Page 38 of The Dragon King's Curse
We stood on a dirt road, a town in the distance. Night had already fallen here. I couldn’t be sure until we reached the town but I suspected we were between the Shadow Realm and the Blood Realm. If we were to make our way south to Noxx’s homeland, we would have several days of travel ahead of us.
“I think that’s Grimm’s Reach.” Noxx nodded to the town. “We’ll find a room for the night and figure out our next move. We’ll move faster if I fly us there.”
“No, thank you. I can walk. Flying will only draw attention to us anyway.” The thought of being scooped up in Noxx’s arms again made me uneasy. I didn’t trust myself around this man.
“Suit yourself, princess.” Noxx pushed forward, pacing himself so that his longer strides didn’t leave me behind.
It would take a solid hour or more to reach the town. We’d already covered so much ground in the Shadow Realm. I may have had exceptional stamina but I was ready to collapse. Connecting to the fae land had drained me. Knowing a bed and a proper bath was within reach kept me going.
“How will we pay for a room? Neither of us have any money.” I looked to Noxx for a solution to this problem.
He pulled out one of the fae daggers we’d stolen from a guard. The dagger’s handle was gold, decorated in fae jewels. “I’m pretty sure any innkeeper will accept this in exchange for a room.”
We stuck to the side of the road as we walked. Only one horse drawn carriage passed us. Most people didn’t travel after dark near the Blood Realm and with good reason. It was just our luck that we were closing in on the town when four vampires emerged from the darkness.
They were dressed all in black, making it hard to see them until they appeared. Taken by surprise, I let out a little yelp as they stepped onto the road in front of us. Immediately Noxx drew his sword. I reached for mine as well.
One of the vampires chuckled. He was a tall monster of a thing with eyes that shone black in the pale moonlight. “What do you plan to do with those? Give us the elf and we’ll be on our way. You can walk away from this, dragon.”
Vampires were happy to indulge in any blood, though they had a penchant for those with magickal blood, especially fae and elven. Having already experienced a vampire’s thirst, I had no plan to allow these monsters to get their hands on me. I would die first.
“You must be joking.” Noxx laughed right in the vampire’s face. “Do you not know who I am? Nobody threatens the king of the Fire Realm and lives.”
Noxx didn’t hesitate. He rammed his sword into the vampire’s middle. Jerking hard, he sliced the vampire in half. One of the remaining vampires took off running. Smart enough to know better. The same could not be said about his friends.
The other two vampires took their chances. One of them lunged at me. He used magick to freeze me in place so I wasunable to swing my blade. Noxx flung a fireball toward him. Flames climbed his body from the ground up, quickly engulfing him. I jerked away in time to escape the heat.
The last vampire used a magickal attack to throw Noxx several feet away. He hit the ground hard, sliding along the road. Before the vampire turned on me, I brought my sword up and stabbed him through the face. He immediately dissolved into ash.
I hurried over to Noxx, checking him over for injuries. “Are you all right?”
“Never felt better, princess. Let’s get the hell out of here before we run into any more of those blood monsters.” Noxx took the hand I held out to him. Pulling him to his feet, I frowned at the blood staining his shirt.
“You’re hurt.”
He glanced down at the crimson stain. “Just some road burn from the fall. It’s nothing.”
It didn’t bother him. I’m not sure why it bothered me. The wound was minor really. Maybe it was the fear of being alone if something happened to him. I’d already lost Miranda.
We made it the rest of the way to Grimm’s Reach without issue. The first inn we came to on the edge of town was where we stopped. I couldn’t be sure how late it was, but judging by the position of the moon, I guessed it was shortly after midnight.
I let Noxx handle the bartering as he offered the fae dagger to the innkeeper. The innkeeper took one look at the dagger and his face lit up.
“There’s a free room on the third floor. I’ll fetch the key for you. Is there anything else I can get you, Your Grace?”
“Clean clothing for my companion and I as well as a hearty meal. The best of everything on your menu. Some water and a jug of your finest brew.” Noxx seemed to enjoy it when people knew who he was.
I couldn’t relate. I preferred it when people did not know that I was the heiress to the Earth Realm. Being treated like I was something special made me uncomfortable. I was no different from anyone else.
“No problem at all,” the innkeeper said. “I’ll have everything sent up shortly.”
While the innkeeper fetched the key, Noxx nodded to the tavern attached to the inn. “Should we enjoy a drink in the tavern?”
I shook my head, wrinkling my nose. “Absolutely not. Knowing there’s a bed upstairs is the only thing keeping me upright. Be my guest. Just give me the key first.”
“And let you out of my sight? I think not.” Noxx ushered me up the winding stone staircase first.
We reached the third floor and found our room at the end of the hall. Noxx unlocked the door and opened it to reveal a small but clean room. Right away the first thing I noticed was the one bed in the far corner. A bed large enough for two. That just wouldn’t do.
