Page 46 of The Dragon King's Curse
I managed to get enough of a head start that I was able to launch fireballs down at them. One warrior took a fireball to the chest. He went down in a tailspin, crashing to the ground. I did the same to a few others, reducing their numbers.
Sword in hand, I slashed at the fae, keeping them from getting too close. They were unable to use weapons, though that didn’t stop them from using magick. Another lightning bolt came my way. I successfully deflected it with my blade, shooting it back to its sender. He went down with an angry shout, landing in a heap of limbs.
A blade made of ice plunged into my chest, momentarily stealing my breath. The fae who threw it opened his palm and a large ice spear appeared. My hand filled with fire. Fire and ice. Who would win? I sure as hell had no plan to lose.
My fireball met his ice spear midair. Immediately the spear melted away. Before he tried for another attack, I stopped my upward ascent and instead dropped down, headed right for him. I drove my sword through his chest so it burst through his back. His eyes widened, his mouth open with no sound emerging.
“Tell Atlas that he’s a fucking dead man.” With that, I jerked my sword free, using my foot to kick the fae so he went into a free fall toward the ground.
Then I was gone, wings flapping as I flew back toward town. Nothing would stop me from finding Feryn. Not two pitiful humans and certainly not the fae.
Atlas should’ve known six men would never be enough. Perhaps his resources were spread thin now that he searched for Feryn and me. He would soon know that we’d escaped his realm and were in The Seam. We had to get out of Grimm’s Reach.
First, I had to find her. My elven princess. Keeper of my curse.
Upon reaching the town, I landed in the middle of the street and kept walking. I didn’t know where I was going. Something told me that the answers I needed were here. Somewhere. Trusting my instinct, I wandered the streets. One after the other.
I passed shops that were dark. Houses with the faint glow of candles or lamplight in the windows. Taverns with music and raucous laughter spilling from inside.
Then I heard it. A scream. Bloodcurdling and horrific.
Moving swiftly, I rounded the corner, finding a vampire with a woman in his clutches. She must have been a lady of the night, or perhaps someone merely unlucky enough to catch his attention. He held her tight in his grasp, his fangs buried in her throat. She no longer screamed.
Knowing that he would sense my approach, I moved fast. Grabbing him from behind, I pressed one of the fae daggers I still possessed to his back, right over his heart.
“You’re going to take me to my princess. Try anything and I bury this blade in your pathetic heart. Do you understand?” I waited for him to slowly nod. “Good. Now get moving.”
Feryn had to be okay. Because if she wasn’t, this entire world would burn.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
FERYN
My blood proved to be irresistible. Sasha left me alone for a while but returned sooner than I’d hoped. His eyes were still glossy and strange. He seemed half-crazed. Like he couldn’t get enough.
“Just another little taste,” he whispered, dragging me into his arms despite my resistance. “I won’t take much. I promise.”
He seemed to be talking to himself more than to me. At this rate, he would surely kill me before he ever delivered me to the Vampire Lord. I kept searching for a way out of this mess. The other vampires had yet to return. Soon the sun would rise, and they would be forced back. Then I would be trapped here with all of them. Once they smelled my blood and knew Sasha had tasted it, nothing would stop them from doing the same.
Begging and pleading did nothing. If Sasha even heard me, he didn’t care enough to acknowledge me. Begging wasn’t in my nature. It felt wrong on every level. What I needed was a way to fight.
I’d noticed the table near the door had a wobbly leg. If I were able to break it off, I may be able to use it as a makeshift stake. That would only work if my hands were free.
“I need to use the washroom,” I said after Sasha had taken my blood for the second time.
It became difficult to keep my eyes open. The blood loss had weakened me greatly. Noticing this, Sasha didn’t believe me to be such a flight risk anymore. He untied my hands and feet, taking me to a small room with little more than a hole in the floor for me to do my business.
Thankfully, I didn’t really have to go. I’d hoped he would untie my hands and he had. He left me alone, returning to the main room of the cavern where he collapsed onto a tattered lounge chair. His head back, he stared at the dirt ceiling, lost in the heady high of my blood.
Hoping he didn’t notice me peeking from the washroom, I scanned the room for a weapon of any kind. I’d never get the table leg off without alerting Sasha. My gaze fell upon an oil lamp on a small table in the corner. It wasn’t much, but it was all I had.
Careful to move with silent steps, I made my way from the washroom, crossing the room to the lamp. I kept a close eye on Sasha, hoping he wouldn’t take notice. Lifting the lamp, I approached him with my breath held.
I stopped a few feet from him. Sensing my presence, his head came up, his eyes struggling to focus. I threw the lamp, making sure it smashed in his lap. As I’d hoped, the flames caught his clothing, growing into a small blaze.
Sasha leapt to his feet, beating at the flames. Not wasting any time, I ran for the stairs that would lead to the surface and out of this godsforsaken cavern. I didn’t make it very far before he was on top of me.
He’d managed to put out the fire. Grabbing hold of my ankle, he jerked me down the stairs.
