Page 22 of Mountain of Dragons and Sacrifice

I glanced from him to the pile by the floor. “You’re the dragon’s steward. Shouldn’t organizing in here be part of your job?”

“Yes, it is the steward’s job.” Evander shrugged, stepped around the mess, and joined me. “I have other priorities at the moment.”

Cryptic. I shook my head and crept between the crates, trying not to stir up too much dust. Evander stuck by my side. Either because he wanted to make sure I didn’t find anything I shouldn’t or because he was still holding my candle.

I glanced at some of the parchments and scrolls as I passed, though I didn’t dare pick any up to read openly while Evander was with me.

Strangely, I could read a few lines, here or there. Was it the same magic that allowed me to understand Evander and all the other fae? Except for the gnomes, that was.

What I could read didn’t seem all that helpful. A few lines about numbers of gems sent to various fae courts. A request for a particular cut of diamond. A half-burned parchment containing what seemed to be a complaint about the inferior quality and size of the gems sent to—the rest had been scorched away. A stark example of why I shouldn’t anger the dragon.

Maybe somewhere in this mess of papers I’d find records about the other sacrificed girls. But it would take me days, weeks even, to read through all of this. Not to mention that with the layer of dust, the dragon or his steward would know if someone had been in here, disturbing things.

I found the wall, then circled the room, searching for any additional tunnels branching farther into the mountain. A few shelves were built against the walls. Was there a door hidden behind one of those shelves? A hidden dungeon?

A room filled with skeletons?

I rubbed my arms, somehow both cold and yet flushed with a sick heat all at once.

“Are you cold?” Evander stepped closer, reaching into his pocket.

“No, I’m fine.” I shook my head and hurried to put distance between me and the dragon’s all-too-loyal steward.

My movement was too fast, and dust puffed into the air. My nose prickled. Before I could stop it, a loud, unmaidenly sneeze echoed through the room.

Behind me, Evander made a choking noise. He mumbled something that sounded like, “Pardon me,” before he dashed behind the nearest set of shelves, taking the candle with him. No sooner had he gone out of sight, than a thunderous sneeze reverberated through the room, along with a flare of light.

My eyes watered, and I sneezed three more times before the dust finally settled and I could get myself under control.

Wiping the tears streaming from my eyes, I tiptoed around the shelf to avoid stirring up more dust. I didn’t want to linger there in the semi-darkness, away from the soothing candlelight.

On the other side, Evander batted at burning parchments on the shelf, the candle wobbling in his other hand as he held it away from the shelves. A few drops of wax had spattered his fingers. He glanced at me, a sheepish tilt to his mouth. “I, uh, bobbled the candle when I sneezed.”

“It was quite the sneeze.” I took the candle from him, holding it well away from all the flammable parchments on the shelves around us. With him looking so boyishly embarrassed by accidentally setting the parchment on fire with the candle, it was far too easy to tease him and worry over him than fear him as the dragon’s steward. “Don’t burn yourself.”

“I won’t.” Evander tugged the parchments from the shelf, dropped them on the floor, then stomped on them, snuffing out the flames.

He did work for the dragon. He was probably used to dealing with minor burns or putting out fires without hurting himself.

How many times had Evander been burned by the dragon? Surely he had been, when the dragon lashed out in anger. That burned parchment I’d seen was evidence that happened. If so, then why was Evander so loyal to him? Shouldn’t he fear the dragon as much as I did?

Once the fire was out, Evander left the smoldering remnants of the parchments on the floor, stepping over them to rejoin me. “I think we’d better exit before I cause any more destruction.”

I nodded and turned toward where I thought the door was. There wasn’t any point in searching here further. This room was only filled with parchments and dust.

Evander strode in a slightly different direction, waving for me to follow. I did so, and he led the way back to the door and the all-too-blank tunnel leading to this store room.

Once he’d closed the door behind me, he motioned me to proceed ahead of him. “Where would you like to explore now?”

“Another dark and secretive looking tunnel.” I eyed Evander. Would he dissuade me from exploring more?

“All right. I know just the one.” Evander grinned at me, then set off at a stroll down the passageway, his pace slow enough that I could keep up without running.

As we exited into the central cavern with the waterfall roaring down into the pool at our feet, Daphne dashed from a tunnel across the way, her gaze darting about. As she turned to us, her shoulders relaxed, and her face brightened. She raced over to us, shedding leaves as she went. “Nessa! There you are! We’ve been looking all over for you! Everyone was so worried when they returned, and you weren’t there.”

I opened my mouth, but my words stuck in my throat. With Evander at my side, I’d forgotten that I’d sneaked away without telling anyone. Was wandering off a bigger mistake than I’d realized?

Evander had encouraged me to keep exploring. Had he been luring me into shirking my duties so that I would be punished by the dragon?

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