“What are you doing?” she asks from her seated position on the floor.
Trying to make a difference.
“I’m going to get us out of here,” I say and race back over to the wall of weapons, grabbing a large axe to drag back with me into the cell. She watches me but doesn’t flinch or cry out as I pull my arms over my shoulders and attempt to swing.
It bounces uselessly off the iron chain.
“Why are you helping me?” Eira asks softly.
“Because no one deserves what you have endured,” I pant. “Because I believe you. And because if we don’t help each other, we won’t make it.”
Over and over I swing until my arms are shaking and I’m breathing hard. I toss the weapon down and go examine where the leash is bolted to the floor, looking for any point of weakness or a lock that I might be able to pick. Nothing.
“Do you have talons or fangs or anything?” The hope I felt just moments before is quickly sinking.
“I’m too weak to shift. They gave me some sort of sedative, I think.”
“What about fire? Can you breathe fire and try and melt the iron?”
Even as I suggest it, I know it sounds ridiculous. If she could breathe fire, I’m sure she would have already.
As I suspected, she shakes her head sadly.
Fire, I think and a tingle zips down my spine. I glance around at the sconces lining the cavernous space and watch the orange and yellow flames flicker lazily. My breath comes out in a whoosh, and I meet Eira’s eyes again.
“Okay. New plan,” I tell her and bring a torch to lie beside us in the cell. I hold one hand over the flame and use the other to grip the chain about three feet from where it’s attached to the collar at her neck.
My eyes clamp shut, and I focus on that small tingle of magic that I have worked so hard to repress all these years. I think of heat and flame and yellow sun. I recall years of anger at my father, fear of Alderon, despair when my mother was killed; I feed it all to the flame bubbling and boiling inside of my chest. There is no memory left untouched. I relive it all and focus every bit of heat and fire into my palms.
The magic that is coursing through me swells and pulses and cracks open a well with reserves I did not believe possible.
Iron squeals and I clench my fingers tightly, jerking with all my might until the pieces fall away from each other. Eira gasps, and I feel the weight of the metal links drop. I open my eyes and stare at the smoldering end of the leash that still lies in my hand.
It worked.
Her eyes are wide and shocked.
“Mother above...” she croaks and something almost like hope lights her face.
There’s no time to celebrate or reflect on what I just accomplished. I wrap Eira in my cloak – pulling the hood up to cover her hair and shadow her face. It will have to be enough.
“Follow me.”
I grasp her hand tightly and we fly up the stairs and through the empty hallways. Despite her injuries, she keeps up and voices no complaints. We approach the large walkway that funnels up and out a tunnel to the surface – another gate and a guard post are all that stands between us and a chance at escape. I pick up two of the weapons lining the hallways and tell Eira our plan. She nods solemnly and follows behind me at a distance.
A single guard is at the post tonight. There’s an empty pitcher of ale at his feet and he sings something quietly under his breath - gaze unfocused. I am tempted to wait it out and see if he dozes off, but we cannot risk someone else approaching.
It’s now or never.
“Wait for my signal,” I whisper and run for the guard, my blonde hair swirling wildly around me and a blade in my hand.
“Sir!” I call and skid to a stop in front of him.
He stands and reaches for his sword until he sees that I am alone. His stance relaxes and he staggers back in relief.
“Mother almighty! You scared the piss out of me! Fuck! What-”
“Now!” I call and Eira moves from the shadow behind me, her arms surprisingly steady as she holds the crossbow cocked and trained on the guard. His eyes flit to her and the iron collar clamped around her neck and back to the sword that I now have aimed at his throat.
“Open the gate,” I hiss at him.
He stands stock still, eyes wide and shocked as he looks between Eira and I.
“Open. The. Gate,” I say again and press the point of my weapon into his skin.
“What the fuck, Seda?” he shouts and moves back towards the lever while I follow closely. “What are you doing? Raimund will kill you for this, you know? Not to mention whatever that Cradick fucker will do. And who the fuck is that?” he says and pulls the gate open.
“She is none of your concern,” I say.
The gate rises smoothly, and I hold my sword trained on him until it reaches the top of the doorway. He curses and mumbles under his breath, finally turning to meet my eyes with a now what look on his face.
“Lie down,” I instruct.
He scowls until I press my blade lightly at the base of his throat. He turns and sends a murderous look over his shoulder before slowly lowering himself to the wet floor.
“Fucking b-” he starts before I hit him hard at the base of his skull with the hilt of my sword.
Eira drops the crossbow and it clatters loudly on the stone. My eyes shoot to her and I give her an encouraging nod. We run through the gate and then…
We are free.
I gasp in lungful’s of fresh air and let the misty rain coat my face. I look over at Eira who is doing the same. She stretches her arms out and smiles a beautiful smile as she looks over at me - understanding passes between us.
Thank you, she mouths, and I nod before motioning for her to follow me.
The sky is gray, and the sun has not yet started to rise, but we don't have much time. I race for the small pasture storing a few horses and other livestock. Spying a familiar freckled hide, I call out for him.
