SEVEN
I wish I could say that consciousness came in gently, lapping at my feet and slowly rolling up me like a lazy tide.
But instead, it hit me with the magnitude of what I assumed was a semi-truck going at about fifty miles an hour. One moment I was nowhere, blissful in that nothingness, and the next, I was gasping in complete and utter torment.
Sounds came out of my mouth that I had never heard before, and I couldn’t even see through the haze of agony that seemed to be taking up all of my brain power. It took several long, long moments of trying to catch my breath and quell the panic in me before I was able to gather where I was.
It was dark. That was the first thing I noted.
And everything seemed to be either gray or earth brown.
And did I smell…mildew?
There was something hard and itchy encrusted around my nose, so I moved to scrape it off so that I might get a better sniff of whatever aroma that was. But my hand jerked to a stop, and I belatedly realized it was pretty strange that I was holding my arms above my head to start with.
Oh.
I was chained.
The final bit of the fog cleared, and full realization settled onto me. I was in a dungeon. A real, honest to god, medieval dungeon.
I would have been fascinated if it didn’t feel like every part of me was going to crumble from the pain radiating throughout me. But at least between the two, I didn’t have much left in me to be afraid. I figured I should hold onto that false bravado while I could. I knew I would need it later.
…Much later, as it turned out.
I knelt there for hours, my knees on the cold, damp floor, and my hands chained above my head. I thought about standing occasionally so that my arms could have a rest, but any sort of movement was a no-go by the lower half of my body.
And yet, when I heard low voices conversing casually as they approached me, I didn’t feel any reprieve. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, where either choice probably resulted in a whole lot of torture.
Sure enough, it was the Prince, and a couple of other men I didn’t recognize. I was somewhat surprised not to see the Duke there, anxious to get his revenge at being so bested by a mere woman, but perhaps he was still laid up. I did beat him particularly hard.
It wasn’t like he didn’t deserve it.
“Lady Mercedes,” the Prince said, that pleasant smile still on his face. If anything, it was creepier than ever.
“Your Majesty,” I murmured, voice barely more than a rasp. I figured between the dehydration, and my racking up frequent flyer miles on the strangulation express, I was grateful to be able to speak at all.
“You have certainly made this whole endeavor quite different than how I originally envisioned it. I suppose I should be grateful you were found out before we threw a whole banquet in your honor.”
“Yeah, imagine the egg on your face if that happened.”
He laughed, and I was quickly on my way to being one hundred percent sure that he was some sort of sociopath. “Glad you understand. I must say, I’m still quite confused about how all of this happened. Perhaps if you would be willing to provide us a little enlightenment, we might not have to execute you for treason.”
I shrugged. “I did what I had to do to stay alive.” My mind was tumbling through all the things that they could have possibly said about me. Thankfully, almost none of the pen had been privy to my day to day interactions with the royals. In fact, there was only a single woman that I saw in my time outside of the plains, and I could only pray that the dragons had managed to whisk her away.
Maybe that was wrong, to wish continued captivity onto a woman who clearly didn’t want it. I guessed that perhaps I wasn’t as altruistic a good guy as I would have liked to think I was before this whole mess started.
“More than one of the beasts were interested in me, so I had to play my cards carefully to make sure I didn’t get ripped to pieces.”
“See, I would like to believe that. You’ve got this certain sort of intelligence behind your eyes that makes me think that you’re not the helpless maid many might take you for.”
There was a clinking sound, and I realized it was a key in the lock. Slowly, the door of my cage slid open, and the group of men walked inside.
I…didn’t like that. Not at all. Although I knew those rods of iron were meant to keep me in—that was the whole point of a prison after all—they made a fairly comforting barrier between me and the high-ranking humans who no doubt had intent on bringing me pain.
“But the issue I’m having is how you could possibly know that we were approaching. From what I’m told, most of the dragons didn’t even believe you. Some even wanted you dead.”
Crap. It was her. Ashlynne. Of course, the only other human who had any idea of what I really was up to in the dragon’s stronghold would have escaped. I was happy for her, in a backhanded sort of way, but I wondered what she was going to do about the dragon-kin baby growing in her belly.
