Page 25 of Scalebound

He never told me.

And the girl, the girl that found her way inside of the castle after being touched by the Deathlies. How did she make it in? Who let her in? The thought sickened me that it could’ve only been someone within the castle walls, and someone who knew it well enough to be able to sneak her in.

My mind raced as I thought of the egg and my one responsibility. If I found this egg, I could change the course of history forever, and I could make Scalebornes be seen as good again. There was a possibility of being able to change how Scalebornes were seen.

Stepping over a large tree that had fallen, I thought about the possibility of Scalekind and humanity living in harmony. No more war, hatred, and killing. By finding this egg, I could become queen, and maybe I would be seen differently. MaybeScalekind would finally be accepted and respected for what we were.

I only had ten days to find the relic. Would I make it in time? What if something happened? What if I get caught in some floor trap? What if I have to swim all the way to the island? I didn’t know how to swim. I had never seen a body of water more extensive than a bathtub or the fountain in the back of the garden near my tower.

Breaking my thoughts, there was a small cracking noise, like someone had just stepped on a twig. Pausing, I waited to see what would happen. Fear entangled inside my body. Was it a creature? Was it Tobias or one of his men already trying to stop me?

I turned around in circles to find who or what it was. A few more twigs snapped, creating a series of crunching noises. It was dark, and the shadows were too obscure.

The urge to cast flames to provide light coursed through me, but I couldn’t expose myself like that. That would be too dangerous, and I couldn’t allow myself the idea of it.

Breathing hummed on my neck. Shivers rolled down my spine, bleeding into my system. My body was frozen in place.

I. Couldn’t. Move.

The howling wind breathed past the trees, masking the movements of the creature, hiding them in the lost sounds of the forest. Allowing them an upper-hand to me as their bait.

Something sharp rose to my neck, poking into the lump that formed in my throat. The tip of it was cold, like ice and stone. It was a knife. I refrained from breathing, determined not to succumb to the urge to hyperventilate—the need to ask who it was strung throughout my mind.

Whoever it was started leading me backward, still holding the knife to my throat. We moved backward until I was pulled hard by the shoulder, slamming into a tree. The person then movedin front of me, the blade gliding across my throat, still barely touching my skin just enough to avoid doing any damage.

My eyes were still adjusting to the shadow and the form before me. It looked to be about a man. A man with dark hair and–oh, my scales–dark eyes that would devour me whole. He had to be the gatekeeper toHaxnau2 himself.

Demon. Dangerous. Death was all that was running through my mind.

My mind was telling me to run away. Fear curled through me like a slumbering beast, and I relished in the freedom of it. The way it called to me, the same as my deadly flames. Flames that I silently summoned to my fingertips. I was no longer the quiet, useless girl in the tower. I had to become something greater if I wanted any chance to become queen.

He had facial hair that covered above his lips and around his sharp jaw, the stubble slightly unkempt. His hair was somewhat longer and went past his ears, the dark strands covering his eyes as they gleamed from the moon’s light. The man smelt of salt and wind. He must be from one of the fishing towns. His clothing showed it as well. His boots were deep, with large soles and on the thinner side. There was no way to access the ocean on Clandike land. He must be from the Sardan Kingdom. What was he doing here?

His breathing was deep and controlled, his emotions in check. Panic held a death grip in my chest, but I willed it away.

Something on his chest caught a gleam of light from the moon. Squinting my eyes, I noticed a large silver locket necklace on his chest, branded with a large “S”. My stomach tensed with the urge to yank it and collide his head with the tree behind my back.

“You’re a Scaleborne,” he said, noticing the gold in my eyes. I was right. His accent proved that he was from the Sardan Kingdom. His voice was smooth yet deep, able to call on the open sea.

I forced a shaky breath into my burning lungs. The fire rumbled on my fingertips. I had to wait until he was right on the verge of slicing me. It had to be an element of surprise.

My thoughts that had been racing before were immediately silenced when his dark eyes peered into mine. The shapes and angles of his face. His stance. The silence that he approached me with. The stained blade that I peeked at, still covered in slightly rusted blood from one of his previous victims.

“You’re an assassin,” I breathed, panic rising in my throat.

“Something like that,” he suggested, his face closer to mine. I gulped down air at his approach. His keen eyes noticed the movement, no emotion sitting behind them like a blank, dark void. “What are you doing here?” he spoke through gritted teeth. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s too dangerous for little things like you.” I cringed at the way he called me a little thing–especially when I could summon fire and set him straight to flames–send him to the gates ofHaxnau. I’m sure they would willingly accept him. “There’s too many of us hunting things like you.”

Us.

Things.

“Do it,” I challenged, nodding to the knife that was still creased into my neck. “You won’t.” His eyes arched upward, almost wanting to accept the challenge. But that was not what he was here for, and we both knew it. Whatever drove him to kill wasn’t insatiable bloodlust; if it was, I would be dead already. The way that he saw me was something else. His expression was unreadable as he kept the dagger at my throat, pulling away slightly. It wasn’t my death he wanted, but the blood in my veins.

“You’re scared,” he observed, readjusting the knife to sit more comfortably on his wrist, pulling away the small inch of a gap I needed.

“I only fear what will happen to you,” I said, a smirk forming on my mouth. Before he was able to respond or move, I flickedmy wrists at my sides and conjured up condensed balls of flames, setting his clothing on fire. He released the knife held to my neck, the blade thudding on the ground in response. Cursing, he stepped away from me, patting down the flames that clung to his leather black clothes.

I had an opening to run, but something kept me planted. The forest rippled with danger of its own, far crueler than an assassin with a blade. I needed a guide, and he was in need of something as well.

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