“Apollo!” I whistle, and the horse rouses and walks sleepily towards me. I rub his face gently and Eira walks over and runs her hand over his long neck. He sniffs her curiously and nudges my hands with his nose.
“I’m afraid we need your help, sweet boy,” I say and guide him out into the open. “Can you ride?” I ask Eira, and she shakes her head but doesn’t look afraid. “Apollo is the fastest of our stock but has a nice smooth gait. We need speed and a generous head start if we’re going to outrun everyone,” I tell her and help her quickly onto his back. I slide on in front of her. “Hold on tightly.”
She wraps her arms around my middle, and I notice that her cuts look better than they did in The Pit.
“Do you know which way is home?” I ask over my shoulder.
I feel her nod, and she extends one arm out in front of her, pointing towards the silhouette of crooked mountains to the north.
“There.” Her voice is quiet and hopeful.
“I’ll get you as close as I can before we part ways. It’s the best I can do.”
I look at Illburn one last time before I nudge Apollo’s sides and ride towards a new beginning.
We ride for three days. Stopping only long enough for quick, restless sleep and to relieve Apollo. The morning of the fourth day, the sun is just beginning to lighten the sky and the rain has stopped completely. I nudge Eira awake and meet her groggy, exhausted eyes.
“The sun is up,” I say and rise stiffly from the hard ground. My stomach is tight and painful with hunger, I’m sure hers is as well.
Eira stands and brushes herself off without complaint. She is so much stronger than I suspected. I had worried with the extent of her injuries that she would struggle on the journey and need more rest than we could afford ̶ and that was if she didn’t develop a fever or infection.
The rain has rinsed most of the blood and dirt from her hair and face. Where the collar is attached, the skin is still red and raw, but all the other cuts and gashes over her arms and legs have healed over with healthy, golden skin. She notic
es my gaze and nods.
“It will probably take another day to completely heal the rest. My back will be the worst of it. Something about that room ̶ that cell ̶ kept me weak. I can still feel the way the blackness seemed to overflow from that hole in the ground,” she says and shivers.
“The Pit,” I say, and she meets my eyes and tilts her head questioningly.
“It’s what we call that place. As in ‘the Pits of Hell’.”
“Fitting.” She exhales sharply and shakes her head.
I look around and gauge the distance to the mountain range ahead. I need to start moving east and find a river. There is a city on the water that might take me in if I don’t let on where I’ve come from. It’s a risk. If Alderon and Raimund are searching for me, they’re bound to visit all the neighboring cities.
“Do you recognize anything yet?” I ask, stroking Apollo’s soft, warm neck.
“Not yet. It’s hard to recognize anything from down here, though. Hopefully we are close enough that someone might be able to spot me if they’re looking.”
“Your family?” I ask, but she shakes her head.
“We have patrols that monitor the outer boundary of our land.”
“Ah.”
Eira moves to stand in front of the horse and he nickers and nudges her with his velvet nose. It’s a comfortable silence that we have established over the past few days of holding each other up as we pushed on and on.
“You should take him with you,” I tell her. “I don’t know how much farther I have to go, and he needs real food, a warm place to rest, and a good grooming after all this running.”
Her brown eyes are wide and surprised. I give Apollo a solid pat and avoid her gaze, turning and moving a little bit away. I can’t erase the fear and doubt from my face, and I don’t want her to see it there- better to keep moving.
“You aren’t going back?” she asks and forces my face to hers. She studies me quietly and her mouth sets into a sad line.
“I can’t.” I sigh.
“Because of me? Maybe you could-”
“No. Because of me,” I say. “What they did to you - what they were going to do - I can’t answer to someone like that for the rest of my life. I can’t fall in line and be a part of that.”
“Where will you go?” she asks softly.
“There’s another city a ways to the east. They may take me in and offer some shelter - at the very least hopefully some supplies to last a few days. I’ll be fine.”
“Won’t your husband look for you there?” We walk slowly out into the clearing beyond the trees, Eira holds the lead gently and Apollo follows as well. We move slowly, the stress and lack of sleep and food is catching up to us.
“I don’t have a husband,” I murmur, and we continue to walk in silence for a while. She doesn’t push or ask me any more about my relationship to Alderon or anyone else back there.
“Come with me,” she says suddenly and I shoot her the most incredulous look I can muster.
“I mean it,” she says evenly. “I owe you my life.”
“No.” I shake my head. “You don’t.”
“I do. We’re in this together, now,” she says firmly. “Please. Let me help you.”
I sigh, some of the fight draining out of me but not the logic behind it.
“I appreciate your offer and I know that your heart is in the right place, but you know it’s impossible. I would be torched on the spot before you could even explain my presence,” I say bluntly.
She flinches.
“The High Council would welcome you if you asked for asylum. I know you have little reason to believe me, but we are good people. You’d be safe.”
I open my mouth to argue, but she cuts me off.
“You have nowhere else to go.”
I don’t respond right away, and we continue hiking along the tree line, neither of us willing to bend. I think about what Raimund would do with a hostage from a rival city, and with what Eira went through at our hands - I’d be flayed alive.
Something shifts in the air, and I glance up as Apollo’s ears flick from side to side. I glance around and Eira catches my gaze, seemingly unruffled.
