Page 34 of Marked Dragon

It had to be the door at the end of the hallway, the very one King Arman stood in front of with a lit candle.

His gaze landed on Errol, and he frowned.

Great. He wouldn’t allow us to leave with his advisor. What else could go wrong?

He opened the door and waved us in. As soon as Thorn and I entered the room, he shut and locked the door behind us. The candle held a strong scent—French vanilla—and it diluted the smell around us.

This had to be the king and queen’s bedroom. It was massive, taking up the entire side of the house. Windows overlooked the back, facing the terrace where Vlad and Saphira stood, shooting guns, and the front of the house, where Cassidy was firing.

Saphira’s long, curly, dark brown hair was swept back in a low ponytail, and her mocha-brown eyes squinted as she fired the weapon. Her skin was back to its normal gorgeous bronze color. Vlad stood beside her with a rifle. His wavy, caramel hair was no longer greasy, and his cornflower-blue eyes were locked on the fighters below. His ivory skin looked almost ghostly next to Saphira but was alluring in its own right.

Cassidy’s dark gold-brown hair hung in her face, but her hazel-green eyes were focused outside. Her light tan complexion was closest to Thorn’s.

They each wore a black shirt and jeans.

None of the guards had been stationed inside the chateau. They hadn’t expected a threat to come from inside.

Like the rest of the house, the same wood accents were present, but that was where the similarities ended. A gigantic bed with a gold frame sat against the far wall. A royal purple blanket sat folded on the end of the bed, on top of a white comforter. Above the bed, a circular section of the ceiling was cut out, platter style, and painted a royal purple in the center where a bronze chandelier hung. To the right, a spectacular gold-framed painting took up the entire wall, with two purple chairs that had been pushed against the bed in front of it. On the other side were an enormous black cherry wood desk, a sectional, and a table where a huge sunset puzzle that had only been partially put together.

My heart hammered, and despite my new dragon strength, my sister was getting heavier…enough to make me winded. I’d hoped that my days of forcing myself to exercise were behind me, but even as a dragon shifter, I would have to work out.

King Arman hung his head, then glanced at Thorn, Errol, Eva, me, and back to Thorn. Gesturing to everyone in the room, he said, “I hope you realize how much I’m giving up and betraying by helping you.”

My eyes widened. He had to be kidding.Thatwas what he’d wanted to say when Thorn would be leaving again and never returning?

“That’s worse than trying to have your own son killed and then guilting him when you’re trying to set something right for him?” I lifted my chin despite the sweat beading on my face from how damn heavy my sister was. “Please, spare us the theatrics. You wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for Drake.”

Saphira snorted.

I was so sick and tired of the royals’ attitude. They’d tried to kill Thorn, then had given him up, while Drake—the epitome of a douchebag—could do no wrong. Something was messed up in their heads, and I was done tolerating their stupidity.

“Now listen here—” King Arman started, but then a loud groan echoed through the room.

CHAPTERTWELVE

My head whippedtoward Vlad and Saphira, and my ears thundered. Vlad stumbled back with a tranq dart in his arm. He gripped the tranq and tossed it to the floor, swaying on his feet.

He was going to black out at any second.

“You have toleavenow, before you can’t.” King Arman rushed to the huge painting and slipped his hand behind the bottom right corner of the gold frame.

Saphira wrapped an arm around Vlad, tossed him over her shoulder, and ran from the window. Tranqs pelted the area where the two of them had been standing seconds ago, and I realized that another round of warriors was in place.

Feet pounded below as the painting and frame slid sideways.

“Go.” Arman pointed at the passage he’d revealed. “I’ve arranged for someone to pick you up at the other end, but it’ll be several hours from now, so stay in the tunnel until I can divert the warriors and you can get out unseen. Donotfly. They’ll be searching for your scents. Go south. My contact will meet you on the main road a few miles beyond the dragon lands.”

Cassidy was the first to move. She rushed to the king and lifted a brow. “They won’t believe we didn’t harm you.”

“Fine,” he snarled as he placed the candle on the nightstand and broke the window next to the bed so it would appear as if we’d escaped. He came back to stand in front of her. “I deserve it, so do it.”

A deep growl emanated from Thorn, and he handed Errol off to Cassidy. “Let me.”

Hurt and anger swirled inside me from him, and I wanted to tell him not to strike the king. But if I ever got a chance to knock out my stepdad, I’d do it without hesitation. He’d been awful to me, but not nearly as bad as King Arman had been to his son.

Nodding, Cassidy adjusted Errol in her arms and took off into the hidden passage with Saphira right behind her, carrying Vlad.

More warriors clambered up the stairs.

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