Page 64 of Bride of the Black Dragon
I can’t sit here, pacing in a gilded cage, while Xaren is chained in the dungeons—his Drake sealed behind that cruel iron collar. I can feel it suffering. I don’t know how to explain it, even to myself, but ever since I touched him… ever since I wrapped my arms around that massive obsidian head and felt his love flooding into me like sunlight through stained glass… it’s like a thread has been spun between us.
A bond…invisible and unbreakable. And through that bond, I dream.
Every night, the images come to me. I dream of golden eyes gone dim with pain…of massive black wings curled in despair…of the Drake crying out for me—not with words, but with heartache.
Help me, please. Don’t let me fade!
I wake from those dreams gasping, my skin damp with sweat and my heart thudding in my chest like a drum. Sometimes I hear the echo of wingbeats when there’s no wind at all. Sometimes I look in the mirror and think I see something silver shimmer behind my shoulders—soft and luminous, like wings.
I think I’m changing. I don’t know what into. But I do know this: if Xaren’s Drake dies, he won’t survive it. The two of them are entwined—two halves of a whole. He cannot live without the beast inside him—if his Drake fades and dies, he will too.
And I can’t let that happen.
“Tanzy,” I whisper one morning, as she’s brushing out my hair by the wide balcony window. “Do you… do you know of any way out of here? Any way that doesn’t go past the guards?”
She stiffens just slightly. Her eyes flick to the door…then back to me.
“I… shouldn’t say.” Her voice is barely audible. “They told me not to tell you anything. Not to speak of old ways or castle secrets.”
I reach up and touch her hand.
“Tanzy, please. I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t life or death. I’m really worried about Xaren—I must see him.”
“But my Lady, he’s locked in the dungeons and you know they keep them guarded,” she protests.
“I know but I have to find a way. I have to get the key to his collar—they’re killing his Drake and if the Drake dies, he will too!”
She knows about the restraining collar of course—the whole of the Citadel knows that the Queen locked her own son up to keep his Drake contained. She hesitates… and then nods slowly.
“There is a way. But it’s tight, and dark, and you mustn’t speak of it to anyone. Behind the tall mirror—see there, the one with the dragon frame? If you shift it to the left, there’s a notch in the wall. Press it, and the panel will open. There’s a passage behind it.”
My heart leaps in my chest. So there is a way out of here!
“Where does it go?” I ask eagerly.
“To the King and Queen’s wing.” Tanzy looks nervous. “But you must be careful, my Lady. It’s been unused for years. There could be listening spells or even magical wards. You don’t know what she’s hidden in there.”
“I’ll be careful,” I promise. “Thank you.” I squeeze her hand. “You’ve done more than you know.”
“I only hope I haven’t gotten you into more trouble than you’re already in.” Tanzy looks worried but I feel elated. Finally, there’s something I can do!
And I fully intend on doing it at the first opportunity.
33
ELAINA
That afternoon, a parade of armed soldiers carrying war banners winds through the lower court—a celebration of the Queen’s latest conquest over a rebellious province in the south. It’s a victory lap cloaked in silk and smugness and everyone in the Citadel, with a very few exceptions, is required to attend.
I hear the horns from my room. The guards outside my door mutter to one another and shift in their boots. Clearly they have been excused so they can keep watching me—not that it will do them any good.
This is the best opportunity I’m going to get and I’m taking it.
I slip behind the dragon-framed mirror, just as Tanzy instructed, my breath catching as the panel slides inward with a faint click. A narrow stone corridor opens before me, cloaked in dust and shadow, barely wide enough for my shoulders. I squeeze in sideways and let the panel close behind me.
I find myself in total darkness. Claustrophobia slips icy fingers around my throat but I take a deep breath and do my best to ignore it. I must find my way through to the Queen’s quarters—I must get the key to Xaren’s collar.
I think of going back for a torch—but I fear I’ll lose my nerve if I do and not come back to the tight, narrow tunnel. I decide to press ahead.
