Ash Princess

by Eve Langlais

But not at the cost of her life.

  He hit the ground as ordered and grumbled, “I surrender.”

  Chapter 13

  Giving up didn’t come easily to Cam. If it were just him, he’d have fought despite the odds. If it had been Casey at his side, he’d have trusted his sister to find a shadow to hide in and help. But the soldier held a gun to Kayda’s head. Threatened his ash princess.

  No way was he risking her life.

  The knife in his hand clattered as he dropped it. His pistol had already been discarded, having run out of ammo. A lack of weapons didn’t make him harmless, but he let them think he was defeated as he hit the ground hard on his knees. Even laced his fingers behind his head. As he obeyed, he observed everything he could, from the way the soldiers held their weapons to the way their eyes kept darting to the dragon. He wondered how many more troops were stationed here. It seemed they’d not all left on the transport. The scuff of steps and creak of equipment let him know at least two people approached from his rear. Three in total with the one pointing the gun at Kayda’s head. Any more inside?

  Fear widened Kayda’s eyes. Understandable, given the situation.

  More interesting, anger pursed her lips. She’d expected a fight with dragons, maybe even ghouls or other monsters. She’d not counted on humans being her biggest enemy. Cam knew better than most how depraved his kind could be.

  What interested him was, why were there Ruby soldiers using this tower? Why and how had they managed to chain a dragon?

  “Who are you working for?” Cam asked.

  “Quiet,” the soldier barked.

  The man was outfitted head to toe in crimson gear, with the boots being a deep burnished burgundy. He’d eschewed the helmet some of the others from the ship wore, meaning Cam could see his fine features. The almost translucent hair and skin, the short cut showing off the pointed tips of the ears. If he didn’t know better, he’d say he was looking at a Diamond citizen.

  The guy shoved Kayda. “Keep your hands where I can see them and join your friend.”

  She stumbled toward Cam, hands lifted from her side.

  Had asshole seriously just shoved her? Should he go on the attack or wait? The guy in front held a weapon. The ones at his back would be armed, too. The element of surprise might be on his side if he moved fast. He could easily handle a bullet or two so long as he had the use of his hands for hurting people.

  If it was just him, he pegged his chance of success at seventy percent. Decent odds for him, but Kayda…he needed to get her out of the path of harm first.

  As she neared him, her gaze roved, and her brow creased as she took note of his recent injuries.

  “I’ll be fine. It’s only a flesh wound,” he reassured.

  Apparently, the wrong thing to say, as a soldier behind smacked him with the butt of his weapon and snapped, “Quiet. Are we shooting them in the knees before we feed them to the dragon?” The question was directed at the fellow with the pointed ears.

  “It was already fed today. No point in wasting meat. Or would you rather go ghoul hunting again?”

  At Cam’s side, Kayda stared at the man. “I know you,” she said. “You’re a Diamond citizen.”

  “It’s been a long time, princess.”

  Kayda’s lip curled. “Not long enough, given you’ve chosen to betray your people.”

  “It’s called surviving,” the man corrected. “And that’s ‘sir’ to you.”

  “I think I’ll stick to calling you traitor.” The stiff reply made the soldiers at their backs snicker.

  “I don’t think she respects your authority, Jude.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Markus,” Jude the traitor snarled.

  “What are you doing here?” Kayda asked. “Why are you in a Ruby uniform?”

  The traitor smirked. “As if I’m going to tell you. You should have stayed hiding in your graveyard.”

  “Uh-oh,” Cam muttered as he and the princess grasped the import of the man’s words.

  “You knew we were here?” she exclaimed. “Knew and didn’t help?”

  Jude was really itching for a beating, followed by a painful death, as he said, “Oh, we helped, all right. Helped cull your population so you had fewer mouths to feed and more cave rats to share.” He guffawed, and his friend Markus laughed with him.

  That was cold even by Cam’s standards.

  “I hope when you die it’s long and painful,” she spat. Wouldn’t she be pleasantly surprised when her wish came true?