“They feared you,” the Prince murmured, stepping closer to me, “and I find that far more interesting than anything else.” He had finally reached me, and pulled me gently to my feet. I swayed slightly, my legs refusing to hold me steady, so he helped prop me against the wall.
Silently, he continued to passively manhandle me. He took my arm, and pulled it out towards one of the men, who placed my hand between his arm and body, effectively pinning it there. “It is difficult, I want truth when you answer. Now we both know what a good liar you are, but you would be surprised at how perceptive I can be when I know that there is something to look out for.”
I was shaking. It wasn’t like I could help it. It was like some sort of torture scene out of a movie, except I was the main character. I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t want this!
“Both Lady Ashlynne, and Lady Carva insist that you are a seer, and that is why the dragons took such an intense interest in you. But that is impossible, yes?”
“Yes,” I murmured, my eyelids struggling to stay open and look him in the face.
In response, he pushed upwards on my elbow joint, forcing it to the ceiling and sending more stabs of pain through the limb.
“See, that was a test,” the Prince said. “It’s not impossible for you to be a seer. Just largely improbable. Now, if you answer me honestly from here, you won’t have to feel that again. Do you understand?”
“I do,” I wheezed.
“Good. So how did you know that we were approaching?”
“I saw you,” I rasped.
“Saw us? How.”
“Exactly how they said I did. I had a dream, a vision I guess, and you all were marching on us.”
“You expect me to believe that? That you somehow could see what you couldn’t possibly know?” His hand tensed on my limb, and I could only sag into his hold.
“Yes.”
He relaxed, and sent me another brilliant smile.
Psychopath.
“Well, I believe you, Lady Mercedes. Did you know about this gift before you were with the dragons? The Duke of Marlonvale didn’t seem to think as much.”
“No, I didn’t,” I answered honestly. Well, partially so. “It was just as much a surprise to me as it was everyone else.”
“Fascinating. I wonder if the trauma awakened something that was otherwise dormant in you.”
“Your Majesty, surely you don’t believe this,” one of the men—the one that wasn’t holding my arm in a vice grip—objected.
“Why shouldn’t I, Aravoir? What point would there be in her lying? Whether she knew she was a seer beforehand doesn’t effect that she is our prisoner. But it does effect what we can learn about our scaled friends.” His attention returned to me. “So, with this newfound power over them, why did you choose to betray your own people?”
I don’t know where the ounce of defiance came from, but it made its way to my eyes, and I felt the strength to respond how I wanted to. “Like I said, I saw what you would do. Everything that you would do.”
His smile faltered a bit, and he pushed up once more. I cried out, trying to slip my arm from their grasp, but it was hopeless. I was in for this torturous ride until they let me go.
When he finally did ease the pressure, I slumped against the wall once more.
“That didn’t feel like a full answer,” the Prince said primly. “So let’s try again.”
“I…I saw that you would kill me. And everyone else. Lady Ashlynne, the rest of us in the breeding pens. No one would survive your triumph.” I took a shaking breath. “Like I said, I wanted to survive.”
And to my great surprise, he nodded to the man holding my arm. He released it, but before I could pull it to myself, the Prince caught my wrist with one hand and my forearm with another. Without even a change of expression, he changed his grip to one of my fingers, and yanked it back with force until I heard a crack.
I screamed once more, and he let me sink to the ground.
“You’ve been very helpful, Lady Mercedes. You’ve given us much to think about. You may rest for tonight—food and water will be brought to you—and we can continue this conversation tomorrow. You will be a polite guest now, won’t you?”
I could only nod and his smile grew back to its original span. “Perfect!” he cooed. “On the morrow then!”
“On the morrow,” I repeated.
Somehow, I had survived. Against all odds, everything that I had thought would happen, I had survived. But I needed to make sure that I would survive tomorrow too. It seemed like I had much more planning to do.
But first, sleep.
*
“My, my, my, little girl. Your rooming situation has certainly gone downhill.”
I sighed and looked up. I was back in that same place with the faceless man. I was laid flat out on the floor, my breath rasping in my ears.
It seemed that even this strange dream/vision world carried some continuity with reality, because my body was about as bruised and battered as I remembered it.
“What do you want?” I growled. “Pissy that your little takeover plan didn’t go exactly how you wanted it?”
