He hummed. “I imagine this is one reason drugging people is frowned upon.”
“You could have at least brought me somewhere that wasn’t Volsog.”
He scoffed. “All I heard was home and the low drawl of my own existential dread. Woman, there were faces in the walls and their words were extremely cutting. Be happy I didn’t warp us into the jaws of a beast.”
I buried my face in my hand. This is all too much. “So what do we do, big guy?” I asked. “You want a wife and I have no intention of marrying a stranger.”
There was a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. “Isn’t it obvious? You give in.”
The confidence in his words brought a grin to my face. This man had no idea of the gauntlet he just threw. “Oh, honey,” I drawled. “Bless your heart.”
His eyes closed on an inhale. “Call me that again, I liked it.”
It was at that moment that I completely scrubbed the word honey from my vocabulary. The softening of his voice, the way his long hair moved and glistened as it fell down his chest at the slightest tilt of his head. All of it should have been outlawed for the sake of women’s undergarments everywhere.
The cat jumped onto the couch, snapping me out of my stupor. Swallowing around a lump in my throat, I gave a terse reply. “Nope. I’m good.”
Dante grimaced and rubbed at his temple before pushing the cat off his lap. “You should be nicer to your kitty,” I scolded.
He grabbed it by the scruff when it tried to fight its way onto his lap again, then gently set it down on the ground. “She’s not mine, just a stowaway I’ll need to return soon.”
“Alright,” I nodded toward the map. “Tell you what, why don’t we give this ‘bond’ thing a trial run?” I asked, reaching for theBig Book Of Beasts. When I removed it from on top of theBig Book Of Magic, the book rattled, then blew open. Its pages flipped wildly until it stopped dead on a banishing spell. The spell labeled itself as suitable for mid- to high-level threats and had a list of various herbs and incantations needed to perform it.
I glanced back at the dragon sitting beside me. “I think your book is trying to tell me something.”
He sipped his drink. “It’s an old castle. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a ghost or two milling about.”
“What?” I looked around, half expecting a ghost to pop out at any moment. When no specters leapt out to grab at my feet, I let out a breath. Dante looked away from me, his shoulders shaking.
I shot him a dirty look, then found the scrap of paper inThe Book Of BeastsI had been using as a bookmark and I quickly flipped it open to the unicorn page. “Anyway, would you be open for a brief trip to see unicorns? I always loved them as a kid and had no idea they actually existed until I picked up your book.”
His lips twitched. “You’re having a drink with a dragon and you want to go see a horse with a horn?”
Embarrassment simmered in the tips of my ears. “I just like them, alright? Besides, we can use the trip as an excuse to get to know each other. I won’t tell you where I live, so if I ever feel the need to escape, I will just disappear into the forest and you will never see me again.”
A hint of amusement lit his features. “I understand you think you have a choice in this matter, so I’ll humor it,” he remarked, setting his glass down. “Fine, in the morning we’ll pack a few things then set off to see your precious unicorns.”
He stood and held a hand out to me; I took it and let him help me off my seat. “You’re going to agree to it, just like that?” I asked.
Dante gestured for me to follow him as he exited the library. “I have a vested interest in gaining your favor, Princess.”
“Not a princess,” I corrected.
Ignoring me, he continued. “Besides, I enjoy traveling. It’s been too long since I was free to do so.”
Oh, I didn’t even think of that.Few demons were found beyond Volsog. The goddess’ magic should tear them apart as soon as they try to leave. “How were you able to resist Myva’s magic enough to travel to Kinnamo?”
He halted, and I nearly bumped into his back. He turned to me with a frown etched on his face. “Is this a poor time to tell you that Myva is dead?”
The glass slipped from my hand to shatter in a million pieces on the floor. “What?”
A weasel darted out from a painting with a broom in hand to clean up the broken glass. I stepped away from it, swaying before Dante placed a hand on my back to settle me. “Perhaps you should sit back down. I imagine you have a few questions.”
“A few?” I asked, wide-eyed. “You just told me the goddess was dead, I’ve got more than a few questions.” Stepping out of his embrace, I whirled around to jab a finger in his chest. “Start talking.”
“Alright, well let’s start from the beginning.” He made his way back to the couch, and I followed. “The goddess you knew as Myva was actually a lich masquerading as a goddess in order to control you. Around six hundred years ago she sacrificed many of my kind in her dark magic.” He looked away, his eyes grew dark before he took a deep breath.
“We rose up to destroy her, but failed. After that, she sealed us away in this frozen wasteland, then placed a curse of madness on Volsog Gate. If any of us tried to leave, we’d go insane and kill anything in sight. As if that wasn’t enough, she’d open those gates every fifteen years, letting the madness spill in until we tore at each other like animals.”
