As soon as they dropped their stuff in their room, they went to dinner. A girl Ruby’s age brought them their food. On her plate were two large pieces of fried fish and giant fries.
Skye looked up at the girl. “I would like to talk to your mother.”
The girl’s eyes widened. “If the food isn’t what you like, I can bring you something else.”
“The food is fine, but I have a message from a friend of hers.”
The girl gave a stiff nod and escaped behind a door. “She seemed scared,” Ruby said.
Her mom nodded. “But teens sometimes are intimidated by adults. Especially foreign ones. I’m glad you’re not like that.”
Ruby grinned as she munched on her fries. Her mom probably wished she was more like that sometimes in spite of what she said. Ruby argued with her mom and other adults all the time.
The innkeeper came out, rubbing floured hands on her apron. She had a warm grin on her face. “How can I help you?”
“I was told by Jens that you might have some information for me.”
She glared at Skye. “I don’t know the name.” Her voice had gone cold.
Skye gave her a dazzling smile, which worked on most people. Ruby’s mom was capable of getting about anything she wanted. Mostly because she was beautiful but also because she was always so sincere. “He said you might say that. But I know you’re a dragon, and I know you’re being oppressed by the queen.”
The woman snorted. “Dragon. You’re barking mad. The only queen I recognize is the Queen of England, and she hasn’t done anything oppressive in years. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have bread to finish.”
She escaped to the kitchen, and Mom sighed. “Well, I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t expect downright denial.”
“Did Jens give you other people to talk to?” Ruby was excited to see what they would find. She’d never been on a mission before. It seemed so exciting.
“He did. Let’s finish eating, and we’ll check out the town.”
It was dark by the time they got back to the inn. Not a single person would admit to being a dragon, but there was evidence everywhere. Dragon paintings on the walls. The pub was called the Drunken Dragon, and every single eye averted at the name Jens.
Something odd was definitely going on, but Ruby wasn’t sure if they would be able to find it.
Chapter 10
The guardians never let Grace visit Liam on her own. She brought him all the things he needed, so at least, he wouldn’t freeze anymore. In the evenings, she brought a pitcher of hot water so he could wash.
She always waited while he ate, an impatient guardian at her side, but never in the evenings. She wanted him to have his privacy. She wasn’t able to give Isa any useful information though as the guardians always hovered. Isa was angry about the conditions he was being kept in, but so far, she’d been unable to convince Pierre to let him out.
Grace carried her steaming pitcher of water and stopped when she came around the corner. Seamus stood by the dungeon door. He’d not bothered her since she cast the spell, but she’d never put herself in any situation where they were alone. And he’d never been on guard before.
She took a few deep breaths and continued on. She could do this.
She paused in front of him. “I need to take this to Liam.” She nodded toward the pitcher in her hands.
He opened the door, and she slipped past him, but he didn’t follow. Relief flooded her lungs. Her spell must’ve worked better than she thought. Not only that, but now she could talk to Liam freely. Hopefully, Seamus would be on guard more often.
Liam waited by the bars as she approached. “Where’s your guard?” he asked.
“He let me come alone.”
“They realized I can’t hurt you from here, huh?” He seemed so cavalier for being locked up.
Grace shrugged and shoved the pitcher in the cubby. He retrieved it. “I’d give anything for a shower.”
“What’s a shower?”
He chuckled. “You don’t have showers? It’s like a bath, but the water pours over you from above.”
Grace had never heard of such a thing. “Like a waterfall?”
“Sort of.”
Grace glanced down the hall and worried she’d see Seamus coming to get her. She didn’t know if she’d have the opportunity to talk to Liam again. “Why are you here?”
He raised his eyebrows. “I see why they let you come alone. They couldn’t get answers out of me, so they got you to do their dirty work.”
Her cheeks flushed. “It’s not like that. I just wanted to know.”
Liam took the small towel she’d brought and dipped it into the water. “Well, you tell the queen that if she wants answers, she has to come get them herself.”
He scrubbed at his face. Grace didn’t want to intrude on his bath, and he obviously wouldn’t tell her anything useful.
“I’ll let you have your privacy. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Thank you for taking care of me. I appreciate it. Your kindness won’t be forgotten.” His voice had gone quiet, and he gave her a small smile.
She blushed and rushed from the cell, ashamed that she enjoyed their conversation.
Grace brushed out Isa’s hair. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to do, but I’ll continue to see if I can get him to talk. He was insistent he wanted to talk to you.”
Isa huffed. “I wish I knew what his motive was. If he’s here to hurt me, then obviously I can’t go down there, but if he’s here for some other reason, I have to know.”
“He doesn’t seem like a bad guy. In fact, he’s quite charming.”
Isa spun on her. “Are you sweet on him?”
Grace tried not to let her emotions show. “No. I’m just stating that he’s nice.”
“The guardians won’t allow me down there.”
“Jude might.”
Isa went quiet for a moment. “Is he on duty tonight?”