  “I’m not the one who’s going to die screaming. You should be nice to me, princess. I’m the one with a bullet to give you mercy once the dragon starts chewing on you.”

  It made Cam curious. “How did you manage to chain a dragon? And why doesn’t he eat you?”

  “None of your fucking business.” Whack.

  Markus was cruising for a bruising, and Cam knew just the fist to give him. Repeatedly.

  “Get to your feet. Both of you.” Jude waved the gun with one hand and pointed with the other toward the staircase.

  “Like fuck. In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a big fucking dragon in the way,” Cam said.

  Jude smirked. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he won’t eat you.”

  Not the most reassuring claim, given the beast still eyed them. Of Gellie there was no sign. Cam could only hope the little dragon knew to remain hidden.

  “Markus, tell the base we’re coming in with presents.”

  “Got it.” Static crackled as he activated a handheld comm device. “Secure the beast.”

  There was no reply other than a deep metallic clang. Obviously, some kind of locking mechanism for the chain. Good to know.

  Even better, they now had access to those stairs. Given being a prisoner beat getting eaten, Cam was more than happy to go in the direction Jude indicated. Kayda stuck by his side, head down, whether in thought or defeat he couldn’t quite tell.

  He decided to keep things interesting. “Hey, Jude, have you always betrayed your people by working for the Ruby Kingdom, or is this a recent gig?”

  Whack.

  Cam’s head snapped to the side, and he worked his jaw as he muttered, “I see that’s a sensitive topic.”

  Kayda sounded more subdued as she said, “Why would you do this? To your own people.”

  “Survival, princess. It took me a few years to reach the Ruby border, and when I did, they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

  “What is the going price these days for condemning children and feeding your own kind to dragons?” Cam drawled.

  “Why you asking? Interested?” Jude said with a smirk. “It’s an easy gig these days. Three months of duty at the tower base, with food and a bed, plus all the video entertainment we need. Followed by two weeks of vacation time in the Vice dome, where I can do whatever I want.”

  “The Vice dome?” Cam queried.

  “Gambling, booze, drugs, and sex. They have it all.”

  “My father was right about you,” she said softly. “He said you were a no-good wastrel more interested in pleasure than work. No wonder he named your brother earl instead.”

  Cam didn’t move fast enough. The punch to Kayda’s head threw her sideways, and he could only catch her before she hit the ground.

  “Shut your fucking mouth!” yelled Jude. “Your father was a sanctimonious prick. And where is he now? Same place as my brother. Dead and gone. Now not another word or I’ll fucking slice out your tongues.”

  The dragon they’d passed hissed, and Cam heard the clanking of the chain. A glance showed it straining, its nostrils flaring, steam rising from them. Hot breath hitting cold. It oozed anger, and yet the chain kept it locked in place, well out of reach of the humans it wanted to crunch.

  Cam kept Kayda hugged to his side as they reached the hole in the ground. Metal stairs lit by lights covered in cages.

  There wasn’t much to see down the first flight of stairs, just an open space with empty packing crates, just like the ones he’d seen
the soldiers bringing out. Waiting to be filled for shipment, with what he didn’t know. He also had to wonder, how often did the transport visit?

  “What are you guys doing here?” he asked.

  “None of your business. I said no talking.”

  Cam managed to evade the brunt of the blow. Jude the traitor was no longer keen on answering questions, and he eyed Kayda in a way Cam didn’t like at all.

  On the second level, they ran into more people, all wearing red uniforms but not all of them soldiers. An older woman gestured, and Mr. Traitor went to confer. Cam pretended disinterest. In reality, he was eyeballing a map bolted to the wall behind a plastic window. A schematic of this facility, faded in spots, with the current level enlarged.

  He nudged Kayda.

  It took her a moment to follow his gaze. Her eyes widened. “Is that—”

  He shook his head lightly. No need for anyone to know they were interested in the map that might lead them out of this tower to freedom.

