Men begin to part ways, some tightening their daggers in their sheaths as others eat meat, ripping it apart with their teeth. Kaine and Theon hustle up to me, their eyes widening as Theon has an impressed smirk tugging on his lips.
“We thought my mother would for sure have your head for this!” Theon comes up to me, grabbing my shoulders tightly and shaking me. “The Light Stone! With Florian, the soon-to-be King and husband to Skie?”
“You’re begging for the Queen to kill you.” Kaine lifts his hand to his lips, trying to hide the teasing smile that is forming. “I bet Skie is having a fit.”
Theon snaps his gaze towards Kaine. “My sister is most likely throwing furniture and screaming in the castle at this very moment.”
I sigh, placing my hands on Theon before removing his grip from me. “It’s good to see you two.”
“Nice new arm piece?” Kaine’s voice twists into concern, but a smirk is plastered on his face. “This is interesting? What did you three get yourselves into last night?”
I glance down at my bare arm, now graced with a silverish white stone against it. Flashes of the burning sensation that ran rampant through my body convulse my stomach. “Something I can’t quite understand yet.”
“Koen is—” Theon goes to speak, turning his body to gesture to where Koen is, but I pause him, lifting my hand and closing my eyes to catch my breath.
“I don’t need to see Koen.” My eyes soften, gazing at them both. “It’s time to get ready, I need my daggers.”
“That’s my girl.” Theon leaps with a playful energy and wraps his arm around me, pulling me in close. “Let’s take down a damn dragon!”
I let out a shaky laugh, unsure if the nerves are finally leaving or if Theon pulls out a side of me that makes me feel calm. But as I glance towards Kaine, his brows are pulled deeply in and his head tilts to the side, studying me. Watching me.
“What happened with Koen out there?” he grunts. “Do I need to kill him?”
I pull my body back. “No. No need for that, I just need to focus on myself. I need to fight my way out of here, and I can’t have any distractions.”
“Distractions will be the death of most of the men here. Out there will be a bloodbath, Serene. You need to prepare yourself for what your eyes will see.” Kaine pulls his long, raven hairbehind his pointed ears, crossing his arms as we all walk to my bunk. “You will need to stay by our sides.Do not stray away.”
“I won’t.” My brows rivel.
“Are you absolutely certain I shouldn’t slit Koen’s throat in front of the dragons, letting them feast on him instead of us?” His brows lift. “It’ll only take a second, I’ll make it quick.”
I push his shoulder back. “That’s disgusting and brutal.” A laugh escapes my lips. “I am sure, thank you. He did nothing wrong. Everything is fine.”
I lied.Everything is wrong.Everything feels different since last night.
“That's assuming she's in our group,” Theon says, clearing his throat and forcing a smile as he steps back. “She has to be in our group... right?”
“There are groups of twenty-five. I passed a note to a guard who's an old friend from my Realm. If he follows through with my request, we'll be in the same group.”
“Do we know how many dragons will be out there?” I hesitantly ask as we reach our bunks, twisting a strand of my hair around my finger.
Florian and I barely escaped with our lives when the dragons from the Desert of Death attacked us. The thought of confronting a dragon and battling them with daggers is unimaginable. But Florian assured me, the Gods will watch after me. If he is right about me, I will survive the first game. But the words of Queen Antivianna about the stone trouble me… what does she know?
“Last year, there were only two—one from the desert and one from the Darklands.” Theon climbs up his bunk, swinging his feet over his bed as he begins to braid his long hair. “Still unsure how they managed to steal a dragon from the Darklands.”
Kaine sits on the bottom bed, digging into the plate of meat and fruit that has been sitting there. “That was the first time I ever laid my eyes on a dragon from the dark.”
He takes an enormous bite of the meat, his hand gripping the bone as the juice runs down his chin. Theon notices. “Damn, Kaine, when was the last time you ate?”
Kaine shrugs, holding his arm over his mouth as he laughs.
I grin, my heart easing since I have the two of them near me. But if the dragons from the desert are as deadly as I saw them to be, I can’t imagine one from the Darklands. A place forbidden.
“How terrifying was the one from the Darklands?” I sit on my bed, my suit slowly drying as it starts to feel more comfortable against my skin. My fingers twist between my hair, slowly braiding it over my shoulder. Death isn’t above me. I can’t remember the last time I saw him.
I have yet to see Dryden or Skydance, but I know they know I am here. And I know they know about what happened last night. Theon told me all the men here know.And the men are pissed the Queen didn’t take my head for it.
“Scariest creature I had ever seen.” Theon’s eyes widen, finishing his top two braids before he works on the others. “I almost died from one, but the Gods saved me.”
