Farrah shrugged. “Some sort of catharsis for him? We don’t really know, and he wouldn’t tell us.”
“Was he able to see her?” If my mother had met Beyan, I was sure she would have mentioned it to me.
Farrah and Rhyss exchanged glances. “He was at the castle earlier today. I... we... it’s probably best if you talk to him about it.”
I nodded, wondering why my friends were being so cagey. I supposed they were still trying to suss me out, to see if I was truly trustworthy. It hurt, but I couldn’t blame them.
We cleaned up and then prepared the campsite for the night. With all the constant activity around us, Farrah and Rhyss said a watch wasn’t necessary, but I offered to stay up to wait for Joichan and Beyan.
By the time the two men returned, my eyelids were growing heavy and I had to jerk myself awake several times. But as tired as I was, I could tell something had changed between them. What had they talked about? They were much more at ease in each other’s company. Not quite friends, but no longer enemies either.
My father curled up near the fire, eschewing the bedroll Beyan offered him. “One of the advantages of being able to change into an animal is that you adapt easier to your environment.” Well, now I knew how much Joichan had shared about his history. What had he shared of mine? “I may not be able to shift my body, but I can shift my mindset, and it will simply feel like I’m sleeping in my dragon form.”
“I wish it was that easy for me,” Beyan said. “Even after years of traveling, I still have trouble sleeping when I’m on the road.”
“I do too,” I agreed, but my jaw-cracking yawn belied my words.
Joichan laughed and settled in to sleep, as did Beyan and I. Soon my father’s light snoring joined Farrah’s and Rhyss’s gentle breathing. I yawned again, trying to get comfortable on the hard ground.
“Allayne? I mean, Your Highness?” Beyan whispered.
“Just Jennica is fine.” I yawned again “Yes?”
“I... I’m glad you’re back.” His fingers reached out, barely brushing mine.
“I’m glad you and the others aren’t mad at me anymore. I haven’t had many friends in my life. Political acquaintances, yes, but not true friends. It killed me to think that you and Farrah and Rhyss would think poorly of me.”
“It wasn’t Farrah and Rhyss so much as it was me. I was the one who was the angriest. I had a good talk with your... father. He explained a lot of things to me: what he is, what really happened when he was in Calia. What happened when he met my father. I... I understand things better now.”
“Do you still want revenge for your father?” My exhaustion was beginning to outweigh my discomfort, but I fought it, wanting to hear Beyan’s answer.
“Yes. But not against Joichan. The one who should pay is King Hendon. I was looking at the wrong person — dragon? — all along.”
“We have something in common, now.” I laughed softly. Then, in a more serious tone: “Help me, Beyan. Help me stop the king. My mother says he’s grown incredibly powerful. We’ll need all the allies we can get.”
“Of course... Jennica. Whatever help you need, I’ll be there. And I know the others feel the same.”
“Good.” I yawned.
We fell silent for a long moment. Beyan’s fingers curled more tightly around mine. The last thing I heard before I gave into sleep was him murmuring my name. “Jennica...”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
I WOKE UP A LITTLE chilly and disoriented. The cold was from my arms being outside my bedroll. And the confusion was from a very vivid dream about Beyan. I blushed at the memory. Had he been holding my hand when we fell asleep? I turned to face him — and then was really confused. He wasn’t there.
I sat up and survey our campsite. Farrah and Rhyss were just waking up as well. My father and Beyan were missing.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“Your father just left a few minutes ago. He went to get water for us,” Rhyss said. As I recalled, there was a river about two miles away.
“Where’s Beyan? Did he go with Joichan?”
“I don’t think so, I think he was already gone,” Farrah said. “We don’t know where he went.”
“Hopefully he comes back soon,” I said.
With uncanny timing, Beyan appeared at the campsite. He was breathing heavily and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead. He quickly surveyed our group. “Where’s Joichan?”
“He’s headed to the river,” Farrah said. “Where have you been?”
