I hear Star suck in a breath and I know she heard what they said.
More importantly, I know she’s just as surprised as I am.
That’s not a good thing.
I’m often alone in the castle, so I don’t know why they would have waited to take me unless they wanted to do a two-for-one kind of thing. I don’t know why they wouldn’t have nabbed me any other time, unless they were waiting to see if the King really wanted me.
Maybe they were waiting to see if he really liked me.
The footsteps are right outside, and then they stop. I don’t even have time to pretend to be asleep because the door kicks in and May walks in. She’s followed by two members of the kitchen staff, and suddenly I realize just how deeply their deception runs.
“Nice to see you’re awake, Riley,” she says, but the May I know is gone. Her voice is full of venom. Instead of her sweet, smiling face, I only see anger, pain, and hurt.
“May?” I ask, choking a little on her name. “Why?” It’s the only thing I can think to ask. Why? Why would she do this to me? Why would she do this to the King? He’s been so good to her, to both of us.
“Why?” She laughs, but the sound is bitter. The May I know is either dead or never existed in the first place, but it’s hard to accept the fact that I was betrayed by someone who pretended to like me, who pretended to be my friend to get close to me. When I arrived at the castle, she made me feel like I wasn’t so alone.
She made me feel like she understood.
Lights from the hallway float into the room and two of the men with May carry lanterns, so I can see every angle of her angry face.
And she’s definitely very, very angry.
“Why?” She asks again. “Let me tell you why, Riley. Since you seem so keen on waltzing into the castle and making a place with His Highness, let me tell you why I’ve stolen you away from him, why he’ll have to pay to get you back, and why even then, he’ll only be getting pieces of you.”
I wait, trying to hold on, trying not to lose hope. Deep breaths, Riley. Deep breaths.
May is going to kill me.
Even if Zeke can find me, even if he knows where to look, he’ll be too late.
“When Taneyemm sent a ship to my planet, they didn’t just offer to help the women and children on a dying world. They took us. They took us from our parents, from our families, from our homes. They took us and they didn’t even think twice about it.”
They took her.
They stole her away.
This is why she hates the dragons.
“You’re from Cravenloua,” I say, realizing what she’s saying.
She’s from the Lost Planet.
She’s from the one they tried to save, but couldn’t.
She’s from the planet where Taneyemms had to drag the dying women from the corpses of their already-dead spouses because nobody wanted to leave.
No wonder she hates dragons so damn much. She thinks they killed her family. In reality, they saved her from the same fate as her family.
In reality, they’re the only reason she’s alive.
But something tells me this isn’t the moment to argue with May. This isn’t the time to talk semantics. I can tell from the weird angry glow in her eye that good May is gone and has been replaced with something very, very wrong.
“What are you going to do to us?” I ask. I don’t really want to know, but I feel the need to ask.
May sneers, and I wonder how I could have been such a poor judge of character. Zeke had mentioned once that he was afraid of May being bad, that she concerned him, but I brushed off his fears. May was my friend, or so I thought. She couldn’t possibly have been a bad guy.
Not my May.
“Let’s start with what I’m going to do to your precious Zeke,” she spits out. “I’m going to destroy him, Riley. I’ve been here for years, Riley. Years. And you’re here for one fucking day before he chooses you, claims you for his own?”
I’m silent because I don’t know what to say.
While I would argue that Zeke didn’t claim me, there’s no doubt that he set me aside for his own use from the start. It was only last night that I would even sort-of say he “claimed” me, and even that seems like a stretch.
I can’t argue with May because I understand what she’s trying to say, even though I think she’s a crazy bitch. If it were just my life at stake, I might bait her. I might tell her just how fucked in the head I think she is, but Star is in this room and now that there are lights, I can see her.
And she doesn’t look right.
She’s pissed herself, just like I did, and her once-white dress is now muddied and stained. Someone cut her face, so even if she’s set free, she’ll have a nasty scar running down her cheek to remind her of this horrible event.
I want to reach up and touch my own cheeks, want to see a mirror to find out what I look like now. Am I disfigured, too? Will I have physical memories of this event I’m never able to escape from?
May kicks me in the stomach and I heave. I feel like I need to puke, but my stomach is empty. Instead, I start to cry, wishing I was anywhere but here, wishing I was stronger.
Why the hell didn’t Jenika and Hal teach me how to escape from a situation like this?
Oh yeah. Maybe because they thought I’d be a well-fed servant girl who was too busy giving blowjobs to have to fight her way out of a situation.
Star starts hollering at May, but I can’t quite make out the words. Everything hurts. All I can focus on is the pain.
Why hasn’t Zeke rescued me?
“You piece of shit,” Star says. “You’ll never get anything from him. She’s just his servant.” I can tell it’s taking all of her energy to spit it out. She looks as exhausted as I feel.
“Oh, the princess wants to play dirty, does she?” May turns to Star, and I frantically look around for a way to distract her, for a way to turn her gaze from Star. Only I’m still tied, and I can’t do anything about it.
“Fuck you,” Star spits at May. She’s lying on her side, too, and the saliva lands on May’s shoe. Nice shot, I want to say, but then I notice something else, something strange.
