Benjamin nodded, but Grace wasn’t sure she’d convinced him.
She hid away for a couple of hours, worried that Liam had spilled the beans to someone. When it was time for Isa’s breakfast, she couldn’t hide anymore. Benjamin gave her a thumbs up and a grin when she went to the kitchens to retrieve Isa’s food. He’d obviously managed to take care of Liam.
Grace grabbed Isa’s breakfast and made her way to the room. Isa was already up and staring out the window. Usually, she was still fast asleep when Grace arrived. Perhaps she had things on her mind as well.
“It’s freezing in here,” Grace said and shoved another log into the fire. Missy danced around her ankles, and Grace slipped her a piece of bacon.
Isa stepped away from the window and flung herself onto the couch. She had dark circles under her eyes.
“Did you sleep last night?” Grace asked.
Isa shook her head and frowned. “I visited Liam.”
Oh, this wasn’t good at all. Isa knew Grace had healed Liam and was trying to figure out what to do with her. Grace unpacked the breakfast with shaking hands, unsure of what would happen next. But she had to say something.
“I’m surprised the guardians let you down there.”
Isa bristled. “I’m queen. I can do whatever I want.”
Grace wanted to argue. The guardians kept a tight hold on Isa, but she didn’t want to push it. “I know. But they are protective of you.”
Isa’s shoulders drooped. “If you must know, Seamus was on guard again and sound asleep.”
Grace hadn’t put Seamus to sleep, but it was possible her spell was more potent than she thought, and he fell asleep every time he was on duty. Sometimes her spells went awry like that because she didn’t fully understand her magic.
“I see.”
“I’m thinking of letting him out. Do you think that would be safe? You’ve spent a lot more time with him than I have.”
Grace sliced up Isa’s sausages. “But not that much. I don’t really know him.” She had to lie. She couldn’t risk Isa finding out what she knew about him.
Isa absentmindedly chewed on a piece of toast. “There’s just something about him, and I hate that he’s down there in that rat hole. How will we ever find out what he’s about if we don’t show some hospitality?”
“I think you’re right.” Grace searched Isa’s face for any sign that she knew about the torture, but it looked like Liam had kept the secret. Because if he hadn’t, Isa would’ve said something or had her tossed already.
Maybe she was safe after all.
Chapter 19
Ruby had no idea what time she fell asleep… if she fell asleep at all. Every time she closed her eyes, she imagined that man, Seamus, pulling the young woman into that house. The men were probably dragons working for this queen. Supposedly, Liam was with the queen now, a dragon who let her people steal from and hurt the local villagers. For the first time since he went missing, she was genuinely concerned about him.
The door banged open early the next morning.
“Get out,” Cora screamed.
Ruby and Skye jumped out of bed. Cora stood at the door, her eyes red and hair wild.
“Get out,” she yelled again.
“Of course we’ll get our things and go. Are you okay?” Skye watched the woman with concern.
Cora collapsed on the floor in a fit of sobs. Skye went over to comfort her but whispered to Ruby. “Pack our stuff quickly.”
Ruby nodded, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the hysterical woman.
“Dead,” Cora sobbed. “Dead, and it’s all your fault.”
“Who’s dead?” Skye asked. Ruby rushed around the room, throwing clothes into the suitcase without bothering to fold them.
“My husband.” Cora sucked in deep wet breaths. “They took him last night, and this morning, he was dead on our doorstep. All because of you.” She shook out of Skye’s embrace. “Get out. Now.”
Ruby gathered their toiletries and zipped the suitcase. She grabbed her backpack and her mom’s purse.
Skye stared at Cora, and Ruby nudged her. “Come on, Mom, we have to go.”
Cora crumpled on the floor again, and Skye moved to help her, but Ruby grasped her arm. “She doesn’t want our help. We need to get out of here before we bring more bad things upon these people.” Guilt settled in her stomach. If they hadn’t come, Cora wouldn’t have lost her husband. This was all their fault.
