Page 50 of The Dragon Maiden

“What happened?” Gwen asked. “What was that?”

I could feel the warmth fade from my forehead, and knew the glow was gone. We all looked to Alonsa, as she was the eldest.

She shrugged. “I’m not quite sure,” she said. “But we have work to do. Just because our Lords are not here does not mean we can slack off in our duties.”

The other Maidens nodded and we dispersed, heading to our respective Lord’s quarters.

On my way back, two humans approached in the corridor, their bright hair color indicating they were dragons. I frowned slightly. To my confusion, they looked able-bodied enough to have gone with the rest of the army. They even had armor on.

“They already left,” I said. “If you’re going to join the army, you should hurry up.”

The two exchanged a look before turning back to me. “Oh, we aren’t with the army,” one said, his orange eyes containing a look that made my stomach drop. He had a scar on his lip that added to his sneer and his greasy burgundy hair was unkempt.

“Then what are you doing here?” I asked. “This corridor is off limits except to those who have approval.” Dracul had told me only Lords and their Maidens were given free rein to the corridors leading to his quarters. The way these two waltzed about made me wary of their intentions.

Both took a few steps towards me and I backed away, sensing that something was wrong. Very wrong.

The one with shorn, dark-green hair smirked. “We’re here for you, of course,” he said.

At his words, my body froze, my heart pounding. I turned to run, to call for help, but they jumped forward. Quickly, I dodged the attack, taking a few more steps backwards. A shiver sliced down my back as I realized that the insignia on their armor was not familiar to me. These must be Borthen’s men.

“We’ll be kinder if you come quietly,” the burgundy-haired man said.

“I will not be going with you,” I said with false confidence. I looked around, but there was nothing nearby I could use as a weapon. As dragons, even in human form, they held the physical advantage over me. But maybe I could make enough noise for someone to come to my aid.

The green one came towards me again and I ducked past his outstretched arms. Belatedly, I noticed I was now stuck between the two of them and a sinking feeling overcame me as I realized they toyed with me. I would not go down without a fight.

I lunged towards the green one, not giving him time to approach me again. He let out a shout of surprise as we both collided with the wall and fell to the ground. I began to punch him, hitting wherever I could, and he grunted in pain.

“You stupid… wench. Hold… still…” He struggled to speak as he attempted to grab my hands, but I was faster.

Adrenaline coursed through me, focusing my attention on the dragon in front of me. I had completely forgotten about the burgundy dragon until I felt a hard smack across the head. As darkness began to overtake me, I hoped someone had heard the struggle.

I should have screamed.

Chapter Thirty

Valora

I awoke with a pounding headache and my vision was foggy for several moments. Looking around, I took in my surroundings. I was in a fairly large, domed enclosure, with a large opening at one end. A rough blanket lay underneath me and to my right was a pail of water and another bucket that I could easily guess its purpose. Slowly, I moved towards the opening, pausing to check for any movement. I looked out and my heart dropped. The dome I was in was attached to the wall of an enormous cavern, high enough up on the wall that if I was to try and jump, I would surely perish. Along the walls of this cavern were other domes similar to mine, but from what I could tell, they all seemed empty. Sconces lined the walls, two on each side of every dome to light up the cavern. At the bottom was a large entrance leading to a hallway.

As I took in my surroundings, trying to figure out where I was, a bronze dragon entered the cavern, his eyes going straight to me. His mouth morphed into a smirk and I scrambled backwards into my dome as he began to fly towards me. When he reached the entrance of my dome, he transformed into his human form, stepping in with me. His skin was bronzed, his hair a reddish-gold hue, and his eyes were a glittering gold as he stared at me hungrily. To my dismay, he only wore pants, and I looked away, wanting to crawl as far away from him as possible.

“So you’re Dracul’s Maiden, huh?” he asked in a gravelly voice, swaggering towards me.

I said nothing, continuing to look at the wall. My skin crawled as he got close enough to grip my face, forcing me to look at him.

“I was talking to you,” he said roughly. “And I expect an answer when I ask you a question, is that understood?”

“Yes,” I whispered, fear flowing through me. The coarseness of his eyes instilled a primal fear in me. I knew how easily he could kill me and he showed no restraint in his gaze. More than ever, I wanted Dracul to be there. “I’m Lord Dracul’s Maiden.”

He let out a harsh laugh. “I can’t believe the bastard finally got himself one!” he crowed, pushing me away. “I never thought he had it in him. If I had known, I would have tried something different to off him.”

My heart stopped at his words. “You’re Borthen?” I asked in disbelief.

His brows furrowed into a thunderous frown. “Watch it! That’sLordBorthen to you,” he growled. “Your precious Lord may have stolen everything that was mine, but I willnothave you disrespecting me.” I bowed my head, and he cackled. “Oh, if only he could see how easily you submit to me,” he said. “I would love to see the look on his face once he realizes what I’ve stolen from him.”

“What do you want with me?” I asked, attempting to keep a tremble out of my voice.

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