I planted my hands on my hips, struggling not to cower before the powerful beast. A skill I’d practiced often around Master Mortis. “I’m a healer. There could be people there who require my assistance.”
“First she’s royalty, now she’s a healer.” Thorne sauntered to the hearth in a cocky manner I was coming to loathe. “What’s next?”
“I forbid it,”Alaric stated simply, puffing a small cloud of smoke through his nostrils.
Those three words lit a fire in my gut. With the high ruler gone, I was one of the free-folk. Free-folk didn’t take orders. “You forbid it?”
Thorne chuckled, the strained sound far from humorous. He stared into the flames, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “Little factoid, Princess. When a dragon saves a life, that life forevermore belongs to the dragon.”
His dark gaze lifted, locking onto the scowling beast. “Remember,yousaved Serafina from the wendigos. Therefore, she isyourproblem, not mine.”
Alaric and Thorne stared at each other for a long moment. Something odd transpired between the two that I couldn’t discern. All I knew was that hearing those words from Thorne’s mouth made my heart ache, a sharp sense of betrayal scraping my nerves.
Until finally, Alaric dipped his head, putting us at eye level.“Thorne is correct. According to our laws, I saved your life. Therefore, it belongs to me. Making you mine to command.”
My chest tightened, a feeling of dread settling over me. I got free of one master, only to be saddled with another. A dragon. What would it even mean to belong to a mythical creature?
Think, Sera. Think.I stretched my frame up to my fullest height, speaking in a way a free person might. “I am a trained healer, schooled in the use of herbs and medicines. I studied under the tutelage of a powerful hag. It would be a waste of my talents to keep me here when there are people who need me.” Sure, I’d been a slave to the high ruler. That didn’t mean I held any animosity toward the common folk. “Besides, what good is one Puritan to you?” For that matter, why bother to even save me?
“By your own words, you claim to be a healer,”Alaric growled, hiking up his wing.“Just so happens, I’m in need of one.”
I gasped. His scales gaped apart, raw flesh swollen between them, skin discolored. I couldn’t help but step closer before I caught myself. Flark. He wasn’t bluffing. And I’d trapped myself with my own argument.
“Those wounds are festering.” My healer’s instinct flared. “What happened?”
“Hunters,”Alaric grated.
“Hunters? What kind of fools would hunt a dragon?” Sure, Imay have thrown a pile of dung at the beast not so long ago. But that hardly counted.
“The dead kind.” Thorne stabbed an iron poker at the embers in the hearth. The orange glow cast his perfect features in a devilish light. “Regardless, if we were to let you leave, and you told someone Alaric was here, his life would be in danger. We can’t have that.”
The threat in his tone sent a shiver through me. “I won’t. I wouldn’t.”
Thorne’s lips curled, dangerous blue eyes flashing as he tightened his grip on the iron rod he held. “Of course, you won’t. Because you’ll be here, where Alaric can keep an eye on you.”
“There’s no point in arguing, Serafina,”the dragon stated with that authoritative calm of his.“Your people are all gone. Your village destroyed. You’ve nothing to return to.”
“That can’t be true.” My throat tightened. “Surely, there is someone left.” What of Rose and Cookie? The woman from the laundry who enjoyed the balm I’d created for her chapped hands. The widow with the aching hip I’d tended only yesterday. They couldn’t all be gone.
“Don’t believe us? See for yourself.” Thorne dropped his poker with a clang, striding toward the darkened corridor.
I was unable to resist following. Sunlight illuminated the end of the path, and an expansive stone platform stretched out before us. Beyond that was nothing but sky.
I gasped, flutterflies doing somersaults in my stomach. “What is this?”
“Flight deck,” Thorne said. “Watch that first step.”
I edged closer, my pulse racing as the world opened beneath me. “That’s Nefarr in the distance.” I scanned the steep craggy walls that stretched out on either side of the platform. I knew those dark cliffs. “We’re inside Gravestone Mountain.”
My crimson curls blew across my face, carried on a gust of wind. I peeled a piece from my gaping mouth, glancing atThorne. “I’ve heard tales of people who once lived up here, but they were all folklore. Many told stories of ghosts who lingered in the shadows of the mountain. Are you saying they were true?”
My gaze dropped to the valley floor—and my heart cracked. Smoke coiled from the cottages. Not a single farmer tended his field. Children didn’t frolic in their yards. The dirt-packed streets were empty. At the center was Rottbarry Manor. Several walls of the keep lay broken and crumbled. The destruction was overwhelming.
I covered my mouth, speaking through my fingers. “It truly is gone.”
“Yes. Even if there were a few who survived. They would have fled.”
Nefarr was a complete loss. But Speck. He was in his pasture during the attack. Speck could still be alive. He was lean, but strong. And smart. He could have easily hidden from the wendigos. It was unlikely he’d moved on unaided. Even now, he may be there, waiting for me.
