Dragons of Cinderhollow Bundle

by Hawke Oakley

  I scowled at him and raised the handcuffs. “Do I look alright to you?”

  He frowned. “I’m just asking.”

  “And my answer is no.”

  With a roll of his eyes, Kass looked away from me and focused back on his soup. For the first time since getting myself into this situation, my stomach growled - embarrassingly loud. I grunted, hoping Kass didn’t hear, but of course he did. He shot me a curious glance over his shoulder.

  “Hungry?” he asked.

  “No,” I lied.

  “I know you are.”

  “Then why are you even asking?” I snapped.

  “Quiet, omega!” Silas barked. I winced at his grating voice. I’d forgotten he was here, too. “Don’t speak to the Captain that way.”

  “Whatever,” I muttered. My tongue was loose, and I knew it, but as long as Kass was here, Silas wouldn’t dare touch me again. If I couldn’t do anything else, at least defying Silas would bring me some pleasure.

  Silas glared like he wanted nothing more than to throttle the life out of me. Spurned on by the hatred in his eyes, I said, “What do you even need me for, anyway? Do you just like having me locked up here?”

  “I do,” he said venomously, “but that’s more than you need to know.”

  But my question turned the gears in Kass’ mind. I saw the slight frown on his lips as he asked, “Wait, Silas. The rest of the Knights are… gone, aren’t they?”

  “If you mean dead, then they’re all gone, yes. Except for the two of us.”

  Kass’ gaze fell, his eyes suddenly looking distant. “So much time has passed,” he mumbled to himself. He lifted his head again and asked, “Then… why even keep Halo locked up?”

  Silas’ eyes flared open, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Captain?”

  Kass stood. “The Commander is dead. We no longer report to anyone. The Cinderhollow we knew is gone. Everything we knew is gone. Was capturing Halo really so important that you threw your life away for it? Your mate died alone for this!”

  “Captain,” Silas snapped.

  Kass suddenly looked ashamed of his outburst. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “I’m not upset about that,” Silas growled. “I’m upset because you’re letting the omega brainwash you. Don’t fall for his tricks. He’s a danger to us - to everyone. Capturing him was the best thing to do. He cannot be allowed to walk freely after what he’s done.” He put a hand on Kass’ shoulder. “You did the right thing, Captain. Again.”

  Again. Silas’s words made me prickle with anger. Again, Kass betrayed me. Of course he did. Why wouldn’t he? He did it once - there was no reason to assume he wouldn’t keep doing it. I shouldn’t expect anything more from the man who tore our family apart.

  “So… What now? We just guard Halo for the rest of our lives?” Kass asked. His frown deepened. He gave me the briefest glance from the corner of his eye before looking away, then mumbled to Silas in a low tone, “His magic won’t be drained forever, you know.”

  That’s right. It won’t, I thought bitterly, clenching my fists behind the shackles.

  But Silas didn’t seem too concerned. “Yes, I’m well aware. But not to worry, Captain, things aren’t so bleak. I have a source that will help us deal with this omega. We’re not alone, you know. Just because the Knights we knew are dead doesn’t mean their spirit is gone.” He squeezed Kass’ shoulder. “We can rebuild them. There are a lot of people like us, out there. People who want justice, and safety for society.”

  Kass nodded slowly. “You’re right. The Knights were an ideal - not just the men and women we knew.”

  “Exactly,” Silas said. “Now, since you’re here, I should update my source. Exciting things are about to happen, Kass. Just think of what you can do for the new Knights of this time! Maybe this time, you will be our Commander.” Silas clapped him on the shoulder, then turned for the door. “I won’t be long. Please keep an eye on the omega.” He frowned and muttered, “There’s still bread, if he’s hungry.”

  I rolled my eyes. He was only pretending to give a shit about me now that Kass was listening.

  Silas stepped outside the cabin, shifted into his wyvern form, and took off.

  Kass and I were alone. Neither of us spoke. The cabin was strangely quiet until Kass laid his spoon against the ceramic bowl with a soft clink. He stood, picked up the bowl, and knelt in front of me. Gentle steam still rolled off the soup’s surface.

