I will be your slave

| • King Dain's POV

I should have sent my men alone.

Instead, there I was—gloves on, battle gear secured—leading the raid myself like some common soldier. Duke Ernaut's territory stretched before me, and my horse’s hooves crushed their manicured grounds.

There was something here. Something I needed.

The servants scattered like rats when they saw me. Good. Fear kept them honest. But none of them were what I was hunting for. Each face I scanned brought nothing but disappointment and cold fury.

Useless. All of them.

Then I saw it.

Red hair. Even at a distance, she stood out like a flame against ash. I raised my fist, and my men halted instantly. 

Now this... this was interesting.

The pain hit my back. Sharp. Familiar. The kind that meant destiny was about to get messy.

My lips curved. Just barely. So you're the one.

I closed my fist. My men understood. Arrows were nocked, muscles coiled. I had trained them well. One snap of my fingers, and they unleashed hell.

The grand hall exploded. Stone and screams filled the air as my message became crystal clear—I had come to end the Duke’s bloodline, except hers. 

That one would be mine.

“Do you want us to capture them and bring them to you, Your Majesty?” my beta asked, galloping his horse to my side. I gave him a cold glance.

I didn't answer. I merely looked at him. And in that look, he saw enough to run.

I pressed my lips into a thin line, quietly thinking of ways I could punish him for asking such an unnecessary question. 

After a moment of silence from me, he didn’t need to say anything more. He whipped his horse and fled, because one more second in my presence... and I would've ended his miserable life.

Seconds turned to minutes. The scent of blood and burned flesh permeated the air, filled with the cries of the servants and guests who had come for the supposed “celebration.”

My gaze remained fixed on the two people squabbling at the far end of the elevated dias, seemingly unaffected by the chaos, while the weak and lowly soldiers of Ernaut’s dukedom protected their master.

How fillial.

The redhead I couldn’t take my eyes off seemed determined. Too bold—too attractive.

Would she quiver when choked? 

A smirk curled at the corners of my lips. Slowly, with each passing moment, the chaos died down, and the pulsing pain in my back intensifed... but my eyes never left her.

Even when she was dragged before me, baring her fangs at my men who held her. A glint flashed in my eyes. She looked just like a wild cat.

How would your blood drip down my sword?

I stared at her grimly. But the moment her icy blue eyes met mine, it was as if I had been submerged in the snow of the north. Like home.

The air in my lungs vanished. My eyes widened, and the whole place fell silent. I dreaded this moment.

She was the one.

That scent... That gaze... 

She was the one.

I didn’t need to remind myself twice, but the way the pain in my back lessened quite noticeably told me my search had came to an end.

Her eyes were defiant. Had I been my usual self, they would have been plucked and fed to my pets back at the castle. But...

“My family is not guilty!” She snapped, struggling against the ropes that bound her.

“Penelope!” Her father shouted, but she hissed at him and crawled forward toward my horse. There was no fear, no hesitation, as she risked her life to kneel before it's hooves.

One irritation of it's mane, and she would’ve become a cold corpse of mangled flesh.

I instinctively pulled the horse to face the other way.

“And why do you think so?” I dropped from my horse swiftly, stepping closer to her before leaning down. “Give me a reason why I shouldn’t crush you where you kneel.”

She bit down on her soft, luscious lips—may the goddess be damned—it ignited a fire in me.

There was hesitation in her expression, as if she were deciding whether what she had to say was worth saying.

She didn’t know the clock was ticking.

“Your majesty! Don’t listen to her! She is out of her mind!” Duke Ernaut screamed, fear and worry threading his voice. My eyes, which had brimmed with interest toward her, turned cold.

I glanced at one of my soldiers. Just one glance was enough to convey my thoughts.

The soldier marched toward Ernaut, seized him by the throat, and placed the tip of his sword sword to the spot where his blood could spill freely and stain his already filthy flesh.

Just as I turned and made my way back toward my horse, intending to end the charade, I felt a tug at the hem of my coat. I looked down, just as my soldiers gasped.

A look of disgust flashed in my eyes as I stared at her.

Such audacity.

“Please, don’t hurt my family. I have a good deal for you.” She said, and just as I parted my lips to speak, she continued, “One you will love. One you cannot reject.”

II wouldn’t lie—my interest in her had slightly increased.

To have the boldness to present a deal to me? None of the painted, perfumed women in the whole Lycos and beyond would dare.

“What strong reasons do you have to support this deal you claim I cannot reject?” I asked with a drawl, pressing the sharp tip of my sword on her shoulder and dragged it to the base of her neck.

She gulped. My eyes flashed.

“It was all a conspiracy. If you spare my family and me, I can prove everything,” she said, each word firm despite the pallor in her cheeks. She was bold, yet her body betrayed her. Even a tiny creature like her still knew fear.

“Your Majesty, we should just kill them instead of listening to her nonsense,” my beta suggested, loathing in his gaze as he glared at her. 

I pressed my lips together, concealing the smile that flickered in my eyes.

He was right. It would have been better to end her right now... but why was I hesitating?

I looked at her again and found that her lips had begun to tremble. Then I looked at her father. There was fear—and disappointment—in his eyes as he watched her. 

He knew what she wanted to present.

That made me more curious.

“So tell me—what is this deal you speak of?” I straightened and gave her a cold, unwavering look.

“Your Majesty!” My Beta snapped angrily. 

I snapped my gaze to him, and he fell silent as quickly as he had spoken. He knew well that crossing his limits would not end well.

Swallowing his words was the best choice.

My attention returned to the little rabbit dangling on the edge of survival. I watched as she nervously played with the hem of her black dress. I hadn’t really noticed it before, but now...

Was she expecting me?

“Take me as your slave, Your Majesty.” 

She slapped the words across my face, catching me off guard for a brief moment.

“What?” I asked in disbelief. Her head remained bowed, but when she looked up, determination was painted clearly across her face.

“Let my family go,” she said, “and in return, I will be your slave.”