  “You heard, Jude. No talking!” one of the soldiers left to guard them warned, speaking for the first time. She also had the pale hair common with the Diamond folk. Cam would wager she had the ears, too.

  Markus, thicker set than the others, had gray, curly locks and breathed more heavily as if he struggled more with the air. It wasn’t difficult to figure out why these people were chosen to work in the tower. The question was, what were they doing here?

  Jude the traitor returned and gestured. “Let’s go.”

  “Go where?” Kayda asked.

  “Where I fucking tell you,” he snapped, grabbing her by the arm and yanking.

  She uttered a cry of pain.

  It was more than Cam could handle. He growled, “Get your hands off her,” and lunged.

  The other two soldiers thought they could get in his way. He grabbed the female and swung her around to knock into Markus. Then Cam dove at Jude, grabbing the punier man around the neck and squeezing.

  The bulging of Jude’s eyes and the gasping part of his lips did much to appease Cam’s annoyance. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to the fun part where things cracked.

  “Let Jude go or the girl dies.”

  The calm words broke through his anger, and he looked up to see a woman dressed in red—the material more stylish than the uniforms—threatening Kayda. She didn’t have the trademark pale hair or ears. On the contrary, her short-cropped hair was a vivid red, like her lips.

  Cam released the choking man and stood. “Who are you?”

  “I think the more interesting question is, who are you?” Stepping away from Kayda, she moved to Cam and poked at the hole in his shirt. “I’ve heard of a man, dark haired, big build, wanted by the Emerald Kingdom for a large reward. With the Lazuli offering an even bigger bounty.”

  “You’ve described a good portion of the male population,” he drawled.

  “But only one man has the ability to heal himself in what one might call miraculous ways.”

  “As you can see, I’m injured and bleeding.”

  “For now. Let’s see how you look in the morning.” The woman turned from him. “Put them in the suite.”

  “The suite?” Jude exclaimed. “That’s for guests.”

  The woman shot him a dark look. “Exactly. We are honored to have the Diamond Princess—or would that be queen?—visiting us. And her companion, who may or may not be Camden of Emerald.”

  “Name is Titan. I’m a citizen of the Marshlands,” he said, lying through his teeth. He was a man of nowhere.

  The woman sounded mocking as she said, “We both know you’re not the Tin Man. Lock them up.”

  Guns prodded them into motion, and Kayda stuck close as they went down another level, through a large area set up for recreation, currently empty. Then Cam was shoved into a room.

  When Kayda would have followed, Jude grabbed her by the arm. “Not you. You’re coming with me. Time you were taught some manners.”

  The female soldier frowned. “You heard the countess. We’re supposed to put them together.”

  “Later.” Jude waved off her concerns. “First, I’m going to have a chat with the princess in my room, and she is going to apologize and do something nice for me.”

  Which was his not so subtle way of saying he would rape her. Kayda knew it, too, and her fear became a palpable thing.

  Cam bristled and shifted to defend, but Markus shook his head and pressed the barrel of his gun on Cam’s chest.

  Cam stared down at it. He didn’t care if he got shot. He couldn’t stand by and—

  Bang.

  Jude screamed and clutch at his leg. “Bitch! You shot me.”

  The female soldier gazed upon him with dispassion. “Oops, my finger slipped. You should get that checked.”

  “I’m going to make you pay,” Jude spat. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be begging to die.”

  Bang.

  A different soldier who’d just arrived, hair pale as snow but expression grim, shot Jude in the other leg. The new fellow grabbed him by the tunic and hauled him to his feet. “I told you before, no one threatens my wife. Let’s go. You’re done here.”

  “No. You can’t do this to me,” Jude yelled. “I demand—”

  Bang.

  They didn’t see what happened, having been hustled into the room, but the abrupt shuttering of Jude’s strident voice made it clear. One less soldier to worry about. The door to the suite shut, and a lock clicked.

