Enslaved: A Kinky Adult Fairy Tale (Bedding the Bad Girl Book 3) (9 page)

Johann. It had to be Aaron’s brother.

The golden skin and dark eyes were the same, though Johann was smaller than the king, still possessing the thin frame of a boy not yet out of his teens. The other man was larger and older. Calliope thought she recognized him as Pater the Strong, the Barbarian prince from the lands beyond Kartolia, who had disappeared months before. She suspected he was the one who had killed the beast, which would explain how the smaller Johann was able to make it this far.

But Calliope had no clue why the princes were being held captive or by what. It was certainly not an aspect of her enchantment.

No
,
it is something I developed on my own
.

Calliope yelped, spinning around to find the door behind her slamming closed, but no one else in the room. “Hello? Who’s there?”

No who, but what. The room. The
room
is in the room
.

“I—I’m sorry. I don’t understand.” Calliope shivered as the dusty voice creaked through her mind.

With her history, she shouldn’t be troubled by a telepathic conversation. After all, she spoke to voices in her head all the time.

But this voice was something else, something foreign that made her skin crawl.

Don’t be afraid. You should be proud that your creation has taken on a life of its own
.
And proud of your power
.

I am
.
What castle can claim such a reputation or legacy?

Dear Goddess… So it was the
castle
. The
castle
was speaking to her. And the castle had captured two princes and held them captive because it didn’t want the enchantment to end.

You are as clever as I
’
d hoped
.
I
’
ve been waiting for you to come
.

“You have?” Calliope walked slowly toward where the princes hung, struggling to think of a way to free them without
actually
thinking it. The castle’s ability to read minds was no little problem.

I don’t want to be a problem. Please
,
creator
.
We should work together
,
you and I
.

Johann made a gagging noise and Calliope’s lips pursed to one side. “I’m not sure that’s going to be possible.”

Of course it is
.
You want to free Rosamund
,
yes
?

“And the rest of her court, and the men who came to rescue her,” Calliope added, sensing that semantics were going to be important in this transaction. The castle clearly wanted something from her, and she doubted it would be any small favor. She had to make certain that she got what she wanted in return.

You will get everything in return, creator
.
Haven
’
t you wanted to live in a world where your sweetest dreams came true
?

“I don’t know. I haven’t had many sweet dreams.”

Poor thing
.
I think you
,
of all people
,
deserve to live inside beautiful dreams. As she has
.

The light surrounding Rosamund glowed brighter, making the bed where she lay seem like a little piece of heaven on earth.

Calliope’s lips curved in a grim smile. That was what the castle wanted, was it? Another to take Rosamund’s place?

So the enchantment
never
has to end
.

“Except for Rosamund and her people, and these men,” Calliope corrected, walking toward the bed. “It ends for them.”

What did she have to lose by taking Rosamund’s place? A life spent on the farm, lonely but for the animals she tended, slowly growing old and vulnerable to human diseases? The man she loved didn’t love her back and she had few friends and fewer prospects.

But who knew what great love and adventure Rosamund might find out there in the world? Surely she wouldn’t bemoan the loss of one ancestral estate when she could have her freedom.

“You will free everyone else under the present enchantment?” Calliope asked, fingers fluttering restlessly at her sides.

Yes
,
of course
.

“If you don’t keep your promise, the enchantment will fade and you won’t be able to hold me.” Calliope stepped closer to the bed, her heart beating faster. But it was right that she do this, that she make amends for stealing so many years of this innocent girl’s life.

You didn
’
t steal a thing
.
She
’
ll awake the same age as when she went to sleep
.

And I
’
m sure she
’
ll be thrilled to be living in a time when that hideous bustle she’s wearing is no longer in fashion
.

Her enchanted castle was a fashion snob. Lovely.

Calliope wondered what other surprises she was in for during the next few hundred years as the new sleeping princess of the keep.

It will take longer than that, creator. I will last at least another millennium. I’m well made.

“All right, a millennium then, it makes no difference to me.” Calliope closed her eyes and muttered one last spell before she reached down to take Rosamund’s hand.

What was that
?
You were casting
!

“Merely giving myself the same chance at freedom as Rosamund. Surely that’s fair?”

Well…it wouldn’t be much fun if there weren
’
t young men coming to visit
.
But I must insist you spell the dog-gon back to life
.
I
’
ve missed him and he’s an excellent protector
.

“Dog-gon, half dog, half dragon. Ha ha,” Calliope muttered as she added the dog-gon’s rebirth to the tail end of her spell.

Then, before she had the chance to think twice, she took Rosamund’s hand and pulled her from her bed. The young princess’s eyes flew open, even as Calliope’s grew heavy. She fell onto the soft sheets, her lids staying open long enough to see the princes tumble to the floor and all three royals run for the door before she sank into a close, comfortable darkness.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
Calliope

The earth was shaking as Calliope surged into consciousness with a gasp befitting a woman emerging from the sea. She immediately clung to the strong arms that held her, not realizing until he spoke that they belonged to
him
.

“Hold tight, Calliope. The castle isn’t happy with us right now.”

