Page 35 of The Dragon King

“Let … me ghooo. Don’t tousssh me.”

A sharp tsking noise clicks near my ear. “We all have our roles to play today.”

I struggle against his hold, but my limbs are too heavy, and the edges of my vision are closing in like Kem’s shadows are wrapping around me.

I wish they were.

“Kemremeerer will …”

“The King will be very busy all day. Plenty of people saw us fly away from the castle, me shouting after you in protest.”

I shake my head, but it lolls to the side, draping over his arm. I blink several times as the grass swirls in dizzying patterns. My dragon roars in my mind, but the magic can’t rise, like it’s buried in heavy mud. I try again, begging my dragon to help, but she curls up, her head too heavy to lift, and as she closes her eyes, mine close as well.

I’m pulled down into the darkness that presses against my chest and paralyzes my limbs. I’m not sure how I’m even breathing around the oppressive gloom. In a last ditch effort, I search for the flutter in the center of my body where the Mate bond pulses.

I tug on it, but the flutter stays the same. There’s no answering pull.

There’s no help coming.

13

TATHA

I am …

What? There’s something I’m supposed to be doing.

I try to move my arms, but they don’t respond to my brain’s command. And wherever I am, it’s dark. Wait, maybe my eyes are closed. I try to open them, but it feels like my eyelids are pasted together. I manage to wiggle a toe. A toe. So I’m in my human form.

My human form!

Internally, I jolt, but my body remains locked down. The lake. The guard.

The Challenge!

I grit my teeth, begging my arms to move. Nothing. Please. Please. I beg my dragon to break free, but she’s still curled up, unmoving.

Fuck!

How much time has passed? I need to move!

I almost cry when my thumb twitches. It feels as if I’m buried in thick sludge at the bottom of the lake, but I continue to struggle, to fight.

I freeze as a muffled noise breaks the silence. It might be someone talking, but it’s like I have cotton in my ears. Forcing my struggles to calm, I strain to listen. Slowly, the noise clarifies, and I make out a few words.

“How much …”

“... just as you …”

“... long will the effects …”

“I’m not sure. This drug is untested.” Rage swirls through my body, my dragon fire stirring. I know that voice. Inchel. “At least she’s still out. If she begins to wake, dose her again with the same amount. We need her contained so I can take care of the King.”

Okay. So, there’s still time.

“And what will you do with her … after?” At the sound of the red guard’s voice, I instinctively try to clench my hands, but I’m still locked within the effects of whatever drug this is. That bastard!

Inchel clicks his tongue. “She’ll be a bit … broken after the Mate bond snaps.” There’s something like possession in his voice, and I fight against the bile that threatens to climb my throat and choke me.

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