The cage hung high above the pirate camp, and it made a good prison. The bars were too thick for Rorax to tear apart in his humanoid form and it was too small to contain his warform. He'd almost certainly crush himself if he tried shifting, and he couldn't risk trying it anyway. Not with Laura in the cage with him.

It was possible, barely, that he would survive the shift. But she definitely wouldn't.

Things had moved quickly once he'd carried her back into the cave. Rorax hadn't had much of a plan when he snatched her from the bridge of her dying stolen ship. Once he'd landed amongst the massed pirates, surrendering had been the only choice. And now here they were, waiting to meet their fate. The pirates below were arguing heatedly about what, exactly, that should be.

At least I got to see the smile wiped off Korgan's face, Rorax thought with a grim smile of his own. It wasn't much of a silver lining, but he'd rather dwell on that than the failure of his plan to get Laura to safety.

On the floor of the cage, Laura stirred and her eyes flickered open. It took her a couple of tries to focus on him, and she frowned as she pulled herself to her feet. The two of them looked at each other from opposite sides of the cage.

"Why the hell did you come back?" The two spoke in unison, glaring as they snapped. A little smile appeared on Laura's lips at that.

"It's not funny," Rorax said with a growl, though it was hard to keep from smiling himself. He growled and turned away. "I didn't want you in danger, Laura."

"I know," she said, and he felt the cage shift as she stepped up behind him. Her hand rested on his back and he felt some of the tension and fear drain out of him as she continued. "But I don't want to see you in danger either, Rorax. Don't think that I'm going to let you go to your death for me, not when I can do something to stop it."

"Only now they hate us both," Rorax rumbled, looking at the pirates gathering around their fire below. "The only reason you're still alive is that they haven't given up on the ransom. And the only reason I'm alive is that they haven't decided how they're going to kill me yet."

Laura shivered and leaned against him, her arm sliding around his waist and holding him tight. "I'm sorry, Rorax," she whispered. "I hoped you'd be able to get away."

He hugged her back, turning to face her and smiling a sad smile. The pain in her eyes stabbed at him, and for a moment he wondered if he should have taken the chance to flee. But how could he turn his back on his mate? Even the thought of it made his heart hurt. No, he'd die before he abandoned her.

Unfortunately, he had the sinking feeling that she felt the same way about him.

"I won't ever leave you," he said, trying to explain. "I don't care what that costs me, I'm going to fight to protect you from anything and anyone who threatens to harm you. You don't have to protect me from the consequences of that."

"You arrogant idiot, I don't want you to die for me," she hissed, tears welling in her eyes. Despite her angry words, she hugged him tighter. "I'm supposed to protect the people I care about."

"Not me," Rorax told her firmly. "I'll stand between you and harm. I'm not looking to die for you, Laura, but if I have to I will."

Before she could answer, the cage shuddered under them. Chains squeaked and squealed as they were lowered toward the ground. The pirates had finished their argument and watched them descend, anger in their eyes. It looked like all of the dragons under Korgan’s command had gathered for this. Even Grorg and Tamak were there, at the back, trying to avoid Rorax’s eye.

Shaking his head, he looked away from them. He’d known that he wouldn’t be able to trust them from the start, but it still stung a little. I guess they’ve made their choice.

Beside him, Rorax felt Laura tense and held her tight, trying to think of something comforting to say. But he didn't want to lie to her, and he couldn't think of anything honest to say that would reassure her.

At least we're together, he thought. That was something, even if he'd rather that she'd lived.

The cage hit the floor with a crash and Korgan stepped out of the crowd surrounding them. He had lost his mocking friendly look and now glared with undisguised hatred at the pair of them. Rorax couldn't blame him, not when he could see the damage they'd done between them. Korgan's right wing was twisted where the Bradbury had struck him, and the marks of Rorax's claws marred his chest.

"I should kill you both here and now," Korgan began. His voice was all the more dangerous for not being loud — he was too angry to show off. "But my men want to be paid and I need to replace the ships you've cost us, so the girl gets to live and go home. I hope that'll bring you some satisfaction, little brother, as you die for your treachery."

Rorax let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding, trying to keep his relief from showing. Laura still had a chance. As long as the pirates hadn't yet worked out that she wasn't Adele, that there was no ransom, there was hope. She might get away if the human attack gave her the opportunity to run. A slim chance, one he didn't believe would work, but better than nothing.

That he wouldn't be there to see it was a small price to pay. And he wasn't going to give up on his own life just yet.

"It's no treachery to try and save my mate from you," he said, narrowing his eyes and gripping the bars of the cage in his hands. "But if you want me, brother, come and get me. A fair fight, dragon against dragon, winner takes it all. Or are you afraid to face me?"

Korgan laughed, a cold and hard sound that echoed from the crystal pillars around the camp. "You don't deserve that honor, not after you turned your back on your family and on our hospitality. You wrecked two of our ships, you've insulted all of us, and you tried to steal our greatest prize. Do you really think I'll let you challenge me to single combat to resolve all that?"

