in the south.
I dash for the ax, which Omegas aren’t normally allowed to handle. Weapons are only for Alphas and all that bullshit.
“By the moon, that’s heavy.” I straighten my back, huffing. “Okay, maybe I do need more muscles.”
Sweat drips down between my shoulder blades. Reluctantly, I let go.
My breathing becomes ragged.
What am I going to do?
No rune magic. No weapon. Nowhere to hide.
Then my gaze settles on the huge ash wardrobe, whichstands beside the window. It’s ornate and carved with howling wolves.
I smile. “Come to me, naughty book.”
