Page 90 of Upon Buried Embers
“But she’s useless, Dragonbond. What can we do with a slave?” I hear someone say, and my body tenses, eyes going to the front door that is slightly open.
“I have use for her,” Rohan replies to whoever he’s talking to.
“But we don’t need another mouth to feed, our supplies are low this winter.”
“I’m aware, Rhett.”
“Then when you go to the Enclave for The Games, you should get rid of her. Sell her. An elf will bring nothing but trouble if she’s found out and it could put us all in danger.”
“I know that, and I would get rid of her in a moment’s notice if I could.”
My stomach plummets, heart racing as I stumble back, the cup falling from my hand.
“You have to know Karag may tell others there’s an elf among us. We’re not safe.”
“I know that too, and I reminded him personally before he left The Graveyard that if he were to break his vow, I would break his neck.”
“It may not be enough.”
“It may not,” Rohan replies. “I will always put the safety of the clan above all. She’s an elf, Rhett, a means to an end who will likely go back to where she came from.”
I’m just a means to an end.
An object.
An item.
Not a person with feelings.
Before I know what I’m doing, I’m running blindly out the back door and down the steps.
I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m not being sold again, not going back to the city. Not to another master. I can’t do it anymore.
Not even for Effy.
Heat hits me, and I realize I’ve run to the dragon’s den. Drogonah lifts his head as I pass, but I don’t stop until I’m all the way at the very back of the cave.
As soon as I hit the wall there, my palms slap against it, and I slide down, wanting to curl up and be as tiny as possible so no one finds me. So they can’t take me back there.
My fingers curl into fists as my breathing comes in short and fast gasps, and I whimper, not knowing what to do.
A chuffing sound penetrates my ears, and I turn my head. Escor is in front of me, head tilted in confusion.
I cry, laying my head against the rock as he comes closer.
He can eat me, burn me, anything is better than another Master. Or the same one.
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.
Escor’s snout nudges my head softly, the scales rough, but he does it again and again.
When I don’t respond, he makes a low sound, almost a whine. He lays down, his front paws going to either side of me, and he rests his head on the floor, eyes, focused on me.
He stares at me, his dark eyes look like glittering stars within, blinking slowly at me. He makes a purring sound and after a short while, I feel myself relaxing a little, my breathing slowly evening out.
“I’m scared,” I whisper to him, and his ears flicker beneath his horns. “I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to be here either, but I would take being here over being there. I don’t get hurt as much here, but my heart hurts very much right now.”
He comes a little closer, ears flicking as his claws scrape against the stone floor, but I’m not scared. Just numb.