The faceless visage let out a mirthful sound. “You know, I thought I would be, but watching you skitter around, make some sort of bojack gunpowder and then caught in your own roof collapse was far too entertaining to be upset.” He clapped his hands. “And then you ended up here and just played everyone like a fiddle. I had to get directly involved to make sure they just so happened to find miss Ashlynne and bring her here! I haven’t had to work so hard to contain a situation in years.”
“Glad I could keep you occupied,” I snapped. “But I thought I told you to get lost.”
“I guess, just like you, I tend not to listen.” He crouched down beside me, and I wished I had enough energy to reach out and punch him. “But I have a little offer for you. Something that will make both of our lives a little easier.”
“Why do I already not believe you?”
“Possibly because you’ve already seen me murder two people and try to cause the deaths of an entire species.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“Look, I understand your suspicion, and I would have it too. But let’s be honest. This world isn’t real. Not for you. You belong to smart phones, and social media, and all the comforts of modern technology. This isn’t anything more than an interactive video game for you.”
“Look, I know you love the sound of your own voice, but could you at least get to the point?”
I could practically feel his eyes narrow in irritation, although I still couldn’t see it. “My point is that you want to get home. I can get you home.”
“What’s the catch?”
“The catch is that you leave. I help you get out of here, in one piece and relatively unscathed, and you just go back to your world, and your job, or college or whatever it is you do.”
“And that’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“Alright. I think I understand.” Anger was boiling in me again. Between the frustration, fear and worry I had forgotten to spare enough energy for my temper. Well, it was here now and burning brightly in me. “But what I don’t get is why you would think that I would trust you for even one second.”
“Good point. I suppose you can’t. But it’s the only choice you have, really.”
It hurt, but I forced myself to sit up. Once more, I found my face uncomfortably close to my enemy, with my lips pulled back in a snarl. “You know what I think?” I murmured. “You’re afraid. Somehow, I came in here and fiddled with your perfect plans, and you can’t quite seem to put a finger on me because I don’t think like all you Shepards—or whatever it is you call yourselves. So now you want me out.”
“You’re vastly overestimating your threat to me.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, I’m not leaving until I ensure the dragons survive, this continent isn’t plunged into war, and I finally found out who you really are so I can bury my fist in your face so hard that you’ll be smelling my fingers for several decades.”
At first he was silent, and the moment hung in the air between us, but he dissolved into bitter laughs. “Have it as you will, little girl. But remember, when you’re choking on your own blood, that I offered you an out.”
“Trust me,” I hissed right back as he faded from sight, and the room around us disintegrated into the listlessness of sleep. “I’ve got an excellent memory.”
*
More than ever, I realized that sleep was just a little chunk of non-committal death. A perfect little slice of unconscious nothingness to give your body a reprieve from the hell of living.
And boy did I cling to that respite. When the pain came licking at my senses, trying to tug me back, I stubbornly dug my being into the absence of being me.
Eventually, I lost out though, and I agonizingly drifted back into my body and consciousness.
I was still in my cell in the dungeon. Still chained. And still in pain. I saw that someone had left a tray very near my body with a skein of water and a hunk of bread and cheese. Huh, I had expected some kind of gruel, or even just trash. For once I was glad that my imagination was worse than reality.
Except…how was I supposed to eat any of it with my arms chained above my head and very, very much asleep?
Ah. I got it now. Another lesson in cruelty. They gave me food, but no means to eat it. I could only stare.
Well they had vastly underestimated both how innovative I was when I was hungry, and how little I cared if I had to get into an embarrassing position to make sure I got some sustenance.
I reached out with my foot, guiding the tray closer to me. Once it was in a position that seemed like it would do, I struggled to my knees. Leaning down, relaxing my shoulder joints as much as I could, and gripped the top of the bread with my teeth.
Once I was sure I had a secure enough hold, I sat back up and leaned against the wall. Using it as leverage, I pushed myself upward until my mouth was level with my hands, gripped the bread in my swollen fingers, and dug in.
It was incredibly delicious. Every single dry, grainy bite was like a little breath of heaven. However, it didn’t take long for me to get thirsty, and that would take a bit more effort.
Settling back down to have my butt rest on the floor, I kicked off my shoe and reached for the leathery skein with my toes. It was less than sanitary, but I didn’t quite care, and once I knew I had it gripped securely, I lifted my leg and brought it up to my chained hand.