"Coward," Rorax spat at him, hoping that he could push his brother into a rage that wouldn't let him back down from the fight. It was the only chance he could see, the only way out that might work. But looking over Korgan's shoulder, he saw the raw anger and hatred of the rest of the pirates. Maybe it would have worked before they'd lost comrades and ships to him, but now too many of them had reason to see him dead.

Korgan saw his glance and a shadow of a smile flashed across his face.

"No, brother, you won't get out of this with a quick death in combat," he said. "We're going to take our time with you."

A quick gesture brought his crew forward, the same nasty smile on each of their faces. Rorax took a step back, crouching and getting ready for a fight, but there was nowhere to go. Surrounded by enemies and trapped in the cage, his only hope was to put up enough of a fight that they had no choice but to kill him.

Maybe he'd even be able to take some of them with him.

The lead dragon unlocked the cage and pulled the door open, and Rorax gathered himself to charge out into the enemies. Before he could launch himself at them, though, Laura stepped into the way.

"Back off," she shouted at the advancing dragons. The first through the cage door chuckled and grabbed for her, only for her to duck under his arm. Her hands took his wrist and, with a subtle twist, pushed him into the side of the cage in an armlock.

The rest of the dragons froze in astonishment, staring at her. "Do you think you can stop us taking your man?" the one she was holding hissed, pushing back against her. Rorax stepped forward to help Laura restrain him, but she didn't seem to need assistance. Twisting hard she made her prisoner yelp in pain and he stopped struggling.

"I can't keep you off him," she said, addressing her words to the pirates gathering outside. "We can all see that. I'm just a fragile human. But I bet I can put up enough of a fight that you'll kill me by accident. And then none of you get paid."

Her words were calm, clear, and all the more impressive for that. The pirates exchanged looks, turning to Korgan for guidance. Korgan, in turn, stared at Laura, his eyes wide with shock.

"Are you taking yourself hostage?" he asked with a splutter of outrage. Rorax shared his surprise, watching Laura from the far side of the cage.

"Yes," she answered, and Rorax could hear her grin in her voice. "If you want the ransom, you're going to have to let him live."

"If we rush you, there's no way you can be sure we won't take you alive," Korgan said. He didn't sound confident about it, though, and the other pirates looked at him dubiously. Rorax bared his teeth and stepped forward.

"You'll be fighting both of us," he said. "How sure are you that you can take us both?"

"We're not going to let you go," Korgan hissed as he stepped forward. "You can't hold us off like this forever."

"I know," Laura said. "But you're not going to kill Rorax while I'm alive to stop you. Leave him and I'll come with you, you can get your ransom and everyone is happy."

That offer seemed to split the pirates, setting those who wanted to get paid against those who were angry enough to forgo their profit for the pleasure of killing Rorax.

Putting his hand on Laura's shoulder, Rorax stared at Korgan, meeting his gaze and seeing the desperation there. His brother's hold on the pirates was tenuous in this chaos, and he could see that Korgan knew that.

"Fine," Korgan said before the pirates' argument could turn into a brawl. "You come with us and we'll spare Rorax, I swear by my name and by the Thousand Stars. But he'll stay here in the cage until you're safe with your family and my people have their payment — I'm not having him try another heroic rescue. And if you offer us any resistance at all on the way to the ransom, he dies in agony!"

He broke eye contact with Rorax and beckoned for Laura to step out of the cage. Around him, the other pirates settled down. Now that the decision had been taken they were willing to let it stand.

"Don't," Rorax hissed to Laura. He couldn't tell her why, couldn't call her by her name, couldn't do anything that would risk Korgan figuring out her secret. The look Laura gave him told him that she knew.

"It's the only way," she said, sadness filling her voice. "What choice do we have?"

For a moment, they stood still as statues, looking at each other. Rorax wished he could see a way out of this, but there was nothing he could offer. The only options they had were to fight now and die together, or to be separated.

I'd rather try to take a few of them with me, or at least go down swinging, he thought, but Laura's gaze begged him not to. She could see the odds as well as he could, and at least he could spare her the pain of watching him die.

Neither of them were under any illusion that Korgan would keep his word. As soon as he returned from 'ransoming' Laura, Rorax was a dead man. Even if he intended to keep his oath now — and Rorax doubted that — once her deception was revealed, he'd no longer feel bound by it.

I'll just have to find some way to avoid it coming to that, then. Rorax was determined not to let Laura's gambit come to nothing. She's buying me time to work out a better plan, for both of us.

Trying to hide the pain he felt, Rorax swept Laura into his arms and held her in a tight hug. She gasped, the air forced out of her lungs, and then she hugged him back fiercely. Her lips came to his ear.

"I'll be waiting," she whispered. "Don't take too long."

With that she pulled out of his grip and stepped out of the cage towards their waiting captors. Rorax watched her go, admiring her strength. She showed no fear as she walked beside their captor towards his ship.