There’s a weird little light coming from the back of May’s heel. It’s so tiny that I wouldn’t have noticed it unless I was looking right at it, and I doubt anyone else has, either. The light is no bigger than an ink dot, yet I can see it.
Why the hell would there be a little blinking light on her heel?
That’s when I realize that Zeke is a genius.
He tagged her shoe.
As soon as I realize what he’s done, my hopes soar. He’s going to find us. May starts punching Star while the two men with her look bored.
“Stop, you stupid bitch!” I cry out.
“Riley…don’t…” Only despite Star’s protest, her body looks like it’s done with the beating. She’s had about all she can take. May can punch me a few times before Zeke gets here. There’s no doubt in my mind what he’ll do to her.
May takes the bait and comes back to me, barking orders at the men as she does.
“Get the message out that we’ve got her. Don’t let them know where we are. I want the money, Kyle. Make sure he gets it to us.”
“What are you going to do with Star?” I ask.
May sneers.
“Sell her to the highest bidder, of course.”
“Think again,” a voice says from the doorway, and my heart soars.
Zeke.
He found us.
I hear the sound of bodies dropping to the floor. I’m guessing that Zeke’s men took out May’s. Her eyes look like they’re about to pop out of her head as she turns toward him and holds her hands up.
“Your highness,” she says smoothly, turning around gracefully. May’s innocent mask is back in place. “I was just about to come find you. We located the missing women. Star and your servant were both tied up here. Their captor just fled the room when he heard you coming. I think he had another man or two with him.”
Zeke doesn’t look at me or Star when he wants into the room. He simply strides over to May, shifts his hand into dragon form, and uses his talon to slice her throat. She reaches for it as the blood begins to pour out, but it’s only a second before her eyes roll back and her body drops to the floor. A little bit of blood splashes on me and Zeke frowns down at me.
“Get that out of here,” he growls, and a couple of his guards move in to remove May’s body. “String her up outside,” he tells them, and they nod affirmations as they leave.
Zeke squats down, grabs me, and kisses me. He kisses me and suddenly everything is right again in the world. Suddenly, this is exactly where I’m supposed to be. Suddenly, everything is going to be okay.
I was in trouble and Zeke saved me.
He saved me and I know that he’ll always save me.
“Marry me,” he says, stroking my cheek, and all I can do is nod.
“You came for me,” I tell him. “You rescued me.”
“I’m sorry I was late,” he says quietly. “We tagged your shoe earlier, but your heel broke off at some point and the tracker was on there. Star’s shoes were bugged, too, but she left them under the table. I’m guessing someone doesn’t find high heels to be very comfortable.”
“Sorry,” I hear Star whisper from across the room, but her voice is forced. I wonder if her throat hurts as much as mine does.
“Star needs help,” I tell Zeke. “May…kicked her. Hurt her.” Zeke growls and turns to Star. He looks her over and helps her sit up. He murmurs something softly to her and kisses her forehead. It doesn’t make me jealous, nor should it. Zeke and Star are friends and have been for years. If anything, I imagine she’s like a kid sister to him, and I’m so glad he saved us both. He sits with her for a minute, trying to help her calm down. Carefully, he unties her, then he comes back to me.
“How did you find us?” I ask him, rubbing my wrists as he releases me. “May’s shoe?”
“I had a feeling she was involved,” Zeke whispers. “I should have known sooner, Riley. I should have gotten here faster.”
“You saved me, King. You came for me. That’s all that matters.” Zeke kisses me again. As he does, I hear Lee murmuring sweet nothings to Star. I didn’t even hear him come in, but I bet he was close behind Zeke.
I peek over at them.
Lee holds Star tight to his chest and promises her everything is going to be okay. He’s kissing her and then he’s carrying her out of the room.
“He’s been waiting years to do that,” Zeke says with a smile, and all I can do is nod. I hope Lee takes this change to mate Star while he can. They seem perfect for each other, and I’d hate to think they’ll wait just because it’s the “right” thing to do.
Zeke finishes untying my legs and carries me out of the room, too.
“I don’t want you in here a moment longer than possible,” he says. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop them in time, baby.” He sighs. “This is why I didn’t want a lover. I knew someone would try to use it against me. That’s what happens. True love is a weakness, Riley. It’s something people can use to make you do things for them. Good kings don’t fall in love.”
“I guess you aren’t a good king, then.”
He raises an eyebrow as he carries me down the hall.
“You’re a naughty king,” I whisper, and Zeke walks a little faster.
We go up the stairs and down several more hallways. Soon I can hear the music and noise from the party.
“Is everyone still here?” I ask. I guess we weren’t lost as long as I thought we were.
“Yes. It’s only been a couple of hours. They wonder why the guest of honor isn’t around, but we’ve come up with a few excuses.”
“Is that so?”
“You’d be amazing how well ‘She broke a nail’ works.”
At that, I giggle because I can’t imagine a room full of hungry, angry dragons would know what to do with a sweet little princess like Star crying over her nail.
“Sounds like you had everything under control, King.”
“The only thing I want under my control right now is you, Riley.”