It was just like Pilates, I told myself. I was just doing a beginning stretch to my workout.
For a moment I pictured myself, dressed and as battered as I was, in the middle of a gym, taking one of those classes that were really supposed to make you sweat. The image was so silly, with such a disconnect, that it almost made me drop my water in my giggles.
But I managed to catch it, and then I was pushing myself back up onto my knees as my fingers worked the cork at the top of the ration.
I continued like that with everything on the tray until every last crumb or drop was gone. And as I half knelt, half lay against the wall, I felt strength begin to flow through me once more. Good. I would need to hold onto that if I was going to make it to the next questioning. And there definitely was going to be a next questioning if I didn’t think of how to get out of here.
Footsteps sounded again down the hall, and I saw the distinctive flickering of a bobbing lantern as it came down the hall. I heard call outs and cries from several other voices I didn’t recognize, and I had to wonder how many other people were down here.
My ponderings were quickly put on hold, however, as two figures came into sight through the bars of my cage. One was a woman that I only vaguely recognized. She had jet black hair, and she had the quintessential portly, mother of the earth type of figure. I belatedly realized how looking at her soft, generous body made me desperately wish for a hug from my own mom. I certainly could use it.
“Here she is,” the woman murmured, and I finally placed her as being from the pens. This must have been the Lady Carva that the Prince had mentioned in passing. “You lucked out that I heard two guards talking about the new prisoner they strung up in here.”
“Yes. I suppose so.”
The Duke turned to look at me, purple-black bruising very apparent across his brow, and I swear there was pure murder in his eyes.
“How did you get them to let you in, by the way?”
“It was nothing a few gold pieces and a jug of wine could not solve. After all, what are these pitiful wretches going to do? Escape?”
There was something off in the woman’s laugh. “No. I suppose not. Well, I’ve seen everything I wanted to see. I just wanted to know if they had beatin’ her face in right. Seems not. If this is all you need me for, I suppose I’ll head back to the quarters they’re putting us up in.”
“Yes. Go make use of yourself somewhere else. I’m sure there’s a lonely man who would appreciate your willing company.”
“By your leave, your lordship.” She walked off, her footsteps much quieter than the boot clad boots of the man who stayed at the bars of my prison.
I kept my eyes on him, my hands opening and closing in my tension.
“You look well,” I murmured.
“Thank you. I find the prospect of doling out recompense does wonders for my visage.” He pulled a key from his side, and dangled it in the air before sliding it into the lock. “You have been terribly ungrateful; did you know that?”
“Apologies,” I ground out. “But I’m sure you of all people can understand a girl has to do what a girl has to do.”
“I’ve heard that before, but kittens rarely pack as vicious a bite as you provided. So now, you must understand, I can’t let a slight like that go unpunished.”
I swallowed hard. “I guess a man has to do what a man has to do.”
“I am relieved we could see eye to eye. That makes this much easier.”
Then he was walking towards me. I could tell he was relishing every single second he was in dominance of me. He wanted to see me quiver in fear. To feed his power complex that was as obvious as the nose on his face.
And then he was in front of me, and he gently caressed my face before gripping my chin tightly in his gloved fingers. “The way I see this, we have two options. You can do your best to apologize to me, and I’ll only make this hurt a bit. Or, you can continue to be the petulant little whore that you are, and I can make this so much worse.”
The inside of me became like pure steel, but I softened my features and looked up at him with lidded eyes. “Your mercy knows no bounds.”
“Good girl,” he murmured, releasing my chin only to bring his hand full force across my face.
I cried out, but his smile only grew. His hand came up and I was sure he was going to strike me again, but instead he slid a different key into the shackles holding me up.
They clicked their release, and I toppled to the floor. Hard. But blood flow returned to my previously strung up limbs.
I tried to roll over to face my foe, but he placed a foot grimly on my spine. He slowly applied pressure, and once more I was reminded of the dark, cramped, crushing end I had almost met in the caves.
Well, if he wanted to hear me cry and beg, I was happy to oblige him. There was no pride in pretending things didn’t hurt, especially if it made him drop his guard even a little.
