“Come. It’s not safe out here for those without wings,” Thorne said, turning to head back inside.
With nowhere else to go but down, I followed.
Back in the large hearth room, Alaric’s massive head tracked me, his green eyes unblinking.“Do you see now?”
I curled my nails into my clenched fists. “You’ve made your point.” And a heartless one at that. Neither Thorne nor the dragon had expressed a crumb of sympathy for the fallen.
Anger stirred within me. “Having lost my village doesn’t mean I have nowhere to go. There are other villages not far from here where Speck and I—”
“There is no place you can run that I couldn’t track you,”Alaric uttered in a threatening growl.
My voice rose. “So you mean to hold me prisoner?”
“Call it what you will.”Smoke curled from his nostrils.“You’re not going anywhere.”
If he thought to intimidate me, he’d failed—mostly. Still, I was done playing the role of submissive slave. I’d rather the dragon ate me than return to that life. “You can’t keep me here against my will.”
“We’ll see about that.”His tail cracked against the tiles.“Thorne. Show her to the blue room.”
“Blue room?” Thorne cast Alaric an antagonistic smirk. “Wouldn’t you prefer she stay in the dungeon?”
I sucked a breath, uncertain if he’d said it to torment me or was serious.
“Just do it.”The snap of Alaric’s tail left no room for argument.
“Very well, Your Majesty. I live to serve,” Thorne muttered. Louder, he commanded, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll follow me.”
No doubt he’d love to drag me kicking and screaming. Instinctively, I knew fighting would get me nowhere with these two. No. I’d have to outsmart the bastards in order to leave this place anytime soon.
I stomped behind Thorne as he led the way down a long hallway, glaring daggers at his very broad, very exposed back. The sight of all that muscle sent a tingle of disgust through me. That’s right. Disgust! Even while sweating beneath the sun while working a field, Puritan men did not walk about half-naked. My own state of undress didn’t factor since it wasn’t my choosing.
With all the problems I’d faced since waking, I decided to address the simplest.
“Am I wearing your shirt?”
“You are.”
“Don’t you have another one?”
“Do I offend?” Thorne drawled, casting me a shuttered look.
“Would you care?”
He shrugged those disgusting shoulders. “My house. My rules.”
“And is it?”
“Is it what?”
“Your home? I mean, what are you and Alaric even doing here? How long have you lived in this place?”
Rather than answer, he pushed open a thick wooden door. “Here it is.”
I followed him inside, turning to scan the space. “Well, it’s definitely blue.” Bonus. It wasn’t the dungeon.
Whereas at some point in theverydistant past, it would have been a grand room fit for a king, time had taken its toll.
At the center of the chamber was a massive bed big enough for me, Speck, and his entire herd of nerf. The aged linens, while managing to retain their royal blue color, were filthy and moth-eaten. On the bedside table, golden light spilled from an oddly shaped lamp. The source of the light was a roughly cut crystal. I’d noted similar crystals in sconces in the hall.Magical solar crystals. Exactly the kind of thing the Puritans would have shunned.
