Page 41 of The Dragon Sacrifice

The tiniest pulse of light began to glow from the jewels that resided amongst the stone. When Jerrard glanced back, he could make out Seela, just a dark shape in the middle of the cave. And he could see their webbed prison. The sticky walls were so thick he couldn’t see beyond them.

“You did it,” Seela said happily as he returned. Now that he could see her up close, it was clear what kind of ordeal she’d been through. Her dress was ripped nearly to shreds, and she had small cuts on the exposed skin. But her face was just as beautiful, maybe more so since it reminded him of what she’d sacrificed to save them.

“Light from the gems is not much.” He folded down next to her, letting his leg stop just inches from hers. “But it’ll help.”

“It helps a lot. It isn’t quite as terrifying if we can spot them coming.” She glanced around the space. “I see what you mean about the webbing. How do they make that?”

“I’m not sure,” Jerrard said. “I’ve never seen webs like this.” He didn’t want to say it, but he suspected the horde was growing in strength as they were weakening.

Seela frowned. “You would’ve thought if they could do this, they would’ve used it when they imprisoned you in the first place.”

“Maybe they didn’t have time.”

“Maybe,” she said in a way that let him know that excuse didn’t sound quite right. “Either way, we need to get out of here before they do whatever it is they plan on doing to us.”

Jerrard winced. He didn’t want to scare Seela, but they were in big trouble. If his brothers weren’t waiting outside to rescue them, there was little hope. “Stenton and Langdon will come,” he said with as much hope as he could muster.

She nodded, her eyes roving around the web as if testing it with her mind. “It’s too bad we don’t have fire to burn our way through.”

One more way he was letting Seela down. “Only Stenton can shift. Let’s hope he’s still able.”

Seela nodded thoughtfully, her head drooped to his shoulder. The smell of her hair, even after all they’d been through, was like a field of wildflowers. He gently leaned his head against it, taking comfort from her presence.

“I wish I could’ve helped more,” she said, sighing. “I really thought drawing them out would allow Stenton room to shift and finish them.”

“It was very brave what you did,” he said. “But please don’t put yourself in harm’s way again. My heart can’t take it. When I saw you barreling into the hallway…” He whistled low.

Seela’s head shook a little underneath his. “They were so damn fast. Anyway, I tried. I can’t just sit around while those things kill us all. I wish there was more that I could do.”

Jerrard bit his tongue, thinking of the prophesy, the curse. How could he tell her what they suspected without making her feel like she should give up her virginity? The simple answer was he couldn’t. He would have to find another way.

“We’ll get out of this.” He punctuated his words by pounding his fist against his thigh.

As if she’d been reading his mind, Seela sat bolt upright. “Wait! Wasn’t there something about breaking the curse? Stenton mentioned there was something I could do just before we were attacked.”

“Oh, I don’t… know.” He was not a good liar, so he dropped his eyes to the floor.

Seela got on her knees to face him, now suddenly excited at the prospect of finding a solution. “What’s going on? Why is your face so red? You know something you aren’t telling me.” Jerrard shook his head, darting his eyes away, but she wouldn’t allow it. “Tell me!”

He took a deep breath. “It something about dragons finding a mate.”

“Finding a mate?” she cocked her head to the side. “What does that mean? Like marriage?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what? Why are you being so secretive? If it can get us out of here, we should try it.”

Jerrard finally met her gaze, seeing no other way out of the predicament he’d found himself in. “It means… sex, Seela. Making Love.”

“Oh.” She sat back on her heels, her expression thoughtful.

“There has to be another way out of this. I’ll try again.” He got up, partially to avoid the awkward conversation and partly to make himself useful. But before he could get halfway to the web wall, she had caught up to him. Her slender hand slipped around his wrist. When he turned, her large brown eyes were staring up at him.

And then she was throwing her arms around him, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him.

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