Beyan ignored her and started grabbing whatever he could from the campsite, hastily packing things haphazardly. “Come on, we have to get moving.”
Farrah, Rhyss, and I didn’t move. “What’s going on?” Rhyss asked.
“I’ll explain later, but for now, we have to go,” Beyan said.
“What about Joichan?” Farrah said.
“We’ll find him later. Come on, we don’t have much time.”
His unceasing urgency finally galvanized us into action. We jumped out of our bedrolls and started packing, but it was too late. Heavy footsteps made us look up. Several of King Hendon’s soldiers marched into our campsite.
Two of the soldiers instantly targeted me, grabbing my arms and forcing me away from the others. My friends tried to come to my aid, but found themselves facing the sharp ends of the soldiers’ swords. One of the men stepped forward. I recognized him as Kestos, the Captain of the Guard.
“Kestos! What are you and your men doing? I demand you let me go, right now!” I tried to dig in my heels, but the two men holding me easily lifted me as if I weighed no more than a feather. With the guards holding my arms, I was unable to cast any spells. Not that I would have wanted to; I would never have wanted to do anything, magical or otherwise, against my own people.
Kestos looked at me sadly. “I have to follow orders, Your Highness. Otherwise, there will be consequences.”
He turned to Beyan, who was glaring at the men holding me. “His Majesty, King Hendon of Calia, thanks you for your help, young man.”
Farrah gasped. Rhyss’s eyes grew wide. Beyan turned his glare on Kestos.
“For your service.” Kestos threw a small, dull brown pouch at Beyan’s feet. The clink it made as it landed promised a hefty reward.
“You can keep your filthy money,” Beyan spat out. He made a move, like he was going to pick up the pouch and throw it, but the soldier who held him at sword point moved in closer. Beyan stepped back.
My guards started to haul me toward the castle. The people at the other campsites looked away as we passed; no one wanted to get involved in whatever issue had occurred. My vision was blurring; tears were flowing down my face, unchecked. Through my watery eyes I saw Beyan, Rhyss, and Farrah get smaller and smaller as they helplessly watched me get taken away.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
MY TEARS HAD STOPPED somewhere after we had entered the castle, but once the soldiers dragged me down to the dungeons, they threatened to start again.
I could see through my watery haze that I wasn’t the only one down here. Each cell we passed had at least one or two occupants, sometimes more. Young and old, male and female. Some of the prisoners were mumbling to themselves, while others sat or lay on the ground and stared at the walls. I was shocked to recognize one or two nobles in the cells; I had been informed, months ago, that they had left for their country estates and would be gone for a while. And yet, here they were in the palace dungeons. With me.
One boy started screaming as we passed. I longed to put my hands to my ears to drown out the noise, but since two soldiers had a firm grip on my arms, I didn’t try. Instead, I started at him as we passed, overcome by some morbid fascination. The screaming boy was in the same cell as a young girl who was staring sightlessly out into the corridor. They had similar features. In fact, they were twins. The girl was —
“Sava?” I gasped, and stopped walking to get a better look. It was her, the blueberry-loving kitchen maid that Taryn and I had discussed oh-so-long a
go.
“Sava, are you okay? Why are you in here?” I spoke a little louder, trying to drown out her screaming brother and get her attention. Sava didn’t respond when I called her name. She just kept staring, dead-eyed, at something beyond me.
One of the soldiers holding my arm shook me a little, tightening his grip. “Keep moving.”
Reluctantly, I started walking again. We passed two more cells before the guards unlocked a door and shoved me into a cell. My tears started falling in earnest.
Sniffing, I blinked rapidly, trying to stop the tears and adjust to the dim light coming from a small, barred window near the ceiling.
I stared despondently at the magic-blocking band one of the soldiers had clamped around my wrist before shoving me into the cell. The dark metal bracelet glared back at me, as if daring me to try my abilities. I tried to cast a calling spell; my magic sputtered and recoiled back on me, shocking my hand and causing my heart to beat erratically. I sat down hard, breathless and scared. It was a good thing I hadn’t tried a bigger or more complex spell. Who knows what the repercussions might have been? But it also meant I would not be able to contact Joichan or anyone else through my magic.