“Aaron?” She blinked, wondering how long she had been asleep. “You’ve come for me? But I thought—”

“Will you marry me, Calliope?” he asked, seconds before the ground shook again, tossing him onto the mattress beside her.

She squealed as the bed tilted on its axis, sending both her and Aaron crashing into the headboard. “What?” she gasped. “What did you say?”

“I said, will you marry me?” The bed shook again, making him cling to her more tightly. “Good God, woman, just say yes, before the damned castle—”

I am not damned
,
I am enchanted
!

And I shall
remain
enchanted for many years to come
.
You shall not cheat me of my destiny
,
Aaron of Outer Kartolia
!

Oh Goddess, the castle
was
angry. Now there was a chance they were both going to die and it was all her fault. If only she hadn’t added the addendum to the spell. But she hadn’t expected Aaron to come to her rescue. He didn’t want to marry her, not really.

He doesn’t want to marry you. And even if he did, he isn’t a prince!

You are a
king,
sir, not a prince, and are therefore ineligible to break the spell.

“I had Johann crowned king three days ago. I am only a prince, at least until I return to the castle with my bride.” Aaron pulled her to him with one arm, clinging to the massive oak headboard with the other to keep them from tumbling off the opposite end. “Now, Calliope, will you please accept my proposal so we can put an end to this mess?”

He sounded irritated, was covered in sweat from whatever battle he’d fought to get to her side, and looked like he would rather take a sledgehammer to the castle walls than kiss her.

Needless to say, this was
not
how she’d dreamed of being proposed to.

“Put an end to this mess?” she repeated with a frown. “Is that the only reason you’re here? If so, you shouldn’t have bothered. I have no wish to marry—”

You see there
,
she has no wish to marry
.
Now get out of here before I
—

“I have no wish to marry for any reason but love,” Calliope broke in, raising her voice to be heard over the castle’s wailing and rumbling. “I love you, Aaron. I loved you even after the spell between us was broken. But I can’t promise my life to someone who doesn’t feel the same way.”

“I love you too, woman!” he shouted.

“Then why are you yelling at me?” She felt near tears and as the bed rattled and shook, she considered letting go of Aaron’s neck and sliding away. That would show him how little she appreciated this angry, frustrated proposal.

If the stones at the foot of the bed hadn’t chosen that moment to crumble away, leaving a massive hole on that side of the tower, she might have had the gumption to follow through with the impulse.

“Calliope,” Aaron said, the effort it took to gentle his voice abundantly obvious. “I knew the moment you spelled me and slid down that rope that I loved you. I would have come to save you immediately if I didn’t have to deal with the business of making Johann ruling sovereign. And then Henri mounted an insurrection and I had to throw him in the dungeon. But at no time during any of that did I stop loving you or counting the minutes until I would be back by your side.”

“Really? What do you love about me?” Calliope asked, ignoring the crash as more of the tower crumbled around them.

One entire wall was now gone and it wouldn’t be long before the structure would prove unsound, but she couldn’t bring herself to worry about that until she had her answer.

“I love your sweetness,” he said, his eyes softening. “I love your bravery in the face of illness and adversity. I love the way you smile at me and the way you touch me when we’re making love. I love hearing you talk and watching you walk along tree limbs and just sitting together and watching the sun set over the—”

The bed bucked until it was nearly vertical. Calliope screamed and Aaron’s arm tightened around her waist, but they were both hanging from his one arm now, and there was no telling how much longer he could hold on.

Good thing he had been sufficiently convincing.

“Yes, Aaron!” she shouted, clinging to his neck. “Yes, I will marry you.”

No
!
No, creator! You tricked me. Tricks, your wicked tricks…

The voice of the castle faded away and the earth settled, sending the bed crashing back to the ground. Aaron and Calliope grunted as they bounced back onto the mattress then sat in silence for a moment, watching dust float through the suddenly still air.

“I didn’t trick her,” Calliope huffed. “I
told
her when I agreed to take Rosamund’s place that I was including a way to break the spell. Nothing tricky about that.” She turned to look at Aaron, grinning when she saw the smile on his face. “What are you smiling at?”

“You. I love you.” He bent and kissed her, softly, but Calliope felt the emotion in the kiss all the way down to her toes.

She sighed happily. “You do love me, don’t you?”

“I do. Good thing, since we’re going to be married.” His hands were already wandering under the nightdress the castle had dressed her in while she slept, sliding up the inside of her thigh in a way that made her tremble.

“Yes, a very good thing,” she mumbled against his lips. His tongue slipped into her mouth, stroking against hers with the same skill that his fingers used to tease through her swollen folds.

“You’re already wet.” He dipped a thick finger inside her, just once, making her groan in response.

“I was dreaming about you.”

“A naughty dream?” His hands pushed her nightdress up to reveal her breasts, his fingers teasing the tightened buds of her nipples before he dropped his head to capture one nub in his mouth.

“Absolutely,” she moaned, twining her fingers through his hair and arching into the skillful swirls of his tongue. “I believe you were taking me from behind, while you pulled my braid and said terribly naughty things.”