Daughter Of The Dragon Princess(31)

"I'll need blood."

"Take some of Mal's, he probably won't have use for it much longer." He  turned to one of her guards. "Pass me her knife." Lily didn't struggle  as the knife was drawn from its sheath. The guard handed it to Vortigen,  who passed the blade to Cassandra.

"Let us see how you like it when you have no choice but to obey,"  Vortigen said. "I think we'll have you dancing naked before us all."

She didn't like the sound of that. Not one little bit. She watched  warily as the witch took the knife and strolled over to where they held  Mal. He looked across at Lily, and she gained courage from that glance.

"Hello, Malachite," Cassandra purred, running one finger down his chest.

Mal, she was pleased to see, ignored the woman completely, gazing blankly over her shoulder.

Cassandra scowled. "Hold out his arm." One of the guards grabbed his  wrist yanking his hand out in front of him. She ran the blade along his  forearm forming a shallow cut that welled crimson, then dipped her  fingers into the blood and came back to them. Smearing Lily's forehead,  she murmured words in a language Lily didn't understand, then stepped  back and stood beside the King.         

     



 

"It's done, my lord."

Was she supposed to feel any different? If so, it wasn't working … yet.

"You can let her go." Vortigen said and the guards released her.

Lily swayed, dizzy, then she stiffened her spine. She rubbed at her arms  where their fingers had dug into her soft flesh while she waited for  what was to come next, sure what it was going to be, and Vortigen didn't  disappoint her.

"Strip."

She raised her hand to her top button and his smile widened. Slimy  bastard. Then she shrugged. "Actually, I've got to say, I have no urge  whatsoever to take my clothes off." Lily turned to Cassandra. "Do you  want to try again?"

"Be quiet," Vortigen growled.

"No, I don't think I will, which presumably means that your compulsion spell sucks."

She heard a soft laugh beside her again and this time turned to see Kyle. He looked back at her with approval.

"Why isn't the spell working?" Vortigen asked.

The witch stared at her with eyes wide. "The only thing my spell wouldn't work on is a dragon."

"Don't be stupid. There has never been a female dragon." He studied Lily  his head cocked to one side. "Maybe she's taken Malachite's blood and  it's strengthened her in some way."

Cassandra pursed her lips, her brows furrowing. "The spell should still  work. You told me that magic always worked against the Dragon  Princesses."

Lily glanced around the room, as murmurs of dissent drifted from the  small groups. Suddenly, she knew what she had to do. She tugged at the  hem of her T-shirt and pulled it over her head, leaving her in her black  lace bra. Everyone's eyes turned to her, and she stood baring the mark  for all to see. As she glanced across at Mal, his eyes filled with  approval, and she stood proudly before them.

"I am the last of the Dragon Princesses. Two weeks ago, I stood with Mal  before the portal and the gateway opened for us. We can take you home."  She turned to stare at Vortigen. "But I will never, never submit  willingly to this man."

"She lies," Vortigen said. "Only the pure-blood dragons have the power  to open the portal." But uncertainty flickered behind his eyes. He  turned to her guards. "Take her away, lock her up, and we'll prepare for  the journey to the portal." Hard hands gripped her arms, and Lily  winced. Vortigen leaned in close. "You will do as I say or regret it for  eternity."

"Fuck you."

"Take her away."

Lily had one last glimpse of Mal as he stood between his captors, and  the expression in his eyes gave her strength. She had done all she  could. Now, she could only hope that someone would believe her.





Chapter 17





Deep inside him, his dragon roared to be free.

Mal concentrated on his breathing, keeping it slow and even as he fought  the red-hot rage that sizzled along his nerves as they dragged Lily  from the room.

Through a crimson haze, he watched as Vortigen strolled toward him,  halting only inches away. The King's face was expressionless, but his  hands were tight fists at his side. Things had not gone as he'd  foreseen. No doubt, he had expected the Dragon Princess to be some meek  little thing like her mother, easy to bully. Not a flame-haired Amazon  unafraid to stand up for herself. Even so, she couldn't prevail against  him for long. In the end, he would break her.