“No. It’s Seamus.” Grace thought quickly. She wanted Isa to visit Liam so they could find out why he was here. She could fix Seamus using magic for Isa. “But between you and me, Seamus can’t stay awake all night.”
Isa leveled her a look but didn’t say another word.
Grace helped Isa into bed, which was more complicated than normal because Missy was in the mood to play. She kept pouncing on the covers every time Grace moved them, and Isa thought it was funny, so she encouraged her.
After finally getting both of them in bed, Grace slipped down the hall and downstairs. Then, she took a detour past the pathway to the dungeons. She didn’t have to be that close, but once she could see Seamus, she muttered a few words ensuring he would soon fall asleep and wouldn’t wake until the early morning.
Chapter 11
Isa poked her head out of her door. She wouldn’t put it past her guardians to post someone there to protect her.
It was two a.m., and she couldn’t sleep, Grace’s words echoing in her mind. She hoped Grace was right about Seamus. Missy nudged her ankle.
“We’re going to get some answers.”
She wanted to know why Liam had come. Grace didn’t have any information, and her guardians hadn’t been able to get any answers out of him either, so Isa had to go to the source.
Liam would be behind bars, so he couldn’t hurt her. She tried a couple of times to go during the day, but Pierre put a hard stop to that. So, she resorted to the middle of the night. It was his fault, really.
She crept down the dark halls. No one was awake. Torches lit the hallways, and Missy kept pace with her.
She made it to the dungeon door and found Seamus sitting next to it, sound asleep. Grace’s knowledge was solid.
Isa suppressed a giggle and softly pushed the door open. She grabbed a torch from the sidewall and lit it. She hadn’t been here in years. Grace told her Liam was being kept near the end of the hall in a small cell with bars instead of a door. They weren’t sure if he was a dragon or human, so they put him in the cell where h
e couldn’t change.
He was awake, sitting on the sorry excuse for a bed, and he cocked his head at her.
“Your Majesty. You are the last person I expected to see. Did your friend send you here?” He seemed genuinely pleased to see her, but he could be faking.
“Yes. But I’ve been trying to come anyway. I wanted to see you myself, but my guardians are overprotective.”
He snorted and stood. He was tall, but not as tall as her guardians. She tried to not appreciate the way he moved.
“You are queen. You can do what you want.”
She clasped her hands in front of her. She was still given a short leash with control. Someday she would though. “I wish.”
Liam approached, and Isa backed up, but Missy stuck her nose through the bars. He crouched down, and she clenched her fists. If he hurt Missy, she would personally see that he was killed.
He reached through the bars and scratched her behind the ears. “She’s very beautiful.”
“Thank you, I’ve had her since she was a baby.”
He gave her a grin. “I was talking to the fox.”
It took Isa a second to process what he said. She blushed. He was just trying to flatter her, catch her off guard. Oh, he was good. She stood straighter. “Why are you here?”
He glanced up. “Because I want to help you.”
How could he help her? He was here to hurt her, wasn’t he?
“I don’t understand.”
“I know.” He stood up, and Missy whined. “Look, I’m from America. A few days ago, the rebels came to our king and asked for help defeating you. They told him a sob story about how you ruled with an iron fist, and they needed help ending your reign so they could live freely. I didn’t believe them, but the king did. I wanted to warn you of their treachery and possible invasion. But you’re so threatened by us that you didn’t even ask questions. You killed my friend without cause.” He gritted his teeth.
She wished he wasn’t so logical about everything. He was right. They shouldn’t have just killed that dragon without questioning him. But she couldn’t very well tell this man she doubted her own people.
“So you’re a dragon?”
“Yes. But after my friend was killed, I thought I’d have an easier time warning you as a human. And I was right. Why did you kill him?”
“He was a threat. We thought he was here to kill me.”
“Well, I’m glad I decided to use my human form.”
She took a deep breath, trying to make sense of his story. All the evidence pointed to him coming to kill her. “You had weapons on you. Lots of them.”
He pushed his face into the bars. “I had a dagger. Would you go anywhere without one?” Of course she wouldn’t. She totally understood that. If a dagger was all he had.
“But the guardians found a stash of weapons in a tree.”
“I brought a dagger with me. That’s it. I swear.” He held his hands up like he had nothing to hide.
“I’m not here to hurt you. If I was with that group of rebels, I would’ve killed you the second I saw you. That is their goal. I’m not with them. I’m with you.”
Isa stared at him for a long moment before turning and racing down the hall.
She had no idea if he was telling the truth or lying.
And that terrified her.
Chapter 12
A few days later, Seamus was on duty again when Grace brought lunch, a hot roast beef sandwich, cold carrot sticks, and a chocolate chip cookie.
She hadn’t been alone with Liam since that night she brought him the water. Isa had managed to sneak down here once, but she was cryptic about her thoughts on the whole thing.
Grace always wore a cloak when she went down because it was freezing. She didn’t know how Liam was managing.
He jerked his head up from the book he was reading when Grace approached. Over the last several days, she’d found various excuses to bring him things. He had multiple pillows and blankets, a few books, and a couple of changes of clothes. Her task from Isa was to take care of him, and she would not fail.
