Chapter Seventeen – Lily

It was difficult to tell how much time was passing since Lily didn't have any sort of time-keeping device. She was kept in a small but comfortable room with everything she needed. Meals were delivered regularly, as were checkups to see how her baby was doing, and the lights would dim automatically at certain hours. But without anything to keep track of the passing hours between each interval, she didn't know if it was weeks or months since she had been kidnapped.

Eventually, though, she was taken from her cell. Even though her nerves increased to the point where her heart pounded and bile tasted in her throat, there was a sense of relief as well. Finally, she would know what they wanted with her.

Her hands clasped over her large, swollen belly as she was brought to another room. Efira sat at a table laid out for a feast. Lily wasn't at all surprised to see her.

"Sit," the dragoness said with a toothy smile. She gestured to the spread. "Join me. Eat."

Lily sat. The food smelled delicious and her stomach grumbled. How long had it been since they had last fed her? She didn't touch anything, though. What if it was poisoned? As silly as that thought was, she didn't want to die in agony in front of Efira.

"Your mate has been on the run for months now," the dragoness continued pleasantly. "His manservant has been imprisoned. It's not looking very good for you, Human."

A muscle ticked in Lily's jaw. "So then why am I still alive? Why haven't you killed me yet?'

"I want to be queen. In order for that to happen, I need Eyrl's child. His accusations have made my actions be held under scrutiny, but I won't be around when your child is discovered. I'll generously offer to raise the half-human child, though." Efira glanced at her stomach. "I do wish I could speed things along, but I'm not going to blaspheme."

"And once I give birth?"

"Oh, well, I won’t have any use for you, will I? The dragons and dragonesses on this ship are my good friends. Loyal to me. And they will be rewarded when I sit on the throne. But you? Who knows what sort of awful lies you will spread." Efira buttered a muffin and bit into it. "Do eat. I can't imagine that you aren't hungry."

Lily wrapped her arms around her stomach, feeling small and helpless. Tears of rage filled her eyes and she wanted to attack and destroy this stupid dragoness, but what could she do when she was just one person?

"So you're going to kill me and raise my child as your own. That's sick. 'Blaspheming' is off the table, but kidnapping and murder? Oh, those are fine." She snorted. "You're nothing but a hypocrite."

"It doesn't matter what insults you hurl at me. It won't help you." Efira glanced at her and cocked her head to one side. "I find myself wanting to gloat. How odd."

Lily bit back what she wanted to say in response to that. She had to survive, for her child's sake, and if she made Efira angry, she might decide to accelerate her pregnancy and kill her quicker after all. The gloating, however, had just begun.

"Your death will be painless. Human or not, you still feel pain and it would be cruel to torture you. And then Eyrl . . . that dragon who thinks he's better than us, the male who thinks he's fit to rule—"

"I don't need to hear your sexist monologue," Lily snapped. The words flooded out before she could stop them. "Don't pretend like it's funny that you want to gloat. You are far more emotional than Eyrl is, only your emotions are petty and cruel and based on how you think you're so much better than anyone. You're nothing."

Efira's eyes glittered, proving Lily's point, but Lily shrank back anyway. She shouldn’t have said that.

"Eyrl's fate will be much worse than yours. I almost feel sorry for him." Her cold voice showed no hint of regret. "However I decide your method of death will be, it will be carefully calculated. When the Justice Warriors find you, they'll have all the evidence they need to prove that it was the prince that killed you. And then he will be sent to one of his precious prisons, knowing that his mate is dead and I am raising his child."

Lily's hands went cold. She squeezed them together and tried to keep her chin up ad confidence on her face. "He'll find me. He'll save me."

"No. He won't."

***

More months passed. Her stomach stretched bigger and bigger, and the time of delivery came closer. She tried to keep faith in her mate, but her hopes sunk a little more every time she woke to find herself in this bleak prison. If he could find her by now, wouldn't he have saved her already?

The baby moved, kicking into her lower stomach, and Lily put a hand on her child, as though that would protect her. Her baby girl. The healers had told her what she was having. A dragoness who would one day be queen.

The ship jerked. The motion was so unexpected and violent that it threw her off the bed. She toppled over, landing on her hands and knees. Pain jolted up her arms and from her knees. What was that? Were they under attack? Her hopes rose at the same time as her fear. The last time someone had brought her a meal, they mentioned pirates. What if it was a murderous crew that would slaughter her and her unborn child?

As she scrambled to her feet, the door swung open. Her heart leaped in her chest. Without pausing to think, she raced into the hallway.

There was another door open a few meters down the hallway, and she darted into the room to rummage around for a weapon. Whoever was attacking them, she needed to be able to fight off Efira's goons. She was able to find a small hammer and left again. One arm stayed wrapped firmly around her stomach as she crept down the hall.

She turned a corner and found herself staring into red eyes. With a shriek, she lashed out, but the dragon grabbed her wrist. Another dragon was behind him. Both of them wore the uniforms of guards. He twisted her wrist, making her drop the hammer.

"Back to your cell," the guard snarled. "If you try anything, we have the authorization to remove your child. She'll be viable by now, and the true queen doesn't need you anymore."

A third dragon appeared among the others. The second turned and the third jumped, driving a thick-clawed foot into his stomach. The guard holding her released her in time for Eyrl to punch him in the face. A blast of heat rolled over Lily's skin as the second guard let loose a mouthful of flame. She dropped and grabbed her hammer.

As the first guard grappled with Eyrl, she swung with all her strength. The hard metal snapped when it connected with the dragon's head. He went rigid, then sagged against Eyrl. The prince threw him into the other guard and slammed his palm into his enemy's nose. He pulled a gun from the fallen guard's belt and fired rapidly into the second guard's chest.

He fell with a heavy thud.

"Eyrl," Lily breathed. She launched herself at him. "Eyrl! I knew you would come for me! I knew it."

His arms wrapped around her and his mouth sought out hers. "Darling, darling. I've been chasing after you for months. Always just out of reach. Oh, my love. My love! I will never let you go again."

Lily squeezed him, but she knew there was no time for their reunion. "We have to get out of here. They'll kill us both."

Eyrl nodded. With one arm still wrapped firmly around her, he half-lifted her and raced down the corridor. It had been so long since she had any real freedom that she stumbled over her feet but quickly regained the rhythm of running. One of her arms stayed around Eyrl's neck, making it easier for him to support her. Her center of balance had shifted terribly.

They ran into guards twice more, and by the time they got to Eyrl's ship, he was smeared with blood and panting heavily. Zaner was at the helm, and they broke away from Efira's ship. Eyrl collapsed to his knees and Lily threw her arms around him. She couldn’t stop herself from sobbing as everything that could have happened crashed down on her.

"Shhh." Eyrl held her tightly. "You're safe now. You're safe."

Lily pulled back. She touched a rising bruise on his cheek before wiping her eyes and quickly going to the cupboard to look for medical supplies. "Where are we going now?'

"Home. Back to Bronæl." Eyrl got to his feet unsteadily. "It's time to see Efira brought to her knees."

Lily nodded. "Yes. Yes, it is."