Page 30 of The Healing Dragon
I cross to Matias with determination. I place my hand over a section of his skin that has the least amount of open wounds. I close my eyes and push all the healing energy I have in me. Even as I feel my reserves empty I know it's not enough.
The damage is too much.
I open my eyes and feel tears track down my cheeks. Even as a child with miniature reserves I always managed to help.
I lay down and mirror Matias on the other side of the cell bars. The majority of his open wounds have healed but I know there is far worse damage deeper in. His eyes are still gone but I speak to him softly anyway. He might not hear me but in case he does I need him to know.
“It's okay to hide Matias.” I wipe down my face with my sleeve. “Hide deep enough that you don't have to feel any of this. Vengeance is coming. You will have it.”
I don't know how long I lay there watching his chest rise and fall. I take that sign as a victory for the night. By the time I reach my bedroom door, Jesse is already inside with the cape off.
His eyes meet mine and without saying a word his armsopen for me. I cross the distance between us in a rush. I feel once again like the little girl who found peace in these arms. Oliver gave me comfort and support inside the walls of my home. But even he couldn't give me safety. Jesse gave me something different. He gave me hope for a future. It might not have belonged to me from the beginning but hope is sometimes enough.
I bury my face in his chest and breathe in. I fill my lungs and count to five looking for my sanity. As always I find it in Jesse.
When I feel my voice is stable again I say, “they did it to him again.”
Jesse’s arms pull me in tighter. “Is he alive?” His voice is full of worry.
I nod. “I don't think he will survive whatever my father did again.”
“Then we need to hurry,” he says into my hair. “We will.”
Knowing we are both on the same page fills me with something. We are running out of time, and now more than ever, we need to find the Red Book and take Matias far away from my father’s clutches.
We will.
CHAPTER TEN
JESSE
Iclose the door behind me and take a deep breath. My focus needs to be on what I’m doing. I cannot afford to get distracted. I’ve failed my people and my family once for the girl behind that door, and I can’t allow that to happen again.
From the meeting earlier today, I know Duelo plans to have his men meet him on the first floor at nightfall. I follow the low glow of lanterns illuminating the hall down to the other edge of the house. Janelle’s room is at the end of the hall, apart from everyone else. She might see it as yet another way for her father to alienate her, but I’m glad for it. I see the way those men look at her. The princess, falling from grace, looks almost attainable to their hands.
Over my dead body.
These past couple of days have taught me the feelings I bury are closer to the surface than I expected. The longer I spend by her side the harder it gets to fight them. I’ve just hoped for them to fade but they never left. I have no clue how anything between us can work after the attack but there is nosense in thinking about that right now. We have to free Matias and return the Red Book.
I swiftly make my way down to the next floor, seeking any noise or movement, but the place looks and feels deserted until I touch the threshold of the first floor.
Lord Duelo stands before the front door above his men with his nose high in the air. I can’t hear the end of his speech, but his men nod in unison, and a choir of affirmation echoes through the room. He leads the way out of the house into the backyard. Some of his men carry torches lighting up the path. I fall into step at the edges of the group.
I stay vigilant to listen with my gift. Any and all information is essential. I wouldn't put it past Lord Duelo to tell his men one thing but truly mean something else. He isn't a trusting man. Neither am I, after all.
I stay close to the edges and follow them with my cloak over my head. Just before I’m about to cross the door to the backyard, I look up the stairs and watch Janelle’s mother leaning over the edge. A handkerchief is balled up in her hand, covering her mouth, while shaking her head lightly.
“Hurry boy!” Duelo Senior snaps.
I watch a young boy rush to pull a small wagon. His feet slide on the dirt as he pulls with all his body weight. A dark blanket covers the top, keeping the item inside hidden. Whatever is inside cannot be too big, considering the way the blanket drapes over the wagon. But the boy huffs and puffs loudly with every pull. None of the men offer to help the boy, but Oliver watches over him, staying behind and waiting for him to catch up.
I look at the trail of mud the wagon is dragging leading to a shed in the back. The structure is old and a breeze away from falling apart.
The men are quiet as we walk into the forest clearing nearthe back of the house. The torches are the only light illuminating our path in this cloudy night sky. They stop walking at the edge of the circle, and a path opens for the boy with the wagon. He keeps walking to the middle of the circle where Lord Duelo and his two top soldiers stand.
There’s creaking coming from the other side of the circle before we watch the trees and bushes move. Two tall creatures break through the greenery first. Their tall figures are masked by the night, their skin helping them blend in the dark, but I have seen giants once or twice. Their bodies are about ten feet tall and their skin is covered with bumps that resemble horns.
None of the surrounding men look alarmed or worried, so I stay frozen in place. Not a single murmur is heard amongst them, telling me they have seen these giants before. It’s not a common sight that would be easy to breeze over.