  “Do you want the rest of it?” Kassius asked.

  I couldn’t stop my acid retort. “I don’t know. Is it poisoned?”

  Kass didn’t look amused. “You know it’s not. Come on. I know you’re hungry, and I’m not about to let you survive on stale bread.”

  “Why not?” I asked, glaring at him. “I’m barely living right now anyway. Let me eat your stale leftovers. In fact, don’t feed me at all. Just let me starve to death.”

  “Halo,” Kass said warningly.

  I hated when he took that tone - the one that said you’ve gone too far this time. I rolled my eyes. He wasn’t the boss of me. He hadn’t been when we were mates, and he definitely wasn’t now.

  “Don’t roll your eyes at me,” Kass growled. He lifted the spoon to my lips. The scent of warm broth and pheasant meat hit my nose, causing my stomach to growl. Kass raised a brow and said, “Eat.”

  The defiant part of me wanted to headbutt the soup all over the floor, just to piss Kass off and make him go away, but the hunger pains in my stomach cried out for sustenance. Muttering a curse and avoiding his gaze, I took the spoon in my mouth.

  “There. Was that so hard?” Kass muttered.

  “Do you have to treat me like a child?” I snapped.

  “I will if you keep acting like one.”

  “Fuck off.”

  Kassius let out a deep sigh and spooned more soup into my mouth. My cheeks flushed in shame and embarrassment and irritation all at once. I hated this - being shackled to the floor, trapped in an abandoned cabin, being spoonfed by my ex who was the reason for all this shit in the first place.

  “You look upset,” Kass remarked.

  “No shit.”

  His voice remained steady. “Tell me why.”

  That finally made me explode. “Gee, Kass. Why the hell would I be upset? I’m in goddamn handcuffs, kidnapped by some asshole who waited four centuries for the chance to capture me, and he even used magic to do it, and he hates it more than anyone! Now, my daughter’s gone, and - ”

  “Wait,” Kass interrupted. The sarcastic edge disappeared from his voice, replaced by genuine concern. “You said Angel is safe. Is that true?”

  I watched his face cautiously. “Yes. It’s not like you care, but yes.”

  “What? Halo, how can you say I don’t care? Of course I do!” Kass replied, outraged.

  “Don’t start this with me again,” I muttered. “If you really cared about her, you never would have sold us out to the Knights in the first place.”

  Years worth of anguish and resentment flickered across his face. Kass shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long exhale as he calmed himself. “Let’s not talk about that right now.”

  “When would be a good time, then?” I asked. “When your friend Silas hands me over to whatever freak he’s collaborating with now?”

  Kass quickly opened his eyes. Intrigue and concern mingled in his expression. “What do you know about that?”

  I shrugged. “It’s just a guess. I don’t know any more than you.”

  Kass frowned and glanced towards the door. In a low tone he said, “He’s being too vague. I don’t like it.”

  It surprised me to hear that Kass didn’t fully trust the former Knight. “Do you think he’s up to something?”

  “I don’t know,” Kass admitted, “but whatever it is, he’s not telling me the whole truth.” His gaze fell as he faced me again. “I have to be honest, I’m shocked that he volunteered to be frozen in time with magic just
to capture you.”

  “Me too,” I muttered.

  “He went so far,” Kass continued. “Back then, four hundred years ago… When you disappeared, the rest of the Knights seemed relieved. You weren’t their problem anymore. You were gone, and that was good enough for them. Even Commander Sterling. I guess I didn’t stick around long enough to see what Silas became.”

  It was the first time I’d heard what happened to Kassius after my disappearance. As annoyed as I was with him, curiosity gnawed at me. “What did you do? After I left?” I asked.

  Kass’s eyes grew distant again, like he was imagining a time very far away. “It’s hard to remember. It’s all a blur.” He pressed his knuckles to his forehead in thought. “Silas said… that I told him you used magic to travel through time. To escape.”

  “Did you?” I asked cautiously.

  He shook his head. “I honestly don’t remember. I’m sorry.”