“You’re alone again,” Liam said in that funny accent he had.
She set his food in the cubby. “I am.”
“Would you stay and talk? It’s awfully lonely down here.”
She nodded, and he shoved a pillow through the bars. She set the pillow on the damp stones and sat, pulling her arms inside her cloak to stay warm. The last time he’d clammed up, but today she would avoid serious things. Maybe he was like Isa.
He settled on his own pillow, food in lap, and smiled at her. He was attractive, but he didn’t make her belly dance like Jude did.
“Where did you come from?” she asked. She’d been insanely curious about him.
“America.”
She figured that.
“I’ve read about America. What part are you from?”
“Have you heard of Yellowstone?”
She’d read a book about American national parks. Reading was the only thing that kept her from getting bored in the castle. “I’ve seen pictures. It’s very beautiful.”
“Yes, it is.” His face lit up.
“Are you a dragon?” She figured he was, but no one had confirmed that with her.
“I am. Are you?”
She shook her head. She’d never tell him what she really was. He took a bite of his sandwich. “This is so good. Did you make it?”
“I put it together, but our cook Olga made the food.”
“Well, please give my compliments to her. All the food you’ve brought me has been fantastic.”
“Are there a lot of dragons in America?”
He nodded. “But not as many as there used to be. Several years ago, a war wiped out the canyon, fire, woodland, and arctic dragons.”
“There are different kinds of dragons?” Grace tried to wrap her head around that.
“Sure. Don’t you have that here?”
“No, we only have one kind.”
“Only the green ones?”
“What do you mean? All dragons are green. The purple mountain dragons were all killed by the wizards.” She could barely say the word. It had been so forbidden to her.
He chuckled. “No. They come in all different colors. I’m gold.”
“Really?”
He told her about the different dragon races, and her mind spun. The pictures of Yellowstone didn’t have any dragons in them. In fact, none of the pictures she’d seen of America showed any dragons.
“But what happened to them all? Why did you have a war?”
“That’s a long story.” He nibbled at the cookie she’d brought him.
“I have time.” As long as he was willing to talk, she was willing to listen.
He sighed. “Well, I suppose it all started the day my…I mean, the king and queen were bonded. One of the arctic dragons didn’t like my…the chosen queen and tried to kill her. The queen, in America, is always human. Anyway, she had a dragon slayer in her hands, and she cut off the arctic dragon’s head.”
He continued his story full of battles and excitement, but Grace’s mind drifted back to the dragon slayer he spoke of. She had one in her room. She thought it was the only one.
In the old days, there had definitely been more, belonging to the wizards, but each had been handed down from parent to child. Her father had told her the rest of the wizards were killed and that she was the sole survivor. Had he lied to her, or had they just gone over to America and let everyone think they were dead?
She had more questions than she could stand, but she couldn’t ask. As much as she liked Liam, she couldn’t trust him. And this American queen. Was she like Grace? A wizard?
Maybe she could help Grace fulfill her mission or at least help her make sense of what she was supposed to do. The prophecy haunted her all the time. She knew it spoke of her and Isa. She loved Isa, and someday she might have to kill her.
She waited for Liam to finish his story.
“Tell me more about you
r queen.”
“My…you mean, Aspen? Oh, she’s amazing…”
Chapter 13
A slamming door startled Liam awake. After the queen had visited him in the middle of the night, he’d been staying up late, hoping she’d come back, but she never did. Her maid did though, and he felt like he was making some progress there. But she only came during the day.
Isa was his best bet at getting out of here alive. He wasn’t sure what to make of her yet. She had Felix killed, but she had thought he was a threat.
If he could get her to trust him enough to let him out, he’d try to get close to her and find out what she was really up to. If he discovered she was evil, he could still kill her, and if she wasn’t, he’d be able to give his dad the information he needed. But as of yet, he didn’t have anything.
His cell door banged open, and he looked up. Two of the guards rushed at him. Rough hands grabbed him and dragged him out of the cell. He didn’t know where he was going, but he hoped it wasn’t to die. They brought him to a room on the other side of the dungeon and dumped him onto a chair. The two men secured his hands behind his back, and he looked around. A small fire burned in the grate to the side.
Various weapons hung on the walls. He recognized some of them, but not all. Realization hit him the second an old man sat down in front of him with a set of small knives.
“Why are you here?” the man asked. Liam steeled himself. So far, he’d ignored their questions, but he wouldn’t be able to anymore. But at least now, he had a good story to feed them.
He told the same story he had for the queen.
“Liar,” the man spat. He took one of the knives and pressed it against Liam’s throat. “Let’s try this again. Why are you here?”
“I already told you.” Liam doubted the man would kill him. At least, not yet. But he couldn’t underestimate these guys who’d killed Felix without a second thought.
“Wrong answer. Jude, bring the brand.”
Jude carried over a long metal stick from the fire. Liam squirmed, fear slicing through his insides. If he told the truth, they’d kill him, so he had to stick to his story.
The Dragon Kings Chronicles: Book 3 Page 3