I heard rustling somewhere to my left. I gasped and lifted my skirts. Rats?
“Jennica? Is that you?”
My eyes had adjusted enough to see a shadowy figure on the floor. A slim woman with tangled blond curls, whose voice sounded like...
“Taryn?”
She barreled into me, giving me an enormous hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” She stiffened and stepped back, eyes downcast. “I mean... forgive me, Your Highness, for being so familiar.”
I reached out and pulled her back into an embrace. “Taryn, you ninny. Titles don’t matter down here. Especially not between friends. I’m so glad to see you safe.”
My face was wet again, but I was laughing. Taryn was laughing and crying as well. For several minutes, we let it all out, the tension and hysteria and relief and uncertainty. When we had finally controlled ourselves, Taryn sat down on the stone floor and patted the area next to her. Gingerly, I joined her, gathering my skirts around me and keeping a lookout for rats, roaches, and other vermin.
“I guess you could say I’m safe, in a manner of speaking.” Taryn ran her fingers through her hair, which was a dusty mess from sleeping on the floor. “The guards took me while I was waiting for you. I had just closed the secret door when they came for me. I hope they didn’t find the passage.”
“Not to my knowledge. We did find your ribbon, though.” I handed back the bit of blue cloth that I still carried in my dress pocket.
Taryn took it back gratefully and tied it around her hair. “It must have gotten caught in the door. Thank you for bringing it back to me.”
“Of course. I’m just happy to find you again. What happened after the guards took you?”
“They brought me before the king. He questioned me about you, how long you had been gone, where you went and why. He seemed to know a lot about your leaving already; it felt like he just wanted me to fill in some of the missing pieces.”
“Mother said he used magic on her to force her to give him information.”
“I didn’t know the king could do magic. I thought he didn’t like magic.”
“He doesn’t. Which makes me wonder how he is able to do any magic in the first place, let alone become so powerful. It takes a certain amount of skill and power to force information out of someone without breaking their mind. Did he do that to you?”
“No. He didn’t use magic on me.” Taryn paused, looking confused as if trying to recall something just beyond her memory’s reach. “At least, I don’t think so. Maybe he felt, as a lowly servant, I wasn’t worth it. And I don’t think I added too much to his knowledge; once he started having me watched, I made sure you and I weren’t in contact as much. I’m sorry for that, but often it just didn’t feel safe to answer your summons.”
“I understand. So then what happened?”
Taryn massaged her temples, as if her head hurt. “I... I’m not sure. He questioned me, then the next thing I remember is being in this cell. But when the guards took me, it was nighttime. When I was in here, it was noon. Or maybe early afternoon, from the slant of the sun. I didn’t fall asleep; if anything I was exhausted, as if I had been up all night. But I can’t recall what happened between meeting the king and coming in here. I’ve tried and tried to remember, and every time my head aches and I draw a blank.”
She squeezed her eyes shut against the pain, digging the heels of her hands into her head. I reached out and touched her shoulder. “It’s okay, Taryn. Don’t push yourself to remember if it hurts too much.”
Taryn relaxed, but only a little. “It frightens me, not knowing.”
I wished I could reassure my friend, but we both knew there was nothing I could say or do that wouldn’t ring false. Instead I changed the subject, hoping Taryn might have information.
“Did you know Sava is in here? And her brother as well? They’re a few cells down from us.”
“I didn’t know that,” Taryn said. “I tried talking to whoever is locked up next door, but they seem to have lost their mind.”
“That seems to be true for everyone in here.” I told Taryn what I had seen in the other cells.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Taryn said. “But it sounds an awful lot like all those people they keep finding in the town.”
“Whatever Hendon’s doing, I’m going to find out. And I’m going to stop him,” I declared.