  I shuffled in my chains. It felt strange to hear him apologize to me after all this time, for something he wasn’t even sure if he did or not.

  It still won’t erase the rest of the things he did, I reminded myself.

  An uncomfortable silence settled around us like gritty sand.

  “You’re sure Angel is safe?” Kass murmured.

  Was I sure? I didn’t know. All I could do was guess and hope for the best. But to calm Kass’s nerves, I nodded.

  He shot me a cynical glance. “Good. If you don’t have the decency to tell me where she is, at least you’ve given me this.”

  If my hands were free, I might have slapped him for being so stupidly obtuse. Instead I settled for a snarl. “And what, Kass? I tell you where she is, you go find her and put her in chains, too?”

  Kass looked horrified. “No!”

  “That’s what you did to me. Why would she be any different?”

  “I didn’t put you in chains,” Kass argued.

  I rolled my eyes. “Okay, fine. You found me in them and refused to take them off me. Great distinction.”

  I expected Kassius to continue arguing with me, but instead he paused. After a silence he said, “What are we doing, Halo? What’s the point of all this?”

  I stifled the urge to groan. I was in a desperate situation and here he was getting all deep and philosophical on me.

  “Well, I don’t know about you,” I began, “but I’m trying to get out of these chains and go live my damned life.”

  “Without Angel?” Kass asked sharply.

  Anger and frustration welled up inside me like a dam about to burst open. It was all I could do not to scream at Kass.

  “Yes, without Angel,” I snapped. “Because she’s valuable to your fucking friend. We both are.”

  Kass drew back with a shocked widening of his eyes. “Valuable?” The way he muttered the word made it clear it was bitter on his tongue.

  “That’s what Silas said. We’re valuable to him. And since he’s a weakling, I’m assuming he’s not alone. He must be working for someone else. That’s why he keeps skulking around like an anxious weasel, keeping me in chains but not actually doing anything to me, and constantly disappearing.”

  With a worried frown, Kass ran his hand through his hair and stared at the floor, his eyes flicking back and forth in thought. “Something’s not right,” he muttered. “There was no talk of you being valuable by any means back when we tried to capture you.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  Kass was too concerned with his train of thought to acknowledge my sarcastic remark. He paced back and forth, making the ancient floorboards creak.

  “What changed?” he asked out loud, gesturing with his hands. Suddenly, he turned back to me. “Silas isn’t telling me the truth. I’m sure of it. I don’t know what he’s up to - or if it’s even malicious or not - but I don’t like that he’s keeping secrets from me. The Commander is gone, and I’m his Captain. There’s no one else left. Who is he reporting to if it’s not me?”

  I shrugged. I knew nothing about the Knights’ social order except that Kassius was supposed to be the second-highest ranking guy, and Silas was just a dumb underling.

  Kass stood firmly in between me and the door, as if torn by choice. His fists clenched and he shut his eyes with a heavy sigh. I watched his every move, wondering what he would do next.

  Suddenly, he turned to me. I jolted to attention at how fast he moved. With a frown of displeasure, he furrowed his brows and stated firmly, “Halo Fire-Eater, I do not trust you. I will never trust you again after the atrocity you committed. But something strange is going on here. I don’t trust you, but I don’t trust Silas, either. The Knights were supposed to be about justice and truth. What have we become?” He raised his head and threw his hands in the air, and spoke as if to the gods. “Life’s now a game of who I trust the least, isn’t it?”

  Keeping my head low, I remained still and quiet, not sure of where Kass was heading with this outburst.

  Finally Kassius lowered his hands and sighed. “I’m going to find out what the truth is. And to do that, I need your help.”

  Did I hear him correctly? I sat up straighter. “Me?”

  “Yes, Halo.”

  Meekly, I lifted the chains. They jingled. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Kass, but I’m kind of in handcuffs here.”

  Kassius wasn’t in the mood for my jokes. He stormed to the old wooden table on the other side of the room and began rummaging through everything. When he found nothing, he tried the squeaky drawers. With a growl of frustration, he asked, “Where’s the damn key?”

