Page 23 of The Dragon King's Curse
I was content to let her lead the way. Keeping my distance, I kept a close eye on our surroundings. The forest seemed morepeaceful in the light of day. Birdsong rang out from the trees overhead. The sweet aroma of flowers followed us. It would have been beautiful under different circumstances.
Left with my own thoughts, I wondered why the elves hadn’t told Feryn the entire story. No doubt they’d made me out to be an absolute villain. The dragon who’d annihilated many of their people.
I couldn’t figure out why they would leave out such a key point. If they believed themselves to be on the side of good, why wouldn’t they have told her what they had done to my people first?
An image flashed behind my eyes. A horrible memory from the day I’d discovered several of my dragons slain. When the elves had failed to enslave the dragons, they’d killed them, taking their magickal blood along with their scales and even their teeth.
I’d been away, engaged in a battle with the vampires. Occupied and absent. The return to my kingdom had been met with horrific news and the bodies of many of the beasts who’d pledged their loyalty to my kingdom. Knowing that I could not fail them, I had sought out the elves, taking an army with me as I brought down my vengeance upon them.
There was likely no point in sharing this with Feryn. This had happened many years ago. She didn’t care about the details. Like the rest of the elves, she believed I deserved to suffer. Her words rang in my ears.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I grew. Last night meant nothing. It didn’t make us friends. We’d been thrown together, forced to survive. Now it was every person for themselves once again. I had to find a way to get myself out of this mess. I couldn’t be bothered with Feryn Raegel.
Not once did we stop. We walked for hours, burning away most of the day before we finally saw the castle grounds in the distance through the trees.
I stopped walking. When Feryn noticed, she turned back to me with a raised brow.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Go first. It’s better if we don’t show up together. They don’t need to know that we were together all night. If the king suspects any kind of alliance between us, we’ll both pay the price. Leave the sword. Just in case we find ourselves back here.” I motioned for her to continue onward.
She pressed her lips tight together and nodded, propping the sword against a tree. Without a word, she passed through the trees, exiting the forest. Right away several guards surrounded her. I watched from a distance as they marched her back to the prison.
No doubt, Atlas would be pissed to learn of our survival. On the other hand, maybe he would be thrilled to have another chance to torment us.
I waited another hour or two before emerging from the forest. The guards were there to greet me. They surrounded me on every side, checking me for weapons. I’d left everything I carried in the forest. Although it was doubtful I would be able to return for it, I couldn’t very well carry it with me into the prison anyway.
The guards shoved me along, knocking me to the ground several times. When I didn’t rise fast enough, they took turns punching and kicking me. More than one used magick on me, making me seize on the ground as they blasted me with lightning and sharp shards of ice. Gritting my teeth, I took all of it without a word. Lashing out would only encourage them to do worse.
Finally, they brought me into the prison, shoving me into the cell. Aside from Feryn, the cell was empty. Nobody else had made it back. Were we the only two to survive?
Feryn sat in one corner with her knees drawn up, arms wrapped tight around them. She wiped furiously at her face in an effort to dry her tears before I saw them. The elf woman she’d come in with wasn’t here. No doubt Feryn feared the worst.
After drinking from the basin of water, I went to the opposite corner, sliding down the wall until I sat heavily on the floor. Most of the guards left except for the two watching over us. They talked amongst themselves.
With a little wave of her hand, Feryn caught my eye. “Thank you, Noxx. I know you didn’t have to help me out there.”
Her gratitude filled my chest with a heaviness I didn’t understand. A burden set upon me. I didn’t want that.
“Yeah, sure. No problem.” My reply was sharp and dismissive, making her recoil. Resting my head against the stone wall, I closed my eyes, giving in to the urge to sleep after all I’d been through.
She didn’t try to speak to me again. Just as well. I had nothing more to say to her.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
FERYN
Every minute that passed made me more certain that I would never see Miranda again. Noxx and I were the only two that had returned to the prison. I knew for a fact one human was dead. I’d been there when it happened.
Maybe Miranda was still out there. Still hiding somewhere or making an escape attempt. I needed her to be alive. She’d fought so hard to be a good warrior. To lead the rest of us. She didn’t deserve to go down this way.
Noxx went out of his way to ignore me. Like I wasn’t even there. It shouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did. I caught myself sneaking glances in his direction, finding him staring through the bars at the two guards near the door or down at the dusty stone floor. Anywhere but in my direction.
We’d been tossed a tray of bread, vegetables, and fish. I nibbled some bread, clutching a handful of carrots and cucumber. Noxx took all the fish which was fine with me. He waited for me to fetch my food from the tray before taking what was left. What the hell was his problem?
Finally, I couldn’t take his silent brooding any longer. Keeping my voice low so as not to get the guards’ attention, I asked, “Did I do something wrong? It seems like you’re pissed at me or something. Or is that just because I’m the elf princess?”
He slowly turned to look my way. A lazy shrug lifted his shoulders. “Could be. What does it matter? We’re not friends, remember? According to you, I deserve to suffer. Let me do so in silence.”
