Page 26 of The Dragon King's Curse
Keeping my voice so low I barely made a sound, I said, “You mean escape?”
“Damn right I do. If Atlas has already moved on to a backup plan, then he most likely means to kill me. No doubt Lyre has even worse plans for you. I don’t think we have a choice, Feryn. We’re going to have to work together to get out of here. Are you up for the challenge?”
I wanted nothing more than to be free of this place. There was just one problem. “What about the land? It won’t let us escape.”
Noxx paused, mulling this problem over. “You’re an elf. You can communicate with nature, can’t you? Maybe you can break the fae’s hold on the land. It’s worth a try.”
“And if I can’t do it?” I honestly didn’t know if I would have any power over the land here.
“Then we do whatever it takes to stay alive until we find your people. They should be arriving at some point, shouldn’t they?” Noxx glanced toward the guards. They weren’t paying any attention to us.
“I don’t know. I hope so. Atlas said that my father knows he’s taken me captive, but that might be a lie.” Try as I might to focus on the thought of escape, my attention was dominatedby Noxx’s fingers lightly gliding along my throat, outlining the bruises left behind by Lyre’s fingers.
My body flushed with heat. What was wrong with me? This was no time for forbidden attractions to mess up my head and make me a fool. We had a serious problem. Somehow, we had to get out of here before Atlas killed Noxx and forced me to marry his nauseating son.
“What about the guards?” I whispered. There were two inside with us and two more outside. No doubt there were dozens more in the area.
Noxx eyed up the guards, a wicked smirk stealing over his lips. “We kill them.”
“How do you propose we do that?” I held up my wrist, nodding at the iron shackle.
“We wait until they bring us food. When the door opens, you distract the guard. Do anything. Poke him in the eye. Blow dirt in his face. Whatever it takes. Then I’ll slash his throat wide open. We’ll take his keys, remove these shackles, and get the fuck out of here.” The way Noxx told it, he sounded almost excited, like he couldn’t wait to pull it off.
He made it sound so simple. Too simple.
“If it were that easy, why wouldn’t other prisoners have done it by now?” I had to ask. Not that I didn’t believe we could do it. Some part of me knew we were more than capable.
Noxx shrugged. “Maybe they didn’t have it in them. You’re a warrior. You have it in you. Believe we can do this.”
What choice did I have? Escaping the prison was our first step. Then we would be faced with the fae land. We had to try something. Even if our efforts were in vain, we would never know unless we tried.
We went to our separate sides of the cell, trying to maintain a normal front. Having the guards catch us conspiring together would only ensure our failure. I kept myself busyby stuffing my pathetic little toothbrush into my pocket and drinking a healthy amount of water in preparation. Should we find ourselves running through the forest again, we would only drink when we came to a stream or pond.
Noxx seemed so cool and calm. He sat against the wall with his eyes closed, although I knew he wasn’t really asleep. Nerves gripped me. I had a hard time sitting still. The urge to get up and pace was strong. Somehow I resisted. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself.
A little voice inside me asked if I could truly trust Noxx. What if we were caught trying to escape and he turned on me? What if he used me to get in good with Atlas?
I needed to trust him right now. Once I got out of here, I could always leave him behind. We didn’t have to stick together.
When the door to the prison opened and a guard entered carrying food, my heart leapt into my throat. Our time had arrived. It was now or never. Do or die.
My entire body filled with adrenaline. It raced through me, demanding that I make a move. Holding my breath, I watched as the guard reached for the iron door. The lock disengaged and the bars slid back.
The guard took only a step inside. Just enough to deposit a tray of food on the floor. Lunging to my feet, I crossed the short distance between us in a blink. Grabbing hold of the guard’s long hair with both hands, I pulled his head down and drove my knee up into his face.
Noxx was already there, ready to make his move. He slashed clawed fingertips across the side of the man’s neck, tearing open arteries and veins. As I stepped back to avoid the spray of blood, I snatched the sword from the sheath on the guard’s hip. A quick slash of the blade and I’d taken off his head.
The two guards manning the entryway turned at the sound of the commotion. We were ready for them. Rushing from thecell, I held the sword low, jabbing it between the first guard’s legs. I brought it up in a clean slicing motion, right into his groin.
Noxx handled the second guard. He caught the blade of the sword the guard swung, wrenching it from his grasp. He then used the weapon to slice the guard from throat to abdomen, spilling his insides all over the floor.
Everything happened so fast. Neither guard had the opportunity to use magick against us.
“The keys,” Noxx said, rushing to retrieve the keys from one guard’s belt. “There has to be a key for these fucking shackles.”
While I kept an eye on the door in case anyone else entered, Noxx flipped through the keys until he found the right one. For a split second I wondered if he might free himself and leave me shackled. My worries were unfounded. He turned to me first, jamming the magickal key into the iron locked around my wrists.
Next he freed himself. We quickly relieved the fallen fae of their remaining weaponry. I took the scabbard for the sword, slinging it over one shoulder and onto my back. Knowing that I would need it for the guards outside, I clutched the sword in one hand.
