“Found it,” Brann shouted, immediately followed by the low scraping groan of rusted metal being moved against its will.
“All right, let’s move,” Rian commanded.
One by one, he watched the men he’d pledged loyalty, fealty, and brotherhood to disappear into the smoke-filled darkness. The last one down, Rian pulled the metal door closed and climbed down the ladder straight into his worst nightmare.
His brethren were being detained by rabid hellhounds, all salivating to eat each and every one of them until nothing remained but a few little gooey bits. Behind the Guardsmen, blocking the only escape Rian could see, were at least fifty undead soldiers dressed in every imaginable uniform since the beginning of time, armed and ready for battle.
The scent of Bellflowers cut through the sulfur and brimstone a second before a seven-foot monstrosity of unknown origin made his way through the parting sea of zombies. The iron chain wrapped around his meaty, talon-tipped paw rattled and scraped against the ground as he walked toward Rian, a look of utter superiority etched upon his reptilian face.
Searching for Audrey while attempting to look bored with the production before him, Rian sighed and said, “Adramelech, I presume?”
Nodding like a king to his loyal subject, the Chancellor said, “Rian and the dragons, how nice of you to drop in. I’m so glad to finally make your acquaintance.”
“The pleasure is all…”
The words froze in Rian’s throat. A red haze fell across his vision and his dragon roared so loudly the confines of the Dragon Leader’s mind rattled. Utter rage filled every cell in his body as one jerk of Adramelech’s chain brought Audrey stumbling to the forefront with a heavy iron collar around her neck and shackles on her wrists and ankles.
His body shook with a fury he’d never imagined possible in all his hundred and sixty-five years. Audrey’s gorgeous porcelain skin was marred with bruises, welts, and open sores. Even the tops of her feet and the back of her hands bore proof of the Chancellor’s cruelty.
Dried blood, Rian knew was her own by scent, and bits of straw matted her long ebony hair. Her usually vibrant violet eyes were bloodshot, despondent, and swollen from crying, the tears having left tracks in the dirt on her cheeks. Her lips were so puffy, cracked, and bleeding that when she tried to give him the smallest of smiles, she winced in pain and tears filled her eyes.
Taking in the ripped and frayed white cotton frock so threadbare that only small pieces of it had not already become a hole that the Chancellor had dressed Audrey in, Rian knew it was just another form of torture. Adramelech had resorted to shaming the princess to try to break her spirit. But even that had not stolen the fire inside her soul.
Looking deep into her eyes, Rian focused on their mating bond and pushed the words directly into her mind. “I will get us out here, but not before I make that sorry sack of shit pay for everything he’s done to you.”
Recognition shone bright in her eyes. She could hear him, and after just a single heartbeat answered, “I know you will. I tried to give up. I tried to force him to kill me but through it all, I never lost faith in you. I lo…”
Before she could finish, Adramelech yanked on the chain attached to Audrey’s collar, causing her to stumble forward and then spin around to stay upright. The site of the raw and beaten flesh of her back pushed Rian over the edge. Lunging forward, he flew toward the Chancellor. The poison-tipped silver-bladed athame Calysta had given him before the descent into the Abyss appeared in his hand. Raising the blade over his head, the Dragon Leader aimed for the Demon Lord’s heart.
Audrey screamed.
The Guardsmen roared.
And Rian’s world went instantly and tragically black as Adramelech shouted, “Stad! Titim! Codladh!”
I knew it was all too easy…
11
“Ri? Rian? DAMMIT RIAN! WAKE UP!”
Waking with a start, the Dragon Leader attempted to move toward his brother’s voice, only to find himself restrained and hanging from the ceiling. The events of the recent past came rushing back as he looked at the thick iron shackles and chain holding his wrists together over his head.
Head pounding from the magically induced sleep Adramelech had slapped on him, Rian immediately thought of his mate and yelled, “Audrey? Are you there? Audrey!”
“I’m here.” Her muffle response came almost immediately.
Rian looked through the darkness but could only see his brethren hanging just as he was, each one pissed and vowing revenge.
“Where are you?”
It took a few seconds for her to answer, during which Rian feared the worst. Struggling with his bonds, he pulled at his shackles with all the strength of both man and dragon. The loud pop of his wrists dislocating echoed through the large stone room where they were being detained.
Ignoring the pain, the Dragon Leader stretched until the tips of his toes touched the floor, making it possible for him to rotate his body. Slowly turning, ignoring the excruciating pain down his arms, Rian finally caught a glimpse of Audrey.
His heart soared when she finally answered, “Here I am.”
Her weak smile and battered body nearly broke his heart, but the fact that the piece of shit Chancellor had her chained to the floor of a three-foot by three-foot cage made him growl low in his throat. Holding is temper the best he could, he reassured her, “I’m going to get you out of here. I promise.”