“Seda,” she says. “Please consider my offer. You’d be a fool to think you’re better off on your own - hungry, tired, and on foot.”
Her expression is so earnest that I can’t help but nod. I have no intention of being anywhere close when they come for her, but I appreciate her concern.
“You have a kind heart, Eira,” I tell her and hear her breath catch.
I glance over and see her eyes dart over my shoulder. Apollo stomps and tosses his head nervously. When I turn to see what’s caught her eye, my stomach drops and my heart stutters.
A massive Dragon is racing towards us on the horizon, membranous wings pumping rapidly and causing the trees beneath him to bend and sway.
Mother above.
If I had any food in my stomach, I’m sure I would have cast it up right then. My magic senses the rising panic and begins vibrating inside of my chest. The wind whips through our hair and the ground begins to shake.
“It’s Dederic.” Eira tries to reassure me, eyes fixed on the giant moving across the sky.
I make some kind of croaking sound before she grasps my hand and tugs me forward, farther into the clearing. If my brain had any function left, I would be digging my heels in and breaking away from her to take cover. Apparently, though, all traces of survival instincts have vanished, and I trot along behind her like a pet.
The Dragon slows his descent and angles his giant body back to land in front of us - those clawed feet tearing into the earth to steady himself. He is the largest creature I have ever seen in my life and I catalog every feature that I am now able to take in up close; solid black scales, rows of sharp ridges along his back and legs, long tail ending in more painful-looking spikes. He has at least two rows of teeth, huge green eyes, and black claws as long as I am tall. The Dragon is on all fours now and looking straight at us as his tail slashes back and forth. I try and shake my hand loose from Eira’s and he rears his head back and blasts a sound loud enough that I slam my palms over my ears.
She sobs and runs ahead of me while I grip Apollo’s lead and stand shocked and unmoving.
Without warning, where I had just been looking at a giant beast from the devil’s own army, now stands a man. No twinkling stars or magic words or burst of light - simply a huge creature one moment and a very human-looking man the next.
He wraps Eira in a familial embrace and she cries with relief into his chest. He holds her and lets her unload the stress and exhaustion and the terror of her capture.
How lovely, I think, to have someone to lean on like that.
His green eyes meet mine over her shoulder and there is a bit of wariness and suspicion mixed with curiosity. He grasps her arms and sets her back slightly and takes in her appearance; a deep rumbling growl escapes at the sight of the thick metal collar around her neck.
“Warin is on his way,” he tells her and rests a reassuring hand on her elbow. His eyes find mine again and Eira faces me now as well.
“What have we here?” he growls. “It appears you dragged something back with you, Eira.”
I stiffen at the bite in his words and become painfully aware of who I am to him and what I must look like.
His gaze rakes over my filthy dress, stained with dirt and horse and no small amount of blood from Eira’s wounds. My hair is a tangled riot of blonde fluff and I’m covered in mud. I look like the forest chewed me up and spat me out.
Eira yanks his arm sharply and digs her long nails into his skin. He watches her carefully but issues no reproach for her aggression.
“Don’t. She is the only reason I am standing here alive. She saved my life,” she hisses at him, “and risked her own to do so.”
Dederic’s forest-green gaze falls on me again and he does not bother to hide the disbelief that lingers there. I lift my chin and meet his stare with a boldness th
at I do not feel; praying that Dragons cannot smell fear.
My attention is drawn to the sky as another set of wings approaches. A second Dragon, this one a deep red, races towards us and I can’t help the yelp that escapes as he changes from beast to man before his feet even touch the ground. The outburst flies from my throat, and I clamp a hand over my mouth to stifle it.
“Yes, your savior here is the epitome of bravery,” Dederic mutters.
An embarrassed blush blossoms on my cheeks, and his eyes follow it as it spreads across my face and down my neck. I don’t like the way he is watching me, and I bring Apollo’s large warm body between us so that I can take a few slow steps backwards. He notices anyway and tilts his head in a strange predatory way as he tracks the movement.
I suddenly feel very much like prey caught in a trap. My gaze slides towards Eira, but she is wrapped in the arms of the newcomer.
The red Dragon, Warin, is holding Eira securely so that her mud-caked feet dangle off the ground. He is kissing her hair and murmuring low into her ear while she keeps her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He sets her back on the ground but keeps his forehead pressed to hers - the love apparent on his face. I avert my gaze and ignore the hollow pang of sadness in my chest.
“We need to move,” Dederic calls over. Warin finally looks our way and his gaze cuts to me before he dips his chin in agreement.
“I can’t shift. We’ve been without food or water or sleep...” Eira trails off apologetically.
“It’s fine. You’ll come with me,” Warin says. I’m surprised by the smooth, gentle pitch of his voice.
“We’ve got a ways to go. We won’t arrive until after dark,” Dederic rumbles to my left.
He’s moved and is standing close enough I can smell the wind still clinging to his skin.
Eira catches my eye, and I try subtly to shake my head.
“What about Seda?” she asks, looking to Dederic.
Song of Smoke: A Dragon Shifter Romance (The King's Series Book 1) Page 3