Daughter Of The Dragon Princess(30)

As she climbed out of the car, his gaze caught hers. She tried for a  reassuring smile, but was pretty sure she failed. She followed Mal and  his guards into a wide hall, wood-paneled and dark. Muted voices drifted  to them from up ahead. Finally, they halted outside a closed door. In  front of her, Mal stood up straighter, appeared to transform until he  crackled with barely-leashed power.

Kyle pushed open the door. The voices stopped and Mal stepped through,  gesturing to Lily to follow. The room was huge, maybe once a ballroom,  with one wall lined with floor to ceiling windows, through which she  could see the lawns outside, bathed in moonlight. There was no furniture  and small groups of men stood scattered around the room. They all  turned to gawp at her, and she stood up tall and glared back. Their  gazes dropped as she met each one until she came to a man who stood  alone.         

     



 

Vortigen. Unlike the others, he met her stare, triumph blazing in his  face. His dark blue eyes roved over her possessively, lingering on her  right arm, and the mark throbbed beneath her shirt.

He strode to where she stood with Mal in the doorway. Lily resisted the  urge to step back; she couldn't afford to appear weak. Halting in front  of them, his gaze finally left her and he turned to Mal. Coldness seeped  into his eyes, but when he spoke, his tone was almost genial.

"Well, Mal, I see you've brought my mate at last. Even if you required a little nudge in the right direction."

"We were on our way. As per our agreement."

"Of course you were. But it doesn't matter-you're here now. My thanks."  He turned and gestured to the other men in the room. "All our thanks.  You've brought us the means of our deliverance, and we are grateful."  Turning to Lily, he smiled, sending a shudder of revulsion through her.  He took a step toward her, his hand outstretched. "Come, my dear, take  your rightful place at my side."

She ignored the hand. His eyes narrowed and something dangerous  flickered to life in the dark depths. "Come." This time the snarled word  was clearly an order. She didn't move and surprise flickered across his  features. As he reached for her, she shifted back. Instinct drove her.  She didn't want this man to touch her. Reaching behind her, she fumbled  for the knife at her waist, tugged it free, and held the blade in front  of her.

"Don't come any closer. And don't fucking touch me."

Vortigen glanced from her to Mal. "This is Cara's daughter?"

Mal ignored the question. "Where's Killian?"

The King gave the knife in her hand a wary glance then took a step  closer to Mal. His voice was quiet so it didn't carry beyond the three  of them. "Your brother has been detained. Sadly, he won't be joining us  this evening."

"What have you done with him?"

"Nothing terminal. He's in a safe place, and just so you know, Cassandra  has warded this whole building. There's no point in trying any magic.  Now, tell her to put the knife down, and we can get on with this." Mal  said nothing and the King frowned. "This doesn't have to be difficult,  Malachite. You do your duty and you won't be sorry. You'll be well  rewarded when we return to Ankesh."

"What happened to your vow? You promised us safe passage in the name of the Goddess."

"No one heard that but Killian. Do you really think the Goddess listens  to our vows anymore? Do you think she's going to strike me down for  taking what's mine? No, the Goddess has forgotten us. Come, tell her to  lay down the knife and give herself to me. I'm impatient to see the  mark."

Mal stared at him for a long moment. "Lily will never be yours."

At the words, the breath left her, and she sagged in relief. She didn't  doubt Mal, but still something deep inside had needed to hear him stand  up and claim her in front of this man. In front of this room. She  glanced up at his face while keeping a wary eye on Vortigen.

"Put away the knife, Lily," Mal said. "It won't help us here."

He was right, and her heart sank. At least thirty men surrounded them. A  sub-machine gun might have helped. A knife would only piss them off.  Why hadn't they brought a sub-machine gun? She sheathed the blade. Mal  reached out for her and she slid her hand into his. Together, they took a  step back from the King and stood facing the room. Mal raised their  linked hands.

"I give you Lily, daughter of Cara, and the last of the Dragon  Princesses. And know this," he said loud and clear. "I have taken her as  my mate. She's mine. She will never belong to the King."