"We must talk, you and I," Vortigen murmured, then turned to the guards. "Take him to the red room."

"Scared to do this in front of an audience?" Mal asked.

Vortigen ignored the question. "Go."

The guards led Mal down a corridor and through a door. They released him  and left the room. The red room was a comfortable study, old-fashioned,  with leather sofas and dark red walls. Lamps burned in the corners.

Where was Lily? Mal stifled his impatience. He needed to know what Vortigen planned.

No way would they kill Lily; they would guard her, keep her safe. Long  ago, the dragons had honored the princesses; many would remember that  and treat her well. She was safe for now. Until Mal could work out a way  out of this mess.

The door opened and Vortigen entered. He crossed the room to the drinks  cabinet and poured two glasses of scotch. After handing one to Mal, he  sank down onto the seat opposite. Mal tossed the drink down in one then  slammed the glass on the table.

"I am still your King, Malachite. I think you have forgotten your vow of allegiance."

A rush of hatred surged through him. "You lost my allegiance when you  broke your sacred vow to the Goddess. You're no longer fit to be king."

Vortigen's eyes narrowed. "Many of our people would consider that the  most important attribute in a king is strength. What do our people want  most? To go home. To return to Ankesh, and they know I can give that to  them. Oh, they may suspect that you could also open the portal as the  Princess claimed, but do you think they are likely to take that risk."  He swallowed the rest of his drink and put the glass on the table. "Our  powers here wane with every year we spend away from Ankesh. Do you want  us to dwindle until we are no better than mere humans?"         

     



 

Mal shook his head. "What makes you think we are worth more than humans now?"

"We were made in the image of the Goddess."

"Humans believe they were made in the image of their god." Mal sighed.  "This is getting us nowhere. What is it you want of me? There must be  something. Otherwise you'd have had me killed before now."

"Mal," he replied, "you know I have always loved you like a son."

"Cut the crap, you've always hated me as a reminder of the king who came  before you. One who was worthy of that name. What do you want?"

Vortigen's face tightened. "You violated my future mate?"

"If you mean we made love, yeah, I did. Even now, she may carry my  child. She'll never be yours. The mating bond can't be broken."

"Making love? You've grown weak. And, as you pointed out, things change.  She will be mine. In fact I am counting on you giving her to me."

"Never."

"You were right, you know. Other considerations aside, I would have had  you killed before you even entered this house, but I want what's best  for my people, and many of them would question your death. No, I need  you to stand beside me, to release whatever hold you have on the girl,  and give her to me. And you must renew your pledge of allegiance in  front of all our people."

"And if I don't?"

"Then you'll regret it." He paused, a smile twisting his lips. "And so will the Princess."

Mal considered this for a moment then shook his head. "After what  happened with Cara, they'll never allow you to mistreat her daughter."

"You're wrong. They won't question my treatment of the girl. They know  she has bad blood. They'll believe me when I tell them she's evil like  her father, that she conspired with you to keep them from their  homeland. But it doesn't have to be like that. Do what I ask and I give  you my promise that I'll be kind to the girl. Come on, what have you  yearned for all these years? To go home to Ankesh. To fly again. You  could be there tomorrow."

A wave of longing washed over him. It had been so long. His soul craved  his homeland like a physical pain, like a fall of ice-cold water seeping  into his guts.

"You never know," Vortigen said. "She might even come to love me. Women  are attracted to power. It will be a good life for her. And if you  follow me, I'll pledge our first-born daughter as your mate."

"Only the pure-bred get to mate."

"And as I said, things are changing. We've always been slow at change,  one of the effects of being immortal, but it can be done. This way, we  all get to go home, the Princess will have a good life, and you will get  a mate of your own. What do you say?"