CHAPTER 12

"And the other way you can help is to prepare an arsenal for when she finds her way back here," I said quickly. "She asked me to make sure you were freeing the Stivens. That you were monitoring the efforts to cure your kingdom of the sickness unleashed by the curse. She made a deal with the insufferable demon king so that you—"

"Yes, yes, I heard you outside the door." He stood, and I realized I'd gotten much too close. The prince absolutely loomed over me. "I hope that she does not come back—for her sake—but I will honor her wishes. Of course I will—looking after my people is my duty."

"Yes, sir." I rammed Lala with my shoulder so she'd get moving and we could get some breathing room. "Absolutely, sir. Perfect. She would be proud of that."

"You will come with me. Get some rest. We'll start at noon." He rolled his shoulders, and power oozed from his mighty frame. "And every time they hurt her, I will brutally kill one of their demons. I will not suffer her ill treatment without some sort of recourse."

I wasn't sure whether that was a good idea—I'd need to think on it—but it was certainly a satisfying idea. I wanted to watch. Those demons had had it coming for too long.

It wasn't until I got outside of the door that my brain zeroed in on what else he'd said.

"Wait, I have to go?" I stopped and turned to look through the open door. It shut in my face, and the lock clicked.

"That went well." Lala pulled me along. "I hope that pleasure thing works. It might have been a long shot."

"I have to go?" I thunked down the stairs on wooden legs. "Why do I have to go?"

She clicked her tongue. "Of course you have to go. You're supposed to keep tabs on him for her."

"Which I just did. I don't actually have to look over his shoulder."

"It'll be fine. Now, you heard the master—go get some rest. He's finally about to be the prince he needs to be. We just have to hope the miss finds her way out when she needs to."

FINO

I lay sprawled out on my back in the straw, looking up at the low ceiling pocked with shadow. The lights had been turned on earlier, waking me up, but we were all the way in the back of the long room, and there were plenty of pockets and patches of darkness around us. None large enough to hold another stairwell or some sort of escape hatch, though. This area was a dead end. The stairs I'd come down seemed to be the only way back up.

The last traces of pain slowly left my body. Last night's beating had been a real doozy. I shuddered to consider how long it would've taken me to heal naturally. Or if I would've at all.

The dungeon festered quietly around me. Until Jandry realized I was awake.

"This place stinks." He sat in the corner with his nose crinkled. Dirt marred his face, and his hair was matted in clumps. I doubted I was much better off. "It's dirty."

"I hate you."

I figured it needed to be said.

"Nice," he mumbled.

I thought about sitting up. Didn't.

"It's supposed to be dirty, you shit-eating fuckstain."

It might take me a moment to manage rational communication that didn't involve intense profanity.

I tried again.

"It's a dungeon. What were you expecting?" I took a deep breath. Then, because I just couldn't stop myself, I added, "Fart-box licker."

Someone barked out laughter down the way.

"You never did have any class," he grumbled.

I gritted my teeth so hard I worried I'd chip a tooth.

Just kill him, my dragon thought. You're healed enough to kill him. It won't be hard.

"You're part of the stink," he said, pushing closer to the bars on the other side of our fifteen-by-ten cell. It seemed quite a bit larger than all the others. Then again, the others didn't house Jandry and all his drama, so mine was probably smaller by comparison. "I can't believe the demon king allowed that…beast to claim you when you're promised to me."

"That beast is your prince and uncrowned king, and I can't believe you think a woman can be given to you like a commodity."

"Obviously they can, or are you confused as to why you're here?"

My rage was an endless red sea. It was hard to even think. To form words.

"I know why I'm here." I thought about sitting up again. Didn't. "What's absurd is you don't know why you're here. You're delusional if you think all of this happened because you wanted to mate me."

He scoffed, and I couldn't tell whether I'd gotten through to him. "There's not even a proper toilet."

I barely stopped myself from looking at the single bucket in the corner that I had not used yet. I'd never wanted to stay dehydrated so much in my life.

"What are you going to say next, that there isn't a proper bed? It's a dungeon. You are in a dungeon, Jandry. Why is any of this a surprise to you? What the fuck were you expecting?"

"I cooperated!" He stood in a rush, pointing at the ground for some reason. "I made a deal, and I cooperated. I shouldn't be here. This place wasn't in the deal!"

"You didn't make a deal, Jandry. You're along for the ride. The sooner you realize that, the better."

He stared at me with a red face, confusion shimmering in the depths of his brown eyes. "What are you talking about? You were promised to me. You are going to mate me. He said he'd make you mate me."

"My deal was to marry you—not mate you. Marriage is a demon custom, and it isn't forever, unlike my actual mating with the guy whose smell I wear. You're a pawn, Jandry. Your 'deal' is superficial. You didn't actually agree to anything. You offered something, and he turned it into a way to torment me. That's it." I thought about it for a moment. "I have to hand it to that demon king. It is a really effective torment. You are the absolute fucking worst. Literally the worst. I hate you more than ever, if that is even possible."

He shook his head and looked away, staring at the wall beyond our cell.

A moment of blessed silence passed, and I hoped that was the end of the argument. Or his complaining. Or even just his desire to talk to me. I really didn't think I could handle any more of his chatter.