Elation surged up inside her, as though she wanted to burst with the  rightness of his words. She stood up tall and glared her defiance at the  room. Whatever happened next, she knew that it was worth it for this  one moment of belonging. This one moment of knowing exactly who and what  she was.

There was a muttering around the room.

"You bring this on yourself," Vortigen snarled. "Do you think they'll  ever follow one such as you? They'll never believe your stupid tales of  her powers or that together you can open the portal. And you're not  strong enough to fight us all."

He made a gesture with his hand and four of the men stepped forward. "Take them."

Lily tightened her grip on Mal's hand. She looked into his face,  searching for reassurance, for some direction. "Vortigen is right," Mal  murmured so only she could hear. "I can't fight them all, but this isn't  over. Stay strong. We have allies here, but the four approaching are  Vortigen's sons by Cara. They will remain loyal to him."         

     



 

She studied the approaching men. It was almost impossible to believe,  but these were her half-brothers. Two looked like their father but the  others were dark haired and green-eyed.

Strong hands gripped her shoulders, tearing her away from Mal. She  struggled but their strength was inhuman, and her hand slipped from his.  A wail was building up inside her, and she tightened her throat against  it. She kept her eyes fixed on Mal as they dragged her across the room.  Two more men held him between them, and she could see his muscles  flexing as he fought to stay calm. She closed her eyes and tried to call  up the magic Mal had taught her.

Nothing.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to be calm, to go limp in their arms.

Vortigen came towards her and she eyed him warily. He reached out a hand  toward her and she pressed herself back against her captors until she  could move no further. Vortigen smiled, his hand stroking down over her  face, his fingers trailing over her breasts so she shivered in loathing.  His fingers toyed with the neckline of her T-shirt. Then he stepped  back and Lily breathed again.

"Strip her," Vortigen said. "Let us see the proof that she is in fact  the one we've waited for. She's like no princess I ever came across."

Hands fumbled at her top, attempting to drag the T-shirt free, and a  surge of rage flooded her. There might be no way she could win, but this  time, she wasn't giving in without a fight. She twisted in their arms,  wriggled, fought until she stood heaving with exhaustion between them.  She couldn't get away, but they couldn't strip her either.

Vortigen stared down at her, his mouth a thin line, and then he punched  her hard in the stomach. The air left her in a whoosh, and pain  blossomed in her belly. Gasping for breath, she was dimly aware of Mal  fighting his restraints. She hung limp, waiting until the pain became  manageable, knowing she had to look okay or Mal would lose it. They  wouldn't kill her; they needed her, but she wasn't so sure about Mal.  She slowed her breathing. Vortigen stepped up close and leaned toward  her.

"It doesn't have to be like this. Give in, do as I say, and we can be friends."

"Friends?"

He nodded, triumph blazing in his eyes. He thought he'd won. A wave of  hatred rose in her. Without thinking, she kneed him in the groin with  all her remaining strength. "I'd rather be friends with a snake."

Vortigen stepped back. The only sign she had hurt him was in his rapid  breaths and the ruby glints flashing in his eyes. "You'll pay for that."

Lily rolled her eyes. She stood up straight, wincing at the pain in her  stomach. "Yeah, right," she said. "Does that mean you're not going to be  nice anymore?"

One of the men holding her laughed, but Vortigen didn't appear amused. He regarded her thoughtfully through slitted eyes.

"Cassandra?" he called.

Lily recognized the name-the sorceress Mal had spoken of, the one who  had betrayed them at the first meeting. Lily rather liked her for that. A  woman stepped forward. She was beautiful, small, long blonde hair, pale  skin and a dark red mouth. A delicate doll with the eyes of a serpent,  eyes that filled with hatred when she regarded Lily. She sauntered  toward them, then pressed herself up against Vortigen. "Yes, my Lord?"

Vortigen's eyes flickered toward Lily, and he smiled. "Cassandra," he said. "Can you do a compulsion spell?"