Page 51 of The Dragon Maiden

Borthen stepped towards me again and I flinched, much to his delight. “It was a shock finding out that he had a Maiden,” he whispered, once again coming close to my face. I could feel his breath stir my hair. “But once I realized what happened, I immediately started my plan to kidnap you. That way, he will feel as helpless as I did when he stole everything from me.”

“Are you going to kill me?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Maybe,” he said. “And maybe not. Either way, you will be good bait to get Dracul to come here for you. Sources say he’sveryattached to you.” His eyes darted up and down, surveying me. I hunched myself into a smaller ball, disliking the look in his eyes. “Yes, I can see why,” he murmured, licking his lips.

Once more, I looked away, feeling sickened. “Lord Dracul didn’t steal anything,” I said loudly, surprising myself. A quick glance at Borthen and I could tell he was surprised too. “He was rightfully picked as High Dragon Lord.”

Borthen laughed once more. “Is that what he told you?” he asked.

Slowly, I nodded, a sinking feeling filling me.

“What a pack of lies! There is a special ring that unlocks a Lord’s power without a Maiden,” he said. “Something that would be very useful for a High Dragon Lord with no Maiden. Usually, a High Dragon Lord is not inducted until he has a Maiden, but he falsely claimed he had this ring. A few years ago, I actually found it in our clan’s vaults. When Dracul found out, he sent humans to come and steal it for him. He knew I would never hand it over willingly. These humans ingratiated themselves to me and I welcomed them in with open arms. For almost a year, they worked enthusiastically for me until one day, they gained access to the ring and stole it away.” He stopped to laugh. “Even though I couldn’t get revenge on Dracul, I was able to get revenge on those humans.”

His words had an edge of truth that I did not want to believe. “What did you do to them?” I breathed, unable to speak any louder.

Borthen’s face twisted into a wicked smile. “I sent my men to their homes to kill their families and burn their houses,” he said quietly, leaning his face towards mine.

I could feel all color drain from my face, feeling lightheaded.

“And your brother was one of the men who stole from me, Valora Marchton,” he hissed.

My blood ran cold.

“How ironic that your brother’s work for your current Lord happened to be the reason that your parents were killed.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks. “You’re lying,” I said in a choked voice, but by his eyes, I could tell he was not.

He tsked at me, shaking his head in mock sadness. “Poor little Valora,” he said in mockery. “I wish I was.” Borthen turned to leave now that he’d had his fun with me. “I will see you tomorrow,” he said before jumping out of the dome. I could hear the flap of wings as he transformed midair.

All I could do was collapse into sobs, my heart breaking at the truth. After all this time, after all my travels, I finally found out what happened in the cave of my Lord’s greatest enemy. And the fact that Dracul was the reason behind my trauma made it hurt all the more.

Chapter Thirty-One

Dracul

We flew north, meeting with Fangburn’s army along the way. With both sets of forces, we were at least six hundred dragons strong, more than twice Borthen’s forces. The glow from Lora lasted well into the afternoon and I felt lightened by its presence, proof that her hope and goodwill was with me.

The plan was to split into three units—my unit to take on Borthen’s forces head-on, with Firenze’s and Fangburn’s units to take both flanks. A horn sounded as soon as we passed into Starfire clan territory, raising the alarm, and I grimaced. Soon, we would have enemy dragons headed our way and the bloodbath would begin. Despite the fact that these dragons fought for Borthen, they were still considered my people and I did not want them injured.

One thing I gave Borthen credit for was his forces were well organized. His army’s response time was surprisingly swift, and soon, we were in all-out war. The smell of fire and burning hide filled the air, cries of fallen dragons trailing off as they reached the ground. Several of his warriors headed towards me, but the dragons I had on my side dispatched them quickly. Anyone who made it through, I killed without much issue.

It was a flurry of action, and trying to make way towards the Starfire Mountains was slow progress. Human archers assembled on the ground, located at strategic points in the mountains. They were able to shoot down a good number of my dragons. I gritted my teeth. It seemed Firenze’s reports of Borthen recruiting a large number of humans had been correct.

Swooping low, I let out a giant stream of fire, bolstered by the idea of returning to Lora. The rest of my unit aimed their fire at the mountain, trying to reach the hidden archers. Screams from the humans echoed against the rocks as they burned. To my surprise, we were able to quickly finish them off. Our numbers simply overpowered Borthen’s forces, even with the advantage of the human archers.

Nowhere did I see Borthen—the coward decided to remain in his cave, it seemed—but soon we had defeated his army. Only a small number of his warriors were allowed to flee as they flew back to their cave. We set up camp at the foot of the mountain, keeping an eye out for any further attack. I made sure to have a messenger head back to our lands to deliver the news to the other dragons and Lora that we had been victorious and tomorrow we would continue our onslaught. The sky had begun to darken and my forces needed rest from the long journey and fighting.

* * *

I was sitting at a campfire with the other Lords enjoying our dinner when a messenger came rushing up to me, whispering something in my ear. Immediately, my heart dropped, my pleasant mood from earlier disappearing. The other Lords could see the look on my face and knew something was wrong.

“What is it?” Fangburn asked.

The others leaned close to hear my answer.

“Borthen’s kidnapped Valora,” I said, hardly believing my words. “His men snuck into our mountain and took her.”

“Your Maiden?” Fangburn asked. “The one you just inducted? Just leave her. There’ll be plenty more like her.” He waved his hand, unconcerned with the news I had just shared.

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