Skye snatched her purse from Ruby and marched down the hall. Ruby took one last look at the woman and followed her mom, dragging the suitcase behind.
They stepped out into the cool morning air. Skye dug around in her purse, tears falling down her cheeks.
“Mom, it’ll be okay.”
Skye sniffed. “I should’ve kept my mouth shut. But I just wanted to help.”
“I know. And we will, by telling Sid what happened here so he can take out the queen and free these people.”
Skye pulled out the English pounds she had and handed half to Ruby. “Can you put those in that man’s mail slot?”
Ruby took the money and shoved it into the slot on the door of the potato man, and her mom did the same at the innkeeper’s door.
The door behind Ruby opened, and she jumped. The young woman who Seamus hauled into the house stepped out.
She approached Ruby. “Thank you.”
Ruby gave a stiff nod. She didn’t know what to say to this girl who had been violated just hours ago.
Skye looped her arm through Ruby’s, still blinking back tears.
“What’s the matter?” the girl asked.
“Cora’s husband was killed last night because we were staying here.” Skye’s voice cracked a bit, and she sniffed.
The girl gave a nod. “Come with me a moment, will you?”
They followed the girl into an alleyway. “Are you with the rebels?” the girl asked.
Skye shook her head. “We’re American. We came to see if the rebels were right about your queen.”
The girl snorted. “Well, you got an eyeful then, didn’t you?”
“Who were those men?” Ruby asked.
“They are the queen’s men. Call themselves guardians. They take food from us. Another village provides linens and clothes. Another cattle and chickens. Another gives them women…” Her eyes squeezed shut, and Ruby couldn’t help herself.
“But that man, Seamus, he…he…took you. Didn’t he?”
“Aye, he did. But he’s not so bad. I keep hoping he’ll get me pregnant.” Her words come out in a rush, almost as if she doesn’t quite believe them herself.
Skye clutched harder at Ruby’s arm. “Why?”
“Because we’re not allowed to have kids, see. They take them from us when they are babies. We don’t know what they do with them. Kill ‘em maybe. Or maybe they raise them to love the queen. I’m the youngest one in the village, and if I get pregnant, and it’s one of theirs, maybe they won’t take it. Or if they do, they’ll take me with it and let me raise it.”
Ruby could not believe the words she was hearing. She couldn’t fathom this at all. No freedom to raise your own children. To have them snatched right out of your arms. She could never live like this.
“Thank you for telling us what’s going on.” Skye patted the girl’s arm. “We will do our best to help the rebels get rid of this queen.”
The girl nodded. “Thank you. I hope we meet again.”
Skye smiled wearily and dragged Ruby out of the alley and to their rental car.
Ruby still wasn’t sure what this all was about, but she knew one thing for sure now. Liam would be lucky to get home alive. If he was alive at all.
Chapter 20
Benjamin rushed toward Grace. “Thank goodness I found you. I can’t bring Liam food this morning. A cow is calving, and I’m the only one who knows how to handle it.”
His face was twisted in panic. Benjamin was the only person around who had ever studied the veterinary sciences. His father had been t
he animal caretaker before he died.
“What about Marissa?” Grace couldn’t go into the dungeons. Not yet. She wasn’t ready to face Liam. Because even though he hadn’t told Isa, Grace didn’t know if someone else suspected. Grace had heard a few of the guardians muttering something about a wizard—because anytime anything remotely like magic showed up, everyone feared the wizards had somehow survived. Her name hadn’t been brought up, and they didn’t regard her suspiciously. Maybe they thought he healed himself.
“She’s already down at the barns to assist me. Seriously. Isa can wait for whatever she needs. Please just bring Liam his food.”
Grace nodded, nerves settling in her stomach. She could do this. She didn’t have to talk to him. So far, he’d kept his mouth shut, but she didn’t want to answer any questions.