  I sat up even straighter. Kass was trying to free me?

  “Silas might have taken it with him,” I suggested.

  A flash of hurt and betrayal crossed Kass’ face. “What? He wouldn’t - he can’t do that!” I watched as Kass buried his face in his hands for a moment, groaning deeply. “He doesn’t trust me either. I knew it. He’s been acting strangely since the minute I showed up!”

  “You know, Kass, you can always just... shift and break the cuffs,” I offered gently.

  His head snapped up, as if shocked by the simplicity of the idea, but then his eyes narrowed suspiciously at me. “Why didn’t you do that, then?”

  The paranoia rolling off his body in waves made me bark a tired laugh. “I’m running on fumes, here. I barely have any magic, I’m exhausted and hungry and cold, and I can barely keep my head up, and you want me to shift? Please, Kass.” In a gentler tone, I added, “If there’s anyone trying to trick you here, it’s not me. Come on. You know me better than that.”

  His frown deepened. “I don’t. But I’ll admit you’re right.” He sighed. “Just stand still. I don’t want to bite your hand off.”

  “I wonder if I’d be as valuable to Silas then,” I mused.

  “Enough. Not funny.”

  “Uh, Kass? Not trying to be funny again, but if you shift, aren’t you going to break the ceiling?”

  Kass growled without a pause. “I don’t care. Silas can deal with it.”

  “Wow. Really not a fan of him right now, are you?”

  Ignoring me, Kass stepped back and shut his eyes. His form seemed to glow with light as it twisted and writhed into a massive shape completely unlike the man standing before me just a moment ago. Despite my annoyance at Kass in general, watching him shift into his dragon was still a sight unlike any other. I couldn’t help the way my breath caught in my throat at the stunning, magnificent beast he became - dark and broad, scales glittering like water under the moonlight, with royal blue horns and spines snaking down his back. The underside of his wings, creamy and pale, flashed as he spread them out. I stared in awe at his striking and imposing form. There was no denying that he was truly the most stunning and powerful of all the dragons in the Knights.

  And, of course, he broke the ceiling.

  A low growl erupted from his throat as he shook himself to dislodge the debris. In his deepened draconic voice, he said, “Don’t move.”

  No smart remark came from
me this time. I outstretched my wrists, which were chafed and aching from the rough contact with the handcuffs, and waited nervously for Kass to get it over with.

  This is a lot of trust to put in someone I’m supposed to be pissed off at, I thought.

  Kass’s dragon fangs bit through the handcuffs and chains like they were paper. The scraps of steel clattered to the floor. I let out a sigh of relief and rubbed my wrists.

  “Thank gods,” I muttered.

  Something thin and yellow floated in the corner of my eye. Kass must have strewn the papers on the desk while he stretched his wings. Curiously, I picked up the paper.

  “We should leave, Halo. What are you doing?” Kassius asked, his voice laced with a growl.

  “Kass, this note...” I frowned down at the writing. “It’s addressed to Silas, I think.”

  “What?” He lowered his snout over my shoulder and accidentally brushed my cheek with his cool scales. I shivered at the contact.

  I cleared my throat and read it out loud. “Silas. Welcome back. There is much to discuss. I assume the omega and the child are in your possession. Come to me at the Death’s Peak caverns. Be prompt about it.”

  “And?” Kass said. “Who signed it?”

  “There’s no name at the bottom,” I told him.

  Kass growled deep in his throat and thrashed his tail. “Coward.”

  “The Death’s Peak caverns… That must be that dark place in the mountain tops that the sun doesn’t reach,” I said. “If it’s even still there, I mean.”

  The irritated rumble in Kass’s voice continued. “I don’t know. Keep the note. For now, we need to find safety.” Then he added, “We both need time to heal.”

  Something flickered in my chest. Kass spoke of healing, and I knew he meant physically - for both of us were weak and tired, and desperately needed a good nights’ rest - but part of me wondered if he meant emotionally as well.

  If he means it that way, then... I don’t know if I can ever truly heal from what he did to me, I thought resentfully.

  7

  Kassius