~25~
Step Two: Slaying the Dragon
“Why don’t youjust climb the tower, slay the dragon, and throw him over your shoulder?”Dy drawled with oozing sarcasm.
“Believe me, if that direct approach would work, I’d do that,” Cha retorted.“Arguably, I already climbed the tower—several times—but steps two and three are more of a challenge.Unfortunately, this has to be accomplished by subterfuge because Prince Charming can’t or won’t cooperate.I had to dance around promising that I’d stay long enough to see him fulfill his duty and marry that demon and that I’d then leave Citrine tonight and say goodbye to him forever.”
“How much dancing?”Dy asked with a narrowed gaze.“Didyou promise that?”
“Yes.Well, no.Mostly.”
Dy gave her long hard stare.Even Katu flopped over onto his back and dangled his head as if in despair for her good sense.“Tell me exactly what you promised.”
“Not that it matters as I’m not fae and can lie whenever I fucking well please,” Cha replied, exasperated with both of them.“I promised to leave Citrine tonight.”
“And that’sallyou promised,” Dy confirmed flatly.
“I’m not an idiot.I know to keep my promises clean and free of complications.”
“You are an idiot because you forgot that you’re in a fae realm, making a promise to an actual member of the fae which makes your promise binding as all hell,” Dy pointed out.“Or did you skip that class at academy too?”
Possibly so, because Cha didn’t really recall that exact rule.“Good thing I kept the promise clean then.I will leave Citrine tonight, but I’m bringing Prince Charming with me.”
Dy shook her head sadly.“He won’t thank you for this.”
“Because the fae don’t do gratitude,” Cha agreed cheekily.She decided not to mention that hehadthanked her, but for the entirely wrong thing.No, Dy was right: Azul was going to be incandescently pissed about this, but… “I have to do it,” she said simply.“He’s being extorted into this marriage because of me.I won’t be able to live with myself knowing that I’m the lever they used to lock him into this prison.”
“Honey,” Dy said softly.“He was locked into this marriage long before he ever met you.Remember?You picked him up the first time on his literal wedding day.Whatever is going on here, this isn’t your problem to fix.”
That sounded like another version of fae politics being beyond her ken.“I’m doing this,” she stated with all the stubbornness in her.With or without your help.”
Dy threw up her hands.“Of course it’s with my help.”
Cha nearly sagged in relief.“Oh good, because I seriously need your help.”
“We’ve never smuggled a man before,” Dy mused, baby blues twinkling with interest.“This will be fun.What are your ideas?”
“For somehow rendering a fae prince unconscious enough that we can somehow between us get him out of the Citrine palace past all of these hostile fae and out of the grounds to where Betty and Warg are waiting for us?And all in the next six hours before anyone comes looking for him for not showing up to the wedding.”Cha considered.“I have no clue.”
Dy sighed heavily.“Okay, let’s start with how we knock him out.”
*
“How’s it going?”Cha asked Azul.
He was staring out the window that wasn’t really a window but led into the trap of the atrium.With his arms braced on the window frame, wings folded neatly so none of the white-violet showed, with just glimmers of deepest orchid to keep them from looking pure black, their relaxed drape a sharp contrast to the tense lines of his body, he looked deliciously broody.Probably his angst shouldn’t be attractive to her, but there was something about the way Azul deeply cared about his responsibilities that appealed to her.Which was odd since she wasn’t the poster child for responsibility to anyone or anything.
Still, seeing him like that, reminded her nostalgically of the time she’d sent him into Big Jo’s diner while she gassed up Katu and walked in to see him sulking in the booth and scowling at the perfectly yummy bayberry milkshake.He hadn’t thought much of the “peasant food.”That thought only reminded her of her own growling stomach—and terrible thirst—cravings she firmly set aside.If her shitty childhood had prepared her for nothing else, she’d certainly learned to go without food for a couple of days or five.One trick was to not think about it.Instead she thought back to that day and how unhappy he’d been.
Now she knew what had truly plagued his thoughts: that the expectation that his family would meet with and help him would be disappointed.Indeed, that had been the case.The fell wolves had caught up with him and no telling what might’ve happened to him if Cha hadn’t been there to come to his rescue.
And it seemed that his family was still leaving him to this terrible fate.She didn’t think that only because she detested Lenorae and was maybe a little bit jealous, but because she had a terrible feeling that this wedding would somehow imprison Azul in a way far worse than she could imagine.Whatever Lenorae’s people wanted from Azul—because Cha didn’t believe for a hot second that this was about Lenorae wanting Azul for her own self, though she’d probably enjoy that aspect to the utmost—Cha worried it would destroy him.
She suspected he worried about that, too.In fact, so deep was he in his brooding that he hadn’t responded to her question, innocuous as it had been.He might not have even registered her presence, though that seemed highly unlikely.She went to him and—partly because she knew how much he liked it, but mostly because she couldn’t resist—she stroked a hand down the near finger-bone of his wing.The sueded-silk texture was truly mouthwatering, addictively so.He shivered under her touch, accepting it without a word, maybe relaxing ever so slightly, so she continued petting him, pleasing herself, but also offering what little comfort she could.
She dearly wished she could reassure him that this wedding wouldn’t happen, that she and Dy had a solid—not quite gold, but decently thought-through—plan to get him out of Citrine.But soon he’d be free.He might be furious with her, but at least he’d be out of this corner she’d been part of backing him into, and then he could at least make his own choices.
“Lenorae sent your outfit for the wedding ceremony,” he said tonelessly, then sighed.“You’re going to hate it.I’m sorry.”