She didn’t even know what she’d say, and she certainly couldn’t risk anyone overhearing their conversation.
She grabbed the breakfast from Olga—two large lemon poppy seed muffins and four thick slices of bacon—and slowly made her way to the dungeons. By now, all the guardians let her go by herself.
Drew opened the door, and she carefully walked down the stairs. Every cell was empty except Liam’s. Grace had asked Isa why they were empty once. Surely the guardians had caught a few rebel spies and had to question them. But Isa told her they never brought the rebels to the island since they had some dungeon on the mainland. They didn’t want to risk bringing such dangerous people close to her.
Grace’s heart beat so hard she was certain Liam could hear it from the other end of the hall. She was being a bit ridiculous, but this was a big deal to her. Nobody could find out that she was a wizard.
She slowed as she got closer to Liam’s cell, worried about his reaction to her. She didn’t want him to fear her, but then again, she didn’t want him being overly friendly either. She was a mess.
Grace approached the cell and found him staring at her from behind the bars. He had warm clothes and blankets again, the ones she had sent with Benjamin. Liam’s face lit up, and he smiled at her. She ignored him and slid his food into the cubby. Her hands shook as she did so.
“Grace.”
He reached through the bars, but she jerked away.
She swallowed. What on earth could she say?
“I’ve kept your secret. I haven’t told anyone. If you want, I won’t ask any more questions about you, but I miss your company. Please come back and just talk to me. I’ll tell you any stories you want about America.”
She stared at him for a few more moments and raced away. She flew up the stairs and down the hall, slowing only once she was far, far away from the dungeons.
Chapter 21
Isa was going stir crazy. She wanted to go outside, but there was no way they were letting her out now. They said the danger was even worse now.
She couldn’t think straight. Liam showing up had her mind racing.
Missy dropped a ball in front of her, and Isa grinned. That fox knew when she needed a distraction.
She found a hall that was long and straight and threw the ball hard. Missy ran after it.
Liam.
Who was he?
There was something about him that she couldn’t explain. He seemed utterly genuine. But she knew that could be faked. He’d reached for her, and she wanted that touch as much as it scared her.
He told her he was here to help her, but maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he would kill her the second he got the chance. Maybe he was a rebel like her guardians said. But he told her that he was here to warn her that the Americans would help the rebels.
And Grace liked him too. She said he was always polite and friendly when she brought him food. Heck, she’d even encouraged Isa to visit him.
Missy released the ball, and Isa threw it again.
It was the opposite of what her guardians said. They said he was a liar and fought them every time they opened the door.
She wished she could know the truth for sure. Then she’d know exactly what to do.
Voices came from around the corner, from near the guardian’s study. She stopped and listened.
“We should just kill him.”
She crept closer but stayed out of sight from the doorway to the study.
“We can’t,” Pierre said.
Missy dropped the ball, but Isa ignored it.
“Why?” Seamus asked. “I’m tired of guarding the door every night. He hasn’t told us anything useful. We know this is the eventual outcome. Let’s get it over with.”
“Seamus is right,” Jude said. “He won’t give us any more information. We need to end this. The longer he is in the castle, the better chance he has of attacking Isa.”
“I’m telling you, we can’t.” Pierre slammed his hand on a table.
Missy nudged Isa’s foot. “Not now,” Isa hissed.
“She won’t find out. She’s never found out about the other rebels who’ve gotten close to the castle,” Jude said.
Pierre snorted. “You came close with that group of American dragons yesterday. If they’d gotten any closer, and she was up in her tower, she would’ve seen them.”
“We had no warning. We were too busy guarding the prisoner here,” Seamus said defensively.
Isa’s stomach fell. Liam had told her that the Americans were aligning with the rebels. He was right. He was here to warn her.
Missy nipped at Isa’s foot. She had to stop herself from crying out. A shadow approached the door, and Isa slipped around the corner. Pierre’s voice carried down the hall.
