Daughter Of The Dragon Princess(33)

He stepped back, letting his contempt for the other man show. "You sneer  at the Dragon Princesses, but the truth is without them you would have  been dead long ago. You're a weak king. Someone would have challenged  and beaten you were it not for Cara. You owed your continued survival to  her and now you seek the same protection from her daughter. As mate to  the last Dragon Princess, you think you'll be beyond reproach, but as  you pointed out, things change. You may think you're in control here,  but events don't always play out as you expect. Do your worst."

Vortigen raised himself painfully to his feet. He wiped his hand across  his broken nose and stared at the blood, then turned to Mal. "Your  little whore will pay for that."

Mal took a step forward and smiled as Vortigen retreated before him.  "You've already threatened the worst you can think of. Besides, you  won't touch her until the others are safely in Ankesh."

"And that will be tomorrow night. Then we'll see how sweetly she comes to me while she watches her lover tortured."

"Tomorrow night is a long time off. A lot can happen in a day."

"I'm afraid not for you. I've arranged for you to sleep the time away. Save you from getting any ideas. Guards!"

The door opened and the four guards entered. Two took hold of his arms.  The King came to stand in front of him. As he drew close, Mal tensed  himself for what he knew was coming. Vortigen kneed him viciously in the  groin. Pain surged through him, but he stood up straight a slight smile  on his face as Vortigen kneed him a second time. He tensed himself to  break free, but even as the thought came, a needle pricked his neck. His  legs gave way, leaving him hanging from the grip on his arms, and then  blackness.

***

Lily raised her head at the sound of footsteps.

Her heart lifted. Maybe it was Mal returning. The door opened, and two  men came in holding Mal's unconscious form between them. Lily gasped.  They dropped him to the floor and she fell to her knees besides him,  touched his face. He was warm, alive.         

     



 

She glanced up as Vortigen entered the cell. "What have you done to him?"

"Nothing permanent. Just given him something to keep him out of trouble,  but I thought it might be useful to have him present at our little  chat. It's just a pity that he's going to miss this." He drew back his  foot and kicked Mal brutally in the ribs. Lily bit back the gasp of  protest. It would do no good. She forced her face into blankness.

"Not going to plead for your lover?" Vortigen snarled as he kicked out at Mal again.

"What do you want?"

"What do I want? A good question. I want you naked beneath me."

She was liking him less and less by the minute. "Never going to happen."

"Oh, it will." He kicked Mal again. "This is nothing to what I will do.  Maybe I'll geld him first. Would you like that? Or would you do anything  to prevent it?"

Lily swallowed. The truth was that she would. She'd crawl to this man  rather than have him harm Mal. But for now, she had to stay strong. Mal  had told her Vortigen would do nothing drastic until the others had  returned to Ankesh. She had to cling on to her little glimmer of hope  until then.

He smiled. Definitely not an improvement. "But Lily, it needn't be like  that. I'm not a monster, just a king trying to do what's right for my  people. I'm giving you the chance to help me save them. All my people,  including Malachite."

Lily watched him warily. She preferred him when he was being openly  sadistic. At least she knew where she stood. She didn't trust him,  didn't believe he would let Mal live whatever she promised, but maybe it  would be better to let him believe she might give in. At least it would  stop him hurting Mal any further.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked.

"I'm giving you the chance to save him. Come to me, renounce Malachite  before the others, and take me as your mate. I'll spare his life and  allow him to return home. You'll be consort to a king. We'll be good  together, and after all, are Malachite and I such different men?"

He was out of his egotistical little mind. She bit back her words of disbelief and nodded. "You promise you'll let Mal go home?"

"Of course."

She chewed on her lip as if considering his offer. "I don't know. I have to think about all this."

"Why do I get the feeling you're lying to me? Never mind. We'll have  this conversation again under different circumstances, and I'm sure your  answer will change. By then it won't matter. Once the others are in  Ankesh, I can do as I please here on Earth. Now, I'm going to let you  join your lover. Guard."

One of the guards stepped forward, a needle in his hand. Lily didn't try  to evade it. It was impossible to fight them, and she couldn't stop the  needle entering her arm. She had a moment before the darkness overcame  her and she managed to lay her head on Mal's chest as she was dragged  under.



She came awake in stages. Unable to move, a wave of panic washed over  her. It took her a moment to realize her hands were cuffed painfully  behind her, pulling at her shoulders. Someone had also taken her  clothes, and she shivered, the stone floor icy cold against her bare  skin. Mal lay on his side across the room from her, his hands also tied  behind his back, his eyes closed. She stared at him until she made out  the steady rise and fall of his chest then she struggled to her feet,  crossed the room, and sank down on her knees besides him.

"Mal?"

No response. She needed to touch him, to stroke his face but couldn't  with her hands tied behind her. Leaning over him, she kissed his lips.  His mouth opened under hers and he kissed her back, his tongue slipping  between her lips, exploring her mouth. When she straightened, his eyes  were open, running over her naked body.

"How come you get to keep your clothes?" she asked.

He ignored the question. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm just really pissed off with the taking my clothes off thing."

"Have they hurt you, touched you?"

"I don't think so. I was drugged the whole time, but I think I'd know if Vortigen had had his slimy paws anywhere near me."

"Good." He sat up, wincing a little.

"How are your ribs?" Lily asked.

He frowned.

"Vortigen kicked you a couple of times," she said.

"That explains it. But they're fine, almost healed."

Lily sat back on her heels. "What are we going to do, Mal?"

"You're going to open the portal."

"Then what?"

"We'll see."         

     



 

Despair welled up within her. There was no way out of this. She was  going to lose him forever. "Maybe I should give in to Vortigen. He told  me he would let you go home. At least if you're alive there's hope."

"He'll never let me go free now. Besides, I'll die before I see him  touch you." He glanced up at the door. "They're coming." He leaned over  and kissed her hard only drawing away as the door opened behind them.

"Good, you're both awake," Vortigen said.

Lily turned to see his gaze wandering over her naked body and her skin  crawled. Two men followed him into the room. The King nodded toward Mal  and they went to him and pulled him to his feet, holding him between  them. Lily scrambled up and faced Vortigen. He came across and stood  before her, his hand coming out to cup her breast. Mal growled behind  her, but he just smiled and pinched her nipple viciously. She bit back  her cry of pain.

"Just a little taste of what's to come," he murmured, then released her and stepped back. "So are we ready?"

"I need the bathroom," Lily said.

He shrugged. "On the way out. Turn around."

She frowned and didn't move.

"I just intend to un-cuff you," he said. "But if you want to remain like  that, I must say it does do amazing things for your breasts."

Lily turned. He unlocked the cuffs and then she was free.





Chapter 18





It was late and already dark, the roads empty, as they sped through the  night. Vortigen had refused to return her clothes, but they had given  her a blanket to wrap around herself. She sat huddled in the corner of  the back seat, keeping as much distance between them as possible in the  enclosed space.

Vortigen ignored her. She could sense his barely suppressed excitement,  an excitement shared by everyone she'd encountered. Some part of her  could understand that. They were going home after two thousand years of  exile, and the night pulsated with expectancy.

The excitement eluded her. All she could feel was a deep dark dread,  eroding the last of her hope. Her mind flinched away from what would  happen once the portal was open and the dragons returned to their  homeland. Vortigen would lose all restraint. Her breasts ached where his  vicious fingers had pinched them, and that would be nothing compared to  what he would do. While she had been with Mal, she'd been able to keep  her hope alive, but separated from him it drained away. She turned her  head around. Through the back window of the car, she could make out the  vehicle he was in, but she couldn't see him. She reached out with her  mind, but couldn't connect.