  Cam was already doing a perimeter sweep of the room. No noticeable weapons. A locker bolted to the wall revealed nothing but a few crimson garments hanging. There was a bed, covered in blankets, with two flat pillows. A lavatory with running water, a toilet, and a shower. Nothing he could pry and use to hit people with.

  He returned to the room and saw Kayda still staring at the closed door. “I can’t believe they betrayed their own people.”

  “The will to survive is stronger than loyalty in some,” he remarked, standing in the middle of the room to see if he’d missed anything. The rather barren chamber didn’t deserve the lofty title of suite.

  “What are we going to do?” She wrung her hands.

  “We are going to wait a bit and see how things play out. The good news is, they don’t want us dead.”

  “No, they want to sell us instead, which is so much better.” Spoken with a sarcastic drawl.

  “Which gives us time. Keep in mind, an hour ago we wanted inside this place. And now we’re here.”

  “As prisoners.”

  “For now.” He kicked off his boots.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Seeing if there’s hot water.”

  She blinked. “You’re going to shower at a time like this?”

  “You should, too. Who knows when we’ll get another chance.”

  “What if they come back?”

  “Then we’ll be clean.”

  He stripped his shirt and unbuttoned his pants as he walked away from her to the lavatory.

  “I’ll keep watch while you have a turn.”

  “Watch? Why, Kay, I didn’t know you were into that kind of thing.” He winked at her over his shoulder and was rewarded with a blush and a stammered, “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Please. From the first moment we met, you couldn’t wait to get my clothes off.”

  “To help you.”

  “I could use your help again.”

  Her gaze dropped to his waist. Could she see how she affected him? Desire coursed through him. Probably not the best time for it. But then again, when was there a perfect time? When living in danger, pleasure had to be taken every chance possible.

  She turned her back and faced the door. “Don’t use all the hot water.”

  “I’ll save you some.” Because he’d need plenty of cold to put a damper on his arousal.

  The towel, no surprise, was red. It felt kind of like treachery to wrap it around his hips. But while the thought of emerging nude appealed, he didn’t think Ka
yda would appreciate it.

  Or would she?

  She certainly stared a bit more than necessary at his chest. “Your injuries. We should find something to bind them.”

  He glanced down. “Why bother? They already stopped bleeding.”

  She frowned. “But the countess will see you’re healing too quickly if we don’t hide them.”

  “The countess can have her guards pin me down to check. There’s no point. I think you’re just using this as an excuse to stare.” Bold words from a man who was usually shy in his flirtation. But something about Kayda brought it out of him.

  “I am not staring!” she huffed, cheeks bright pink, her chin angled higher.

  “If you say so, Kay. Now strip.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “It’s your turn to get clean,” he stated. Never mind the fact he just wanted to get dirty with her.

  “I don’t know—”

  He gripped her gently by the arm and pushed her in the direction of the lavatory. “I’ve got you covered, Kay. Go. Have a hot shower. It’s probably been a while.”

  “Twenty years,” she said on a sigh. “Hot water wasn’t exactly considered a necessity.”

  “Then you are past due. Go. Relax.”

  She chewed her bottom lip. “You’ll yell if you need me?”

  “Define need.” Because technically he wanted her right now.

  It was as if she read his mind or had the same thought. She blushed and ducked her head. “If someone comes—”

  “No one is coming,” he grumbled, and he meant that quite literally.

  She finally went, and while the door was closed, he did spend a second staring at it. Imagining her peeling the layers revealing that sweet body, inch by inch.

  Groan.

  He turned away. He was just torturing himself with the impossible.

  Since he didn’t feel like putting his dirty clothes back on, he raided the closet. Red, red, more red. Ooh, a pair of black pants folded on a shelf.

  They were snug but would do the job. He eschewed the shirt for the moment and lay on the bed, arm tucked under his head. While he’d scanned the room for listening or watching devices, he couldn’t be quite sure of their privacy. Which meant no talking strategy out loud.