Chapter 33

Chapter

Thirty-Three

Magnus

It didn't take us long to reach the village, and I had to admit, by the time we arrived I was grateful for the glamour from Ensley. As a dragon I was not gifted with that kind of power. And while brute strength and fire worked wonders in most situations, I preferred a little subtlety for now.

At least this way, the remaining sprites following us had lost interest, and no new creatures had taken any particular interest either. Even Rose had kept quiet, and I could feel the tension between us growing. And it was getting worse by the second. I had no doubt that when she found out my role in her family's deaths that it would create a rift that would be impossible to repair.

Unless by then she was bound to me in ways that couldn't be revoked.

Ensley had planted the idea in my head and now I couldn't get it out. Rose pregnant with my dragonling was all I could think about. Well, that and the sweet taste of revenge for my uncle. The big plan had been to confront and kill him. But trapping him in his own dungeon held more appeal than I cared to admit.

It was the punishment he deserved. I'd put him in the cell that Kitra had resided in and see how he enjoyed a taste of his own medicine for a while. If we were all lucky, the other inmates would ensure he never saw another sunrise.

"What is that smile for?" Rose asked. "Or do I even want to know."

"Probably not. I was thinking about my uncle and what I plan to do to him."

"He deserves it. Keeping you trapped in his servitude for countless years with no autonomy was enough to convince me, but now knowing that he was responsible for my family? There's no coming back from genocide."

I winced at her assessment. It was my dragonfire that had caused it all. And now was the opportunity I needed to tell her. I opened my mouth to say something and nothing came out. My stomach twisted, and a deluge of guilt threatened my sanity, but I still couldn't say the words. Not when to do so would cause her to try and leave. Something I or my dragon wouldn’t allow. Then where would we be? I would become her captor.

No. Neither of us was ready for those truths.

Soon. The right time would come. It always did. Then we'd sit down and hopefully have a rational discussion.

"I know we are in your uncle's kingdom, but I have to admit, it looks pretty peaceful and idyllic. Is there a secret underbelly I can't see from here?"

I smiled sadly. "One would think. But the underbelly is up on that hill, hiding from the rest of the realm. They all know what kind of king they live under, and they rightly fear him. But the people are nothing like him. Most are kind and hard-working and want nothing more than to enjoy life with their family and friends. They deserve so much better than what they've got.”

"It reminds me of the town my parents live in back in Scotland. Sans the evil king of course. Well, there is technically a king, but he serves as more of a figurehead than anything else. You didn't get a chance to see much at my parents’ home, but it's a wonderful, caring community."

"Yet, you chose not to live there." Her cottage wasn't overly far from home, but she'd gone to some effort to put a little distance between them.

"Despite what you might think, I'm really not a people person. I like to live alone."

"And yet you volunteer at a soup kitchen and you sell your plant-based potions out of the back of a fancy coach. That sounds like a lot of peopling if you ask me."

If I wanted to be alone, I put a lot of actual distance between me and others.

"Well, there's peace and quiet and then there's complete and total isolation. I prefer the former. Plus, selling those goods allows me to spend my winters alone on the coast. Just me and my plants, working together to come up with new solutions for the world."

"Your nobility shines through no matter what. A binding spell didn't seem to change you much. I think the people here are going to love you."

She suddenly stopped walking, and I had to turn back to see what had caught her eye. Only she was staring at me, not her surroundings.

"What's wrong?" I walked back to her so I could keep my voice low. While the kingdom was filled with kind and good people, there was also no shortage of people who were completely loyal to my uncle. His spies...

"You make it sound like this is where I will live."

My muscles tightened at the alarm in her voice as she spoke those words. "We are fated to be together. This will be our kingdom."

"What about the dark fae kingdom? What has happened there since they were..." She didn't seem to want to finish that sentence and I didn't blame her. I didn't want to think about it anymore than she did.

"I don't know." At least in that I could be honest. It hadn't been that long since my uncle consumed them. I doubt he'd had much time to do anything at all.

"Then people there might need help?"

It was possible. Anything was. But even Ensley had made it sound like there were no survivors. I knew it was a mistake not to come clean in this moment. I could feel it clear to my marrow. There was going to be a steep price for my silence, but I had no choice. I needed her focused on the here and now before we broached the castle.

"The best thing we could do to help anyone in that kingdom or this one is to eliminate the real threat. The longer we delay the harder it becomes. My uncle is not stupid, and he has eyes and ears everywhere. He will figure out what I am up to sooner rather than later."

And the longer we waited, the more opportunities there would be for him to figure out exactly who and what Rose was. That idea terrified me. Not that I had any intention of getting her close enough to the man for him to figure out shit. But I couldn't leave her unprotected in the village, either.

"So, what's our plan? Is there somewhere you know he'll be that we can grab him?"

I laughed at the gleam in her eye. "Is my crazy little flower up for some more kidnapping?"

"That's not exactly what I was thinking, but I guess that works too. If you have somewhere private to take him. That helps you know."

I burst out laughing. Of course I knew, but that didn't mean I wasn't loving how her beautiful mind worked. "Unfortunately, we have to go to him. My uncle is the most paranoid person I've ever met. Which means he pretty much never leaves the castle."

"Of course he is. Narcissists usually are. Will you be welcome there? Will you have to explain where you've been?"

