Page 16 of Captured By the Dragon Warlord
“The spirits of the dead,” I say grimly. “Those who lost their lives in the dark.”
“You must miss your home,” Cestapal says.
I think for a minute.
“I miss the land, the sunrises and sunsets. I miss the colors and scents of the high hills.” I sigh. “And the feeling when I stood on the top of Skiddaw on midsummer, like I was on the top of the world.”
“It sounds good.” Cestapal smiles. “Maybe Lord Dexx will take you back.”
“I’m not sure if I want to go back,” I reply, surprising myself with this instinctive reply. “I’ve maybe seen too much for it to ever be the same again.”
We reach Dexx’s quarters, and the door snaps open before I realize what I’ve done. With Dexx gone, I could do anything. I could leave, given there are hardly any warriors around. I could go back to my friends.
But my heart seems strangely set on staying. I can’t get the touch of his lips out of my head, what I was going to do, which was entirely against anything I intended.
I need to see this through. I need to see Dexx again. I need to be sure he’s okay. I don’t know why, but I do.
My comm device is on the seat of the chair in the quarters, and I snatch it up before I roll into the central pit which smells strongly of smoke and Dexx.
As I expected, there’s a load of messages from my friends following my initial brief one saying I was okay and with Dexx. I stare at them for a second, exhaustion flowing over me. The images of the mess I saw on the screens fills my head.
I turn off the device and close my eyes, hoping he returns unharmed, very soon.
SCARLETT
The sound of the door opening wakes me. Dexx stalks past, around the edge of the pit and into the bathroom. I scramble out, following him.
He leans against the wall with his eyes closed, covered in dirt from head to the tip of his tail. I don’t quite know what to do. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen an exhausted Sarkarnii before. They’re usually so full of life. Being still is almost impossible.
“Two dead,” Dexx says, his eyes still closed. “Five injured but they’ll survive.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You did not cause the cave-in. You have nothing to be sorry for,” Dexx says with a long stream of smoke.
“I’m sorry you lost warriors. I’m sorry some were injured too.”
“It is my burden to bear,” Dexx says, opening his eyes, the good one almost as dull as his sightless one.
He walks across the room and slides into the bath without bothering to remove his pants and boots. His tail and wings shift, the latter folding out over the edges of the aquium pool.
I follow him and perch on the side. I’m used to growly Dexx, but this is different. This Dexx is anything but.
“What happened?” I ask quietly.
“Someone hadn’t set the props correctly. When they started blasting, the whole tunnel came down,” he says, sliding further into the water. “I will find the culprit and deal with him.” He growls, and it reverberates around the bathroom.
It’s clear Dexx has been affected by the accident, but he’s defaulting to his usual position. Growling and threatening. Possibly this is a default position for all Sarkarnii warlords.
“I presume you have told the other females what has happened?” Dexx glares at me with his good eye.
“No,” I respond, doing my best not to bristle. “I haven’t said anything. It’s not their business. It’s ours, and it’s up to you what you tell anyone, not me.”
The eye softens slightly, although only slightly, before he closes it again.
“Good,” he murmurs. “You should get some rest, little ember.”
“What about you?”
