Page 52 of Dragons Of Shadow and Sea

I can't let them know that, though. Refusing to turn the bracer over is the only card I have to play.

"Then it will be removed," the king intones.

He approaches me, and without my leave, my magic gathers. I feel it draw around me as it has before.

King Erembour must feel it, too. He stops short. "Sorceress?"

She moves closer once more. She squints at the bracer. "A tricky problem, your highness."

The king is losing patience. "One that can be solved with a single blow."

He snaps his fingers, and a guard steps forward, an enormous, glinting, ebony axe in hand.

"No--" I start.

But the sorceress shouts at the same time, stepping between me and the brute.

"Your highness," she simpers, gathering herself. "Tempting as that may be, I fear there is powerful magic involved. The bracer is feeding on the thief's life force." She holds up her hands and locks together her fingers. "Illegitimate as the claim is, she and the bracer are entwined."

"You can sever the connection."

"Of course," the sorceress replies, but there's a note of uncertainty in her voice.

"The resources of the kingdom are at your disposal." He says it like an offer, but it carries the hint of a threat.

The sorceress dares to come closer to me, and I feel my magic spiraling upward through me, ready to defend should she choose to attack. As if she can sense my power rising, she flicks her gaze to mine. That same fear I saw in her eyes before she declared me a false heir is back.

Then she turns away. "Tomorrow night's moon will give me the strength I require. There will also be a few key ingredients I need to gather..."

"You shall have them," the king promises. He glares at me once more before looking to Li and Lord Rook. "Take her back to her cell. Make sure she stays in pristine condition." Darkness glints in his gaze, and his mouth curls into a smile that sends a chill down my spine. "At least until tomorrow's moon."

Chapter

Twelve

EMBER

“Hey," I snap as Li unceremoniously tosses me back in my cell. "You heard your king. I'm supposed to be kept in 'pristine condition'."

Sneering, Li slams the door of my cell shut and makes a show of locking it. "As long as the bracer and your arm remain intact, my king doesn't give a shit about you."

Lord Rook ignores him, addressing me in a tone that's not apologetic, but it's not mean, either. "Food and water will be brought down to you shortly." His jaw flexes. "I'll see what I can do about a blanket, too."

I nod in appreciation, though I can't quite bring myself to thank this man who's holding me prisoner against my will.

Lord Rook nods in reply before sweeping toward the exit, Li grumbling along in his wake. Wrapping my hands around the bars of my cell, I watch them go, trying my best to keep it together. The two guards stationed at the door step aside to allow them to leave. I glance in the other direction, where two more guards stand sentry at the far end of the hall.

The door clangs shut behind Li and Rook with a resounding echo, and I squeeze the cold iron bars even harder. My breathing circles higher and higher, swept upward on a rising tide of panic I've been working so hard to keep at bay.

Two guards at one end of the hall. Two guards at the other. I search frantically, but if there are any others hiding in the shadows, or if there are any cameras trained on me, I can't see them. For the first time since I woke up in this hell hole, I'm well and truly alone.

A hiccupping sob escapes my throat. I don't care if no one's looking. I refuse to let the guards hear me cry. I retreat to the far back corner of the cell and curl into a ball. My hair falling in a curtain around me, I bury my face in my knees.

The tears come hard and fast, a torrent that twists my insides and tightens like a fist around my lungs. I'm gasping for breath--almost the same way I was when King Erembour himself tore the air right out of me.

The real horror of it all crashes over me in waves. The Shadow Realm still exists. King Erembour is still alive and more terrifying than I imagined. He's kidnapped Princess Aria and doomed her to a life as his glorified broodmare.

And tomorrow a Shadow Dragon sorceress is going to rip the Shadow Queen's bracer from my arm.

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