"Not likely. If the time shift works the way it seems, it should have only been a few hours since I last saw him."

"And what was that like? The last time you saw him."

"Oh, he was pretty pissed. He wasn't happy with Kitra and Isaac running around his kingdom out of his control. I'd honestly be surprised if he didn't still have his soldiers out looking for them."

"Then how do we get in without him realizing what we are up to?

"First things first. We need supplies. And food. And of course, a safe haven to hide and rest before we get ahead of ourselves. I need some intel." I made my way into the center village market on a mission to get said supplies. I stopped at one of the weaponry booths first.

"Lord Magnus!" The young man manning the booth jumped to his feet. "How can I help you?"

"I need something for my friend here." The man turned to Rose and inspected her. The rational part of my brain told me that his perusal was nothing out of the ordinary. I'd drawn attention to her with my request, and it was natural for him to study her because of it. But that didn't mean I didn't want to claw his eyes out and shove them down his throat. The idea of anyone getting too close to her was enough to set me off.

The man smiled. "Did you have something specific in mind?" He must have picked up on my mood because his voice shook and his hand trembled as he waved it in front of his wares.

"A dagger or two. Something small preferably. So she can keep them strapped to her person and hidden away from prying eyes." I growled the last and he reacted by locking his body and staring at the ground at his feet.

That was more like it.

"Of course, sir. Most of which you see is probably too heavy for what you're thinking. However, I have these." He reached under the table and pulled a box from his hidden stash of supplies. He laid it on the table, and reverently lifted the lid.

Rose gasped next to me and a wicked sense of ancient magic tingled against my spine. This kid could not have picked out anything more perfect in the entire realm if he'd tried. The two small silver knives practically sparkled in their box despite the shade. But it was the carvings on them that made it clear that these belonged to my beloved.

I didn't consider myself an expert in engraved markings, but the marks from the dark fae were still fresh in my mind.

"Where did you get these?" I asked quietly as I removed one from the box and placed it in Rose's hand.

"Many of the king's soldiers brought these to the market. They are spoils of war," he boasted.

Little did he know that a dragon burning down a small city was hardly a war. It had been an ambush and an act of pure greed and insanity.

"How does that feel?" I asked Rose, turning away from the young man. I'd heard plenty and didn't want to listen to more.

"Really good," she whispered. "They are practically singing to me."

I pressed my fingers to my lips to indicate she should say no more. While the man didn't look like the sort my uncle would employ against me, I could not afford to take any chances.

"We'll take them. She'll need leather cases to strap them in as well."

"Of course, my lord." The man didn't say much more, but he couldn't keep the giant smile from his face. My purchases had apparently made his day. "Should I put them on your account?"

"Of course."

He wrapped them quickly and handed them over. I stuffed them inside my shirt and dragged Rose to the next booth. There were several food stalls of various grilled meats and they were making my mouth water.

I took no time getting some meat kebabs for us as well as some water and wine and then led her to a booth in an out of the way corner. I could see the occasional set of eyes focused on us and while I was used to people staring openly at me whenever I came to town, I was not yet accustomed to them staring at Rose.

"This is a cool market. It feels like the kind of place I could set up with my goods."

I scowled at her. "You will not have to sell anything at the market. We will not be short for anything you could possibly want or need."

"Every time you make some sort of reference to us together in the future I want to squirm. I get the idea that you are jumping to a lot of conclusions that prove you and I are not on the same page."

Taking in her words and trying to sit with them for a minute, I swallowed some wine and then set my glass down on the table. "I guess it's easier for me to see our future because I'm used to these kinds of arrangements. When fate brings you the mate you weren't expecting, we don't usually kick them to the curb. A fated mate is considered a precious gift. The longer you live here the easier it will be to understand."

She looked skeptical but hopefully I'd sugar coated my words enough to make them more palatable to her human trained mind. The couple tasked with her safekeeping, her parents, did a piss poor job of preparing her for her future.

"And love?" she asked. "Is that not something you care about here?"

I could see this was important for her, so I chose my words as carefully as possible. "Some do. Some don't. History shows that it grows naturally between fated mates. The pull is magnetic. You could resist it if you wanted to, but why would you?"

"You make this sound all too clinical."

"Did you feel clinical when we were back at my family home in Scotland? I did not get that impression from you at all."

She bit her lip and looked down, and without her saying another word I knew there was nothing clinical about what we shared for her either. There were so many things I wanted to say to her, but more and more people were turning our way, and some had edged their way closer to our table. It was time to go.

"We need to get out of here," I whispered, nodding my head to the side.

She followed the movement, and her eyes widened as she noticed people around us were paying too much attention.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her from her chair and towards me. I angled my body so I stayed between her and all the nosy onlookers. I had no doubt that my presence with her at the market would not go unnoticed or unreported. Which was exactly what I wanted. If my uncle thought I was simply in town sowing some oats, he would not realize I was plotting against him.

"Time to go somewhere a lot more private," I whispered at her ear. It had been too long since I'd touched her, and my skin was starting to burn with need for her. It had to be affecting her too.

"The—the castle?" she whisper asked.

"No. I'm taking you somewhere secret. That no one else knows about. So I can show you more about being fated mates and what it means."

She rolled her eyes. "Great. So what you're really saying is that I'm being kidnapped?"

I couldn't help but laugh when I looked her in the eyes. "Payback's a bitch, little flower."