The foot lifted, only to crash back down again. I yelled, but he was an idiot if he thought this would break me. I had survived much worse than whatever this pompous asshole could dole out, and the sight of the open door of my cell filled me with determination.
Finally, he let up, only to kneel down on either side of my legs. One hand wound itself into my hair, yanking my head back, and the other yanked at the bottom of my tattered skirt. I could feel his hardness pressing into the swell of my hips, and adrenaline shot through me more than ever before.
If this idiot thought I was going to let him—
My moment came before I could even finish my mental thought. He shifted forward, hand releasing my head to hurriedly release himself from his hose.
I reared back with all my might, and my skull connected to his skull with a satisfying crunch. He let out a violent string of curses, and stumbled back, allowing me to scuttle forward and roll onto my back.
“You insipid little bitch!” he screamed, recovering and rounding one me. I sat up, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get to my feet in time to counter him. I was going to have to fight from the ground. But believe me, I was going to fight with every tooth and nail I had.
“I’m going to tear you limb from limb and hang your skin from a banner!”
“Come and try it!” I screamed right back.
He ran towards me, death written across his features, and I readied my good leg to lash out.
But he never reached me.
There was a quick whishing sound, and the Duke staggered, before dropping to his knees. He wavered there breathing, before that same noise repeated itself, then collapsed face-first onto the ground, two arrow bolts embedded in his back.
“Good job. I was afraid I would come back to find a corpse.”
I blinked, my mind hazy at the sudden absence of danger. I looked to the door, to see Lady Carva standing there, a crossbow in her thick hands.
“You alright there, love?” It took me a minute to find my words, and she nodded knowingly. “Right. Figured as much. Here, let me help you up.”
She set her weapon down and crossed to me. Gently, she gripped my arms and guided me to my feet, supporting me until I was sure that I wouldn’t topple over.
“You killed him,” I murmured, still a little shell-shocked.
“Yeah, I will most likely have to blame you for that,” she said with a lilting sigh. “I’m sure you understand.”
“Yes. Definitely. But why did you save me?” I was having a hard time believing that she was really here. That some stranger had not only tricked the Duke into coming here, bribing the guards and taking the keys, but she had also gone to fetch a people and committed a crime that essentially would be certain death if she was caught.
“Before I first came to Leryk’s village, I lived much closer to the capital. It was my wedding night, and it should have been a night I could treasure for the rest of my life,” she answered, guiding me out of the cell and leaning me against a table. “But instead of spending it in my beloved’s arms, a noble interrupted our ceremony and claimed his right to my first night. So the way I reckon it, those dragons ain’t any worse than our own kind, and at least they had the terrible excuse of extinction.
“So I figure if I’m going to follow anyone, it’s the woman who seems to think of us as people, instead of the people who seem to think of us as possessions.”
“Thank you,” I murmured breathlessly. “I don’t know what I would have done.”
“Probably either killed him or died yourself. You don’t exactly seem like a lie there and take it kind of girl.”
“I guess I’m not.”
“So what’s your plan then, lightning rider?”
“I...I don’t really know. I’ve kinda just been doing all of this on the fly.”
“That explains why you’re so terrible at it.”
I laughed, but it just made me wheeze, and I almost doubled over. “It’s nice to have a little help then,” I whispered once I had control of myself.
“Goodness knows, you needed it.” She stopped and gave me a once over. “Are you gonna be able to make a run for it?”
“It’s either that or die trying, right?”
“Good spirits. So I’m going to need you to give me a good wallop.”
“Pardon?” I sputtered.
“Look, my phone plan is making it look like you sprung yourself after the Duke got too handsy. That won’t work if I follow you out of here. So I’m going to need you to ruff me up a little and make that story a little more convincing.”
“What if they don’t believe you?”
She shrugged. “I’m just a stupid womenfolk. All I have to do is simper and cry a bit, and they’ll believe what they already think.”
I smiled weakly. “I wish we could have met under different circumstances. You seem like exactly the type of person I would love to know.”
She held out her hand. “Hopefully we’ll meet again then, when you do whatever it is you have to do to stop all of this. My little ones would love you.”
I reached out and clasped the offered limb. “That sounds lovely.”
We held that for several seconds, before she let go and took a deep breath. “Alright, enough with the sentimentality. We’re wasting precious seconds. Come on, at me now.”
