Page 86 of What Lies Within Blood & Heirs

Spread around a campsite that had long since been set up. Pathways were worn into the tall grass of a small clearing. Her position against the tree was worn down to dirt, telling her she likely wasn’t the first to be forced there. A fire flickered down to embers, smoldering enough smoke to burn her nose, and five large tents, as large as Garrik’s, had been erected in a semicircle beyond the fire with five horses tied behind.

Alora stifled a whimper.

Through the heavy fog inside her mind, she continued calmly scanning. The males with unknown faces weren’t there, but their horses were. Which was a pity because, as she struggled against the shackles, a scorching sensation rippled through her veins. Reminding her who she was.

Who she was trained to be.

Their first mistake; luring her into the woods and believing her to be a female fit for ballgowns. One that couldn’t fight. Who cowered and allowed brutal hands to manipulate and command and imprison her.

Although, she couldn’t blame them. Males always acted superior, like they owned the realm and could take whatever they wanted without repercussions.

Alora gritted her teeth as scorching heat sunk into her bones. She hadn’t gallivanted around screaming to the skies that she had starfire.

That was something they were going to learn. Painfully.

Their second mistake; the fools had bound her hands behind her. She could’ve laughed if it weren’t for needing to remain silent.

Thalon’s voice barreled through her.

She pictured his monstrous figure towering above her, along with twelve others, as she had squirmed in coarse ropes tied to her feet and wrists by a mountain stream one blisteringly hot afternoon.

Presenting careful instruction, he had paced. Face stern in front of his line of willing captives kneeling before the pines while her High Prince had stood, arms crossed over his chest, observing.

‘Don’t put yourselves in a position to be caught off guard. Always bind the hands in front.’He had knelt and pulled Alora’s wrists forward, scanning the swelling before carefully dropping them to her lap and offering her a reassuring smile.‘If bound in the back, it makes it impossible to see the hands.’

A twisted smile contorted her face. These fools had done just that.

What they also didn’t know was those months of extensive Dragon training in weaponry and strategy not only taught her how to fight and move and plan, but Garrik insisted that each of his Dragons learned the art of lock picking. Oh, how her High Prince hadn’t been satisfied until the invaluable instruction on the effectiveness of pressure positions, and escape measureswhen trapped in cells, locked doors, and shackles was seared into memory.

No stranger to bonds from Kaine’s abuse, she’d quickly become exemplary at it. Years spent picking locked doors and sneaking from the manor. Only she didn’t know that her Dragon training had started years before she joined them.

Plus, having starfire made escaping ropes incredibly effortless.

‘Use what you can use.’

Alora smiled.Thanks, Thalon.

Too bad they had shackled her in iron. It meant she required a little more effort.

Within minutes, the standard Raven’s shackles resounded in a metallic click, no louder than a whisper. The irons hinged open. Releasing her screaming wrists in relief as she soundlessly laid them on the dirt, then made quick work of the ankle shackles.

Two tents fluttered to her right. No one sat by the fire, but it would be unlikely they had left her alone without a sentry posted.

So, Alora listened. Waiting for the snap of a branch or the crinkling of leaves. But nothing came. If someone was out there, she couldn’t determine their position, and that made escaping even less likely.

If only she had Garrik’s powers, then maybe …

Sapphires widened. Forges pounded in her heart.

Can you hear me?she called on that silver tether … called across that endless sky and darkness.Please be listening. Please.

Like at the lake, when she had heard his voice trailing so far away until it was nothing at all … silence answered.

Burning tears collected in her eyes, but she fought them back. Now wasn’t the time.

How far had they taken her if Garrik couldn’t hear her? He would’ve answered her call. There was no doubting that. Maybe she’d been passed out for far longer than a few hours. Maybe days?

If she couldn’t reach him, that had to be the reason. And if it had been days, then she needed to move.Right now.

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