Page 33 of Galadon
“Yes, only the recent one.”
I’d never even gotten the urge to try it before, but with her, I couldn’t imagine it another way, even if there were a choice. Her body was perfect as it was. Before joining the Taugud, I rarely took human form except when I needed more dexterity for projects on my land or dealt with someone not in dragon form. It had just been safer and more comfortable that way.
I rubbed my face, realizing I was thinking of her again. “Need to get her out of my head.”
“You’re the one who brought her up, so now you have to drink more,” Lorcan said with a gleam in his eyes.
I grunted. “Your choice of topics was going to lead to it.”
“Fair enough. We both drink.”
The room began to spin as I gulped down half my mug. That was better but still not enough to fully dull my thoughts. “It’s just as well. I have no intention of slowing down until I’m certain I’ll regret this night when I wake tomorrow.”
Lorcan laughed. “That’s the best way to forget any difficult female.”
I couldn’t argue there. For the next couple of hours, we managed three more tankards until midnight approached. I only knew because someone mentioned the time while passing by our table. My inner clock had lost its way.
Standing, I swayed on my feet and had to grab the back of my chair. “It’s time for me to find a bed.”
The waitress appeared as if from thin air, but then again, I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me at that point. “Come, you two. We have empty rooms upstairs that you can use since I doubt either of you can make it any farther.”
We staggered behind her as she led the way to a back stairwell, just managing not to fall on anyone. Thankfully, there was a rail to grasp while we climbed the steps, but I swore the building must have doubled in height by the time we reached the top. She stopped at the first door to open it and waved Lorcan inside.
“Night…to ya both,” he slurred, before shutting it in our faces.
She led me to the next room. “This one’s yours.”
It was dark inside, but I spotted the direction of the bed before she shut the door behind me. Once I’d locked it, I stumbled until I hit the mattress and fell face-first into it. To my surprise, I caught the faint scent of Rayna. The sheets wereclean, but no one had stayed in here since her visit, so hers was the most recent. I was too drunk to be annoyed that it comforted me to sleep on the same bed as her.
Normally, I preferred to sleep in my dragon form, but there was no way I could shift now. Instead, I used my magic to send my clothing and boots to shiggara, unwilling to have anything tight on my skin while I slept.
As my eyes drifted shut, a vision came to me. It was Rayna asleep on a cot in that tower of hers. She looked so peaceful until four people broke through the door. She jumped up and grabbed her sword, but one man splashed a vial of liquid at her face before she could attack.
The slayer slumped to the floor in seconds, unmoving. Her horse kicked one of the humans, which I’d since made out enough details to be certain they were all Kandoran. That person gripped their chest where the hooves had struck and collapsed to the ground. The same person who threw a vial at Rayna tossed another one at the stallion. Onyx made a strange sound before his head sagged, and he swayed on his feet. He was too large to be fully knocked out, but he was weak and compliant now.
It finally occurred to me that this was no nightmare but rather something that would happen very soon. Through my drunken haze, terror gripped me as one man lifted Rayna into his arms and carried her limp form outside, with her loose hair falling in waves beneath her. She appeared so helpless. The vision skipped forward to her somewhere else, lying on the ground with all her limbs chained to sturdy stakes so she couldn’t move. A Kandoran man stood over her with a knife.
I desperately wanted to reach through the vision to help her, but I could only watch. This event hadn’t even happenedyet, but it would within the hour if my muddled senses were accurate, long before I could get there—even at top speed.
Also, Rayna had ordered me not to save her again.
She’d been emphatic about it, so I had no doubt she meant it. Unfortunately, I couldn't lift a finger at this point, even if I wanted to ignore that promise. The last tankard of alefire was taking effect, dulling my mind and pulling me into a deep sleep.
Chapter 14
Rayna
Rayna woke, finding herself stretched across cold, hard ground with her wrists and ankles in heavy shackles. Fear coursed through her. This was bad—very, very bad. Tugging on them, she found they were attached to metal stakes, and the thrum of magic emanating from them told her they wouldn’t dislodge from the ground. Still, she desperately gave them a few tugs just to be sure. Nothing. They didn’t budge.
Testing her powers, she couldn’t find that well of magic that was always there. Even at near burnout, there was at least a thread. Rayna drew in a shuddering breath, realizing her lightning wouldn’t be able to get her out of this.
A man in a gray robe she didn’t recognize walked toward her, with several others following behind him. He was older, maybe sixties, with blazing red eyes that told her he’d been infected for a long time. The evil pouring from him was the strongest she’d ever felt up close, even during the war.
“Oh, good. You’re finally awake.”
“What the hell is this?” Rayna asked, glaring at him to hide her rising terror.
She’d never felt more vulnerable. The temporary wards she’d set around the tower hadn’t warned her, so they’d caught her off guard during the night when she wore nothing more than purple cotton shorts and a pale pink tank top. So much of her was exposed. She had no weapons and couldn’t hope to fight back while chained to the ground.