“She will find out if we kill him. This is the first one she’s met. She’ll want to see him at some point, and she’s the queen. We cannot deny her that.”
“But every second he’s in these walls, her safety is at risk,” Jude argued.
“True. But it has to be her decision. Find a way to do that, and then we can kill him.”
Missy jumped up next to her, and Isa snatched the ball from the ground and threw it harder than she had before. It disappeared into the darkness, and Missy ran after it.
Her guardians were manipulating her. They didn’t tell her about the American dragons because then they would have to admit that Liam was no threat and that he really was here to warn them. She now had a good reason to trust Liam over them.
They would try to convince her that he was bad and should be executed. She wondered how many times they had done this before.
To make something look like her decision when, all along, it was theirs.
Chapter 22
Sid arrived home after a long drive. He had been restless and didn’t know what else to do. He was waiting on Baden to bring Liam home with the extraction team and Skye to arrive back from Europe with reports on the dragon village. He hated sitting around doing nothing. He parked the car, locked it, and slid out the door. He turned around, and Baden collided with him, sending them both to the floor. If Sid wasn’t so concerned, he’d laugh. Runa had done the same thing multiple times when she was alive.
Sid scrambled up and helped Baden right himself. He crouched down so he could look the little dragon in his very worried eyes. Extreme fear and grief rolled off of him.
“What’s wrong?” Sid asked.
“Slaughtered. All of them.” Baden hunched over, his breathing coming fast, and little puffs of multicolored smoke came out of his nostrils.
Sid’s heart clenched. “Who?” He hoped against hope that Liam’s name wasn’t part of this, but he had to prepare himself for the worst.
“The dragons you sent to find Liam. They’re dead, bodies strewn everywhere and so much blood.”
Baden heaved, and rage filled Sid’s chest. He stood, his jaw clenching. He turned and punched the side of his Lexus, leaving a dent. His hand felt like it was on fire, but his heart felt worse. He should’ve been there. Seven of his friends were now all dead, and it was his fault. And he had no way of getting Liam home.
Through tears of hate, Sid managed to ask, “Did you make it to the cast
le?”
Baden shook his head. “I was too upset. I would have messed up the mission. I’m sorry. I’ll go back now.”
“You should rest first.” Those were not the words he wanted to say. He wanted to send Baden straight back. He wanted him to extract Liam from that place before his son’s bloody body was hung up as a trophy. But he knew if he asked him to, Baden would go now, and he couldn’t have Baden’s death on his conscience too. Baden was in no position to fly back right now. He had to be exhausted.
All those dragons, those friends, his people, dead. How big of an army would they need to take over the queen’s castle? He had no idea how many dragons she had loyal to her.
How could he know so little about another dragon tribe? He felt so inadequate as a leader.
They would have to attack.
That much was certain now. She’d killed seven of his dragons in cold blood, and he could not let this go. Jens was right about everything.
“Baden, rest. After that, we need to figure out how to bring Liam home.”
Baden nodded, and Sid appreciated his bravery. Baden was going into a dangerous situation, and now he understood the stakes. He could camouflage himself and get into positions that other dragons couldn’t. He would be the best one to extract Liam. Sid was surprised he hadn’t thought of this before. He shouldn’t have sent the other team at all.
“I will not fail you, Your Majesty. I will get Liam home safe.”
“You will. I’m certain of it. And after that, the queen dies.”
Chapter 23
Grace brought Liam his lunch and dinner that day, but she didn’t say another word to him. Isa had asked her at least three times if she should let him out, but Grace didn’t want to influence her one way or another.
She worried that if Isa let him out, he would let slip that Grace was a wizard. But so far, he hadn’t said a word. In some ways, she was glad he knew. She desperately wanted someone to talk to about all this, and he didn’t seem scared or bothered by her. Maybe it would be good to have someone to confide in.
The Dragon Kings Chronicles: Book 3 Page 5