Taryn didn’t say anything. I think we both knew that my bravado was just my way of trying to make us feel better. So we just sat in silence, leaning against each other more for human connection than for support.
TIME PASSED IN A SLOW, mind-numbing crawl. How many hours had passed since the guards had thrown me in here? It was hard to tell.
Taryn didn’t have any more news, so I told her mine — finding my father, developing my shapeshifting abilities. When I mentioned I could change into a dragon, Taryn perked up, wondering if I could transform and then break us out of the cell.
I perked up as well, looking around our prison with renewed interest. After a thorough investigation, I shook my head sadly.
“I don’t think it would be wise,” I said. “I’m not as big as my father when I transform, but a dragon is still way bigger than any human. I could transform and break the walls. Or I could transform and be too big for this space, cramped and unable to move or do anything useful.”
Taryn blew out her breath, disappointed. “I suppose you’re right; now’s not the time to experiment. But maybe as a last resort...?”
“I’ll definitely keep it in mind.”
I finished filling Taryn in on the rest of my story. “And then Beyan, that liar, brought back a bunch of soldiers to our camp! We didn’t stand a chance. They grabbed me and took me away, and that’s how I ended up here.”
Taryn clicked her tongue in sympathy. “I can’t tell if you’re more upset over being captured or over leaving Beyan behind.”
“Excuse me?”
“Okay, fine. Beyan — and the others — behind.”
“I could care less what happens to that two-timing seeker! I trusted him.”
“And he trusted you, and look what happened. His charge taken by a dragon, his mission in ruins... I think if you two didn’t care so much it wouldn’t have mattered so much.”
“He only cared about killing my father!” I said indignantly. Taryn just raised an eyebrow at me. “Well, it’s true!”
She shook her head, trying to hide her smile. But I could hear it in her voice. “Of course, Princess. Whatever you say.”
I wanted to keep arguing, but I wasn’t even sure what we were arguing about. Plus, I knew I wouldn’t be able to win the argument. Not when Taryn was in that mood.
It put me into a mood. And why was I so flustered about this, anyway?
We fell into a companionable silence. Eventually I doze
d off, since there wasn’t much else to do.
In my half-hazy state, I heard the heavy tread of boots in the hallway. I instantly came awake. Looking out into the dim torch-lit hallway, I could see two long shadows on the ground. The footsteps stopped right outside our door, and then metal grated on metal as a key turned in the lock.
Taryn and I jumped to our feet, trying to press into the wall.
The cell door swung in and a guard appeared, stepping to the side to allow someone in. The newcomer sniffed in disdain as he looked around our dirty prison, making a pretense of trying to keep his pristine robe from dragging in the dirt. His all-white tunic and breeches were already dusty from the trek down into the dungeons. I had a fleeting, idle moment of sympathy for the servants who would have to clean such an outfit.
Taryn’s fingers dug into my arm as the man turned to appraise us. Contempt dripped from his expression even as the jewels dripping from his body dazzled in the dim light.
It was King Hendon.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“HELLO, FATHER!” I PASTED the sweetest smile I could muster on my face, desperately turning on the charm. “Thank goodness you’ve come to straighten out this misunderstanding. Please don’t punish these men too severely.”
Turning my fake smile on the guard, I expected to see some sort of relieved or scared reaction from him. But instead, there was... nothing. His eyes were completely blank; he wasn’t registering anything that was happening before him. I covered my confusion as I looked back at the king.
Who did not look at all happy to see me.
“Drop the act,” King Hendon hissed. “We both know you’re not my daughter.”
My heart sank. I had assumed he only knew about my journey to find Joichan. Now I knew: he knew everything.
“Dragon spawn.” Hendon practically spat the words at me. “Had I known how faithless your mother was, I would have had her killed long ago.”
My eyes narrowed. Since he knew the truth, there was no point in pretending anymore. “Don’t flatter yourself. She could never have been faithless to you. You never had her heart to begin with.”
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