“Let’s go now,” Rain said, turning to Oak. “Marigold might be in trouble.”
Finn watched as Topaz, Oak, and Theo transformed into dragons. Finn had only seen a human take dragon form a handful of times, so the switch, the kicking up of dust and the evaporation of a human body and—in its place--a dragon, made his mind go totally blank. His brother had a similar reaction.
Finn hated the thought of being carried away by Topaz, so he chose Theo, and William chose Oak. Helena stood by Topaz, and Rain went over to Finn.
“You’re in pain,” she said. “You love her.”
The words echoed throughout the palace. Helena snapped her head towards Finn to examine him more closely.
“Let’s hope you’re worthy of her,” Helena said. “He seems unacceptable to me.”
This was the first sign of animosity that Finn got from her. He was again astounded.
“Ignore it,” Rain said to Finn. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Eleven
Marigold
Marigold looked around her and saw only darkness. This time, she was truly a prisoner in her body. This was no metaphor. Her hands and feet were tied and her mouth bound. Her dress, torn. They were preparing to kill her in the marketplace tomorrow, during the fire kingdom’s day of celebration. She had gathered that much. The criminals were named Darius and Nell. They were themselves plagued by an illness of the mind. Marigold tried to remember that when they appraised her body…when they forced themselves upon her. Luckily their pleasure was short-lived. They fondled her, groped her whenever they chanced return to the cave. At this small touch they achieved their pleasure quickly, and, at least for now, refrained from hitting her. But this time wasn’t like the last time, not at all. She felt her own worth solidly and undeniably. There was nothing these men would do to diminish it. She was above them. She didn’t resist, didn’t speak, remained aloft.
One more day of life, then, she thought.
They had left her now, injured—and this just as her life was beginning, just as she had transformed. She would have liked to say goodbye to her children. To tell them a little bit about her nature, just in case they were to inherit the same one. To make sure that they knew she loved them. She cried for that—for them. Not for the fragility of her own being. She cried also for Finn, with whom she felt so real, and for his family, and for the idea that she might never see them again.
She would stab those men in their hearts if she had the chance.
How, though, to formulate a plan?
Her wrists were bound, her mouth gagged, her feet tied. She was completely alone in a dark cave. The knots keeping her in place all seemed stable and tight enough. For the moment, there was absolutely nothing she could do. But she might have an opening when the disgruntled water king’s followers returned.
Like magic, they did. The rock covering the cave was being removed by one of the shifters in dragon form. When the men with blue hair returned, their hulking figures made shadows on the wall. Marigold squinted at the pre-dawn sunlight. All this time she had supposed that it was a deep night–her experience of darkness had been so complete.
So today, she was to die in the market. Nell smiled, revealing several missing teeth, and he began approaching her with a blazing red dress in hand.
“We want you to be recognizable,” he said.
Marigold wanted to say that no one in the fire kingdom would really recognize her, and especially not in that gown. She had had a way of making herself invisible, even as queen.
But here, she thought, was an opening: if they wanted her to wear the dress, they would have to untie her.
All accounts of Queen Marigold that Nell and Darius were likely to hear weighed in her favor: docile, quiet, spacy. They wouldn’t expect her to rebel, would they?
Nell got behind her and began untying her hands, all the while keeping a firm grip on her wrists with one of his hands. Darius was lifting up her purple frock, grinning grotesquely. Marigold sighed at his stupid, plain desire, and then she knew exactly what to do. Her hands were at the level of Nell’s equipment. She cupped it, squeezed it, and he bounced back in pain, releasing her wrists. There was still the matter of her feet, though, and Nell’s hands on her dress. A scuffle ensued and she was soon recaptured.
“Couldn’t help yourself, eh?” Darius laughed. Marigold tossed her hair. “You know, you could ransom me for quite a lot of money,” she said.
“Of course we know that,” Nell said. “But it wouldn’t make any kind of point. Killing you would make a point. Revenge.”
“And what good is revenge going to do for you, now?” Marigold said. “Besides, Topaz remarried. My death is not the one that would hurt him the most.”
“Whose then?” Nell asked. “Your children?”
Marigold was silent.
“You’d kill children?”
Nell came up behind her and put his arm around her neck.
