His eyes burned brighter, seeing right through her.Yet I am not the only one who is confined.
Alora’s lips parted with a faint breath.
How did he know?
Of course he knew. The gods knew everything. Including her desperation to be free from royal duty.
You came here to make a bargain with the shadows,Rune pressed.But you desire more thanto eliminate your invaders.Speak freely.
There was no clever answer to that. No half-truth she could hide behind.
“My people suffer under a curse that renders them into a permanent sleep. The gods are the bearers of this world, the source of all, including magic. You must know how to unravel it.”
For a long moment Rune was silent. Then a low rumble stirred his chest, more amused than sympathetic.Curses are chains of another kind. Some shatter easily, while others bind until the end of days.
Her stomach knotted. “Then, you cannot break it?”
I did not say that.His tail flickered behind him pensively.Curses always demand a price. Such are the rules of magic.His head tilted, maw curling in something like a smile.It can be broken with the right boon. True love’s kiss, perhaps.
The dragon laughed and she tensed at the strange beastly sound.
You might consider simply letting the curse take its course. Then you would have no need of my aid, princess. All would eventually succumb to it, and in so doing… grant the freedom you so desire.
Alora blinked, realizing with a chill that it was true. But she shook off the thought. To give such a flippant answer, she wondered if he had been the one to cast it.
“I won’t do that,” she said firmly.
You wish to save a kingdom that will remain your prison?
She thought of the high walls of the castle. The locked doors. The loneliness. The way she was hidden away in the Midlands, kept but never heard. Even if she didn’t marry Prince Eldrik, she would remain trapped at her father’s whim.
Still, her people didn’t deserve to suffer for that.
Alora clenched her jaw. “Yes.”
The cavern trembled with his growl.
I can taste your lies,he snarled.I will hear the truth. What do you want most?
Her heart squeezed and her confession spilled. “I… I want to be free. From my father. From duty. From all authorities that be. I wish to be a princess no more.”
Her confession earned its pleased hum.Poor little bird in a cage. Do you know what it means to make a deal with the dark?
“I’m told you’re a demon.” She clenched her shaking fists. “They say a deal with you will cost of my soul but it’s all I have to trade.”
Then chains rattled as the dragon moved closer