It felt so utterly bizarre, but I pulled my fist back, then released it with my full weight behind it. My knuckles connected, and pain laced up my arm.
“God!” she hissed as I stumbled forward. She caught me, and pushed me back up. Her cheek was red, but that was about it. “One more oughta do it. Put your whole body into it.”
“I am,” I retorted before rechambering. With another burst of energy, I lashed out.
I landed again, and this time when she straightened, her eyebrow was split and just beginning to trickle. “That should do it.” She lay down on the ground and arranged herself in what looked like the most uncomfortable position. “Immediately to the right there’s a servant’s passage. You take that, and it should lead you to the laundry or the larder. Either way, you should be able to slip out.”
“Here’s to hoping.”
I gave her a little salute—not that she would know what that meant—and stumbled off. But as I walked, I realized that I probably wasn’t going to make it far on my own, considering how bruised and battered I was. Perhaps calling in a little reinforcement would be a good idea.
I went to the first cell I could, and rifled through the keys until I found one that looked similar to the one that had opened my own cell. Shoving it into the lock, I turned it until I heard a click, then swung the door open.
A pile of skin and bones looked up at me from the floor, blinking dolefully. “Your freedom’s here if you want it,” I said, glancing around to make sure they weren’t shackled before moving on.
“What are you doing?” Carva called from where I had left her.
“Calling in backup.”
“Oh, I guess that’s a good idea.”
“Yes. So, go back to lying down and pretending to be beaten.”
“Oy, someone’s suddenly feelin’ in charge.”
I snorted, but kept going. Cell by cell, until a dozen or so prisoners in various states of falling apart were either stumbling or jogging down the narrow path to freedom that we had. Safety in numbers, right?
Sure, we would catch a lot more attention in such a large group, but I was hoping that having a bit of a pack running wild across the castle would offer some distraction. Unless they all followed me, of course.
I picked up my pace, and made it to the end of the hall, where we were treated to a spiral staircase. I made my way up, my breath rasping in my ear. When this all was said and done, I was going to treat myself to a deliciously warm bath. With bubbles. And champagne.
We reached the top of the stairs and I peeked out. Whatever guards were supposed to be here were still AWOL. “This way,” I murmured, gesturing with my finger and heading where Carva had told me to go.
But one of the dirty, bloody prisoners grabbed my wrist. “No. That’s one of the most commonly traveled at this time of day. We want to go to the western halls.”
I nodded. “Well you go there and take whoever you want with you. It would be better if we split up into groups.”
“That way if one of us is caught, the others might escape.”
“I know of another path,” a quiet, female voice said from the back of our group. “I worked as a scullery maid here. One of the wineries collapsed, but the tunnel to it is still passable. Just…cramped.”
“Alright. Everyone pick your poisons. You can follow any one of the three of us, or go off on your own. If we are caught, I’ll give you all the same advice. Get as far away from me as quickly as you can. Your chances of survival will become exponentially better.”
We all collectively jerked as we heard running footsteps echo down the hall. We didn’t need any more motivation, and we took out into a dead run. Well, the closest each of us could get to a full-on sprint.
I wasn’t sure quite what we were looking for at first, but I spotted a small, just barely tall enough door only half visible behind a tapestry. If there was ever an entrance for the lower-class citizen of the palace, that was it.
I slammed into it, and it nearly flew off its hinges. I was sure I would come to regret that later, but for now I didn’t care. I had come so far, and had so many missteps, I was going to get free one way or another.
We ripped down the passageway, and sure enough, we had to burst past several clusters of servants as they went about their business. Food, linens and god knows what else clattered to the floor, but I didn’t have time to care.
I had this vague feeling within me that our luck had to run out soon, and sure enough, we barreled into what had to be some sort of temporary sleeping quarters for servants who needed a rest. Not that the simple, cotton stuffed cots on the floor were particularly intimidating. Rather, it was the several soldiers that had just come sprinting in through the other side of the room.
The two other prisoners and I didn’t need to say anything. We all broke out in different directions. I went to the left, one to the right, and one back the way we came. Just like I predicted, they paid no mind to the others, and came only after me.
I blew through the narrow hall, my heart thundering like its own hurricane. I saw the end rapidly approaching, and launched myself at it with all my strength.
