Page 19 of Mountain of Dragons and Sacrifice

Unless Evander had been just as trapped as I was now. Perhaps all of them, from Phoebe to Daphne to Evander, were bound to serve the dragon without any escape.

That still begged the question, where were all the other maidens who had been sacrificed to the dragon over the years? Had they failed somehow? Had the dragon disposed of them?

And how could I avoid the same fate?

The dragon stood in the doorway of my room, never fully crossing the threshold, his wings scraping the lintel. “Are you going to light the candle?”

“Nope. Not going to do it.” I clasped my hands in my lap to show I wasn’t even tempted to so much as reach for the candle. “I know I have a purpose here, and I’m ready to fulfill it, whatever it is.”

Perhaps if I showed how willing I was to do what he wanted, he would tell me what he wanted from me. Worrying about getting eaten had been bad enough, but this ignorance of my role here was nearly as terrifying.

“Who says I have a purpose for you? Maybe your purpose is to light the candle.”

Infuriating dragon. I knew my purpose wasn’t that. Seeing the dragon’s face was the only thing that was clearly forbidden.

I tucked my hands beneath my legs. “Is there something else I’m supposed to do? Am I supposed to invite you farther into my room? Let you sleep at the foot of my bed or something?”

The head elder’s wife had made the dragon’s demands sound far darker than merely polishing stones and avoiding lighting a candle. If it had been something simple, then the other girls would be here. Clarissa would be here.

“No, that would be creepy.” The dragon’s deep rumble held far too much horror for the monster who demanded my sacrifice in the first place.

“What do you call demanding maiden sacrifices every year?” I snapped my mouth shut so fast I nearly bit my own tongue. Why had I said that? I was going to get my village burned to the ground saying stuff like that.

Instead of throwing me into his deepest, darkest dungeon, the dragon made a rumbling sound, his tone almost dry. “Not ideal.”

Then why make such demands at all? Why sound so regretful?

And why wouldn’t he just tell me what was going on instead of leaving me so in the dark?

Chapter Six

A mysterious purpose no one would explain. A dragon who didn’t seem to want anything—anything besides me to do the forbidden and light the candle—despite demanding sacrifices. A steward with broad shoulders and a handsome face who I didn’t dare trust no matter how nice he seemed.

If I was going to get answers, I would have to find them myself.

Ipolished the gemstone with such vigor that I scraped my cuticles and several of my knuckles cracked and bled.

But I didn’t stop. To anyone watching, I would be the image of a dedicated rock polisher.

Several of the other rock polishers cast looks in my direction, but I bent my head and tried to ignore them. They were all spying on me on behalf of the dragon.

Well, let them spy. All they could report was that I was hardworking.

The conversation of the others buzzed against my ears, the pitch rising the closer we came to the midday break. As midday arrived, the others stood, laughing and setting aside their rags, sandpaper, and gems.

I stayed where I was, sanding the gem in my hand.

One of the fae women—her skin a glittering pink—halted next to me. “Lady Nessa, aren’t you coming to lunch?”

“I’m not hungry. I think I’ll stay here and just keep working.” I flashed her what I hoped was an innocent smile, not taken in for a moment by her use of a false honorific for me.

My stomach chose at that moment to give a loud gurgle. I kept my smile firmly in place, hoping against hope that she hadn’t heard the noise.

The woman shared a glance with one of the fauns before she shrugged and rejoined the others.

I bent my head over my work, all but holding my breath, as the last stragglers took their time exiting.

Finally, the door closed behind the last one. I waited another few minutes before I set the gem and sandpaper aside, rose to my feet, and crept to the door. Pressing my ear to it, I listened for a long moment.

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