Page 10 of Tortured

They might apprehend you when we land.

Should I fight them? I ask.

I’d go peacefully.

The dragons catch up to us. A large dandelion-colored dragon and a bronze dragon circle to the front while two slate-colored dragons head up the rear.

An escort.

Seren flies beside Cephias, giving me a clear view of Aneirin. His face is hard.

This doesn’t look good, I say.

That’s Caledu on the bronze dragon, Seren says. He’s an enforcer of the laws here. Aneirin will take care of him.

We descend over the city into its center, a vast square surrounded by four stately buildings. People on the ground clear the area for the six dragons to land. I cling to Seren with a prayer in my heart.

I can do this. Who cares if I’m just a lowly mortal?

Apparently everyone in the square.

People stop moving about and turn to stare. Amazingly, all the emrys are magnificent. All regally dressed. All perfectly flawless in physique. Light-colored hair, glowing shades of green eyes. All of them powerful light wielders.

Seren folds her wings, but she remains on all fours. Her front haunches are taut under my legs dangling from the saddle. She isn’t letting her guard down, but I seriously doubt that these emrys will attack a dragon just because I ride her. The emrys are, after all, dragon guardians who vowed to protect the dragon species at all costs.

The four men who joined us dismount. Aneirin slides from his saddle and approaches the man who came from the bronze dragon. “Caledu, tell your men to back off.”

“Aneirin.” Caledu narrows his eyes at me. His nose is quite pointed, giving his face a severe look that ages him despite his obvious youthfulness. “That abomination must be apprehended. How could you allow such a being into our world?”

What does Caledu see in me that makes him classify me as an abomination? I am full of light. Is it the way the light is embedded throughout my body?

Or is it because I spent the past few weeks killing across the country? Have those assassins I killed left a mark on me just as Niawen once had a mark on her for killing men who were raiding one of my father’s villages?

A similar mark that Caledu declared had defiled his daughter—

That Niawen was exiled for.

Aneirin doesn’t back down. “He’s here to see the High Emrys. She will decide his fate.”

Since when did this become about my fate? It sounds as if I’m primed for an execution.

That’s not what Aneirin means, Seren says.

I straighten in the saddle, debating whether I should dismount, as the three other men with Caledu draw around Seren and me.

Their palms are up and outstretched, facing me. They carry no weapon because their weapon—their light—is within them.

They only have to unleash it on me.

My senses heighten a thousandfold. My hands throb. Adrenaline pumps through my system.

If they want a fight, I will give it to them.

Aneirin and Caledu whip around to face me. Their ability to discern has alerted them of my growing unease. Caledu’s eyes flash with daring. He would love a fight.

Aneirin’s glimmer with warning as he speaks. “Prince Kenrik, there’s no need for your trepidation. Lord Caledu is going to gladly escort us to the High Emrys, won’t you?”

The hundreds of eyes on us are my only saving grace. Caledu screws up his angled features and purses his lips before answering. “Yes, Your Majesty. Welcome to Mared, our majestic capital. Our beloved leader would love to make your acquaintance.”

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