I erupted through the barrier, and crashed into yet another hallway that I didn’t recognize. I looked from right to left, but I didn’t have any chance to debate. I went to the right and sprinted to the door I saw at the other end.
The footsteps at my back were growing louder. They were gaining on me. Which of course they would. I was so many different colors of bruised right now that I was surprised I was even capable of moving at the speed I was.
Adrenaline did some wondrous things.
As I grew closer to the door, I noticed it looked like it was made of a much different material than whatever the servant’s halls had been blocked off with. I wasn’t going to be able to just slam my way through this one.
But slowing down to open it would make me lose too much ground.
Well…I had been through a lot. How much could slamming into the door at full speed hurt me compared to everything else I had been through?
The answer was, a lot.
The air whooshed out of my lungs, and for the briefest of seconds I couldn’t figure out where the latch was. But the confusion cleared, and I gripped it, shoving it down with all of my might and launching myself through.
“Great. More stairs.”
But I threw myself up them, never stopping. I could do this.
I passed window after window, bright light streaming through in a harsh juxtaposition to the stressful mood I was embroiled in.
Up, up, up I went. My lungs burned. My legs burned. Everything burned. But I couldn’t stop.
Finally, I saw yet another door, but this one was wide open. I scuttled through, then slammed the partition closed. I had less than seconds, so I grabbed the closest piece of furniture I could find and yanked it into position to be a barricade. Thank god the door opened inwards, otherwise I wouldn’t have a hope.
But banging sounded against the wood, and I looked around frantically. I seemed to be in some sort of astrology tower? I saw what looked like star charts taped all over the ceiling, and shelves filled to the brim with inks, parchment, tomes, scrolls and books. A real nerd paradise that I would have thoroughly enjoyed if not for the resounding thuds against the door.
There were several windows, and I ran over to the nearest one and peered out. I was high up. Way too high up to jump out and expect to survive. Desperately, I started tearing through the shelves, praying for something, anything that might get me out of this situation.
And that was when an ear-piercing roar rolled through the tower. I clutched my hand over my ears, and looked towards the open window.
A familiar black shape was hurtling towards us. It was barely the size of my thumbnail, but rapidly growing bigger and bigger.
“Myrik!” I screamed, joy and relief flooding through me in a potent cocktail. “Myrik!”
It was impossible that he had heard my cry, and yet the figure banked left, hard. He was coming for me!
As if on cue, the soldiers barreled into the door and managed to scoot the improvised barricade forward. I had one more collective tackle, or maybe two, before they were in here and it wouldn’t matter if the scaly dragon was coming.
What better time to do a trust fall?
Lifting my skirt and tying it up into my waistband, I clambered into the window. It was even farther down when I was standing on the broad sill, and a too strong breeze could easily send me hurtling to my doom.
A crash sounded behind me, and sure enough, the soldiers came pouring in. It seemed a few more had joined their number, which was exactly what I needed.
“You better catch me, you son of a bitch,” I called, before putting all the strength I had into my legs and swan diving out of the opening.
It was fun for a second, like a rollercoaster without all the uncomfortable lap bars and vibrating of the engine, but then my speed increased as I hurtled through the air and it headed steadily towards the terrifying ground.
I screamed, half in fear and half in exhilaration. It seemed I was going to escape the Prince’s clutches one way or another. It was about time that threat finally panned out.
Another roar shook me, even as I rapidly descended through the air. The dragon swooped low, diving much too far under me, before cutting upward. I reached out, only to be snatched in his talons as he rocketed past.
The force of the catch knocked the wind out of me, but I didn’t care. He braked once more, as volleys of arrows were shooting after us as he wheeled in the sky.
And then we were off.
The castle rapidly grew farther as Myrik’s great wings beat around me. It was impossible to hear anything, and both my face and fingers were freezing, but a giddy sort of elation was filling me from scalp to the tips of my toes.
I clung to his leg like a teddy bear, alternating between laughing and crying into his armored hide. I was quickly coming down off my euphoric high, and everything that had happened was quickly catching up to me with a vengeance.
But it didn’t matter. I had made it. The book wasn’t closed on me yet, and now I had a clear view of exactly who I needed to bring down to get the peace that I wanted.