Page 10 of The Death King

“Why not?”

“Because you’ll get caught.”

“Not if I leave him in the Arid Sands and take off.”

“And how do you expect to get the dragon to cooperate?”

I shrugged. “Like a horse? You climb into the saddle and take the reins. Give him a little kick, and he’ll take off.”

That same incredulous look was on her face. “Or he’ll just eat you.”

“Maybe. But I’m desperate, and this opportunity will probably never happen again.”

“Staging a coup against the guards was a much better idea than this.”

I gave another shrug. “Like I said, I’m desperate.”

We got back to work, digging into the sand and hoisting it onto the lift. Hours passed in silence, and soon, the sun was directly overhead. The only good thing about the rising sun was the fact that it was closer to lunchtime. They worked us like farm animals, but they fed us well to keep us going, so that was something to be grateful for.

I moved back to the spot where we were working and pushed my shovel into the earth. But I heard a noticeable crunch, a scraping sensation against the bottom of my shovel. I looked up to see if Amelia had heard it too, but she was still at the lift, talking to one of her bunkmates.

I straightened my shovel and dug at a different angle, sliding underneath the object that obstructed my shovel. Sometimes we encountered rocks buried deep underneath the sand that made our shovels stop in their tracks. They were a pain because they were usually too heavy to hold with the shovel, so we had to carry them with our hands to get them out of the way. That was probably all it was.

I lifted the shovel and expected to see a dull rock the same color as the sand…but it was black.

Black and shiny and metallic.

I dropped the shovel on the ground because I couldn’t believe my eyes. Couldn’t believe that it had really happened…that I had found a black diamond. I kneeled down and picked it up with my bare hands, careful not to cut my fingers on the jagged edges. It wasn’t a rock, but a square, its density so substantial that it weighed several times more than a rock of the same size. I rose to my feet as I examined it in both hands, my body shaking in utter shock.

“Oh my god…”

I looked over my shoulder to see Amelia standing there, her shovel on the ground because she’d dropped it when she spotted the black diamond in my hands. “Oh my fucking god…”

Everyone in the pit stopped working. They all turned to look at the shiny diamond I held. There was a collective silence, a tension full of envy. This rock was my ticket out of there, but the others would remain…probably until they died.

The guards made their way down the ladder into the pit and parted the crowd as they approached me. Not a word was spoken. The air was so heavy that I forgot about the blistering sun and the sweat on the back of my neck that trailed all the way to my ass. Two of them stopped in front of me and stared at the black diamond in my hand, studying it before one of them reached out and took it. He flipped it over, watched the sunlight beam off its surface, and then turned to the other guard and gave a nod before he carried it away.

The other guard drew close and then nodded toward the ladder. “Let’s go.”

All my elation evaporated like a drop of water in the desert. I was about to be free, free from this horrible existence, free from General Titan. But all the joy was swallowed by the cold reality of who I would leave behind.

I looked at Amelia.

A forced smile was on her face, but the despair was heavy in her eyes, along with the tears. The more they watered, the harder she smiled, and it created the most heartbreaking look I’d ever seen. “It’s okay,” she mouthed to me.

I turned back to the guard, the weight of her grief too much to handle. “We both found it at the same time. Our shovels hit it at the exact same moment. And that black diamond is huge, easily two diamonds combined together… I think that’s fair.”

He glanced at Amelia behind me before he looked at me again. Then he grinned in amusement. “Nice try. Let’s go.”

“Please.” I grabbed his arm, and that was a mistake because he twisted out of my grasp and shoved me.

I fell on my ass in the sand.

He towered over me and pointed his finger in my face. “Come with me, or don’t come at all.” He walked off and headed back to the ladder.

Amelia ran over and grabbed me by the arm before she hoisted me up. “Calista, it’s okay.”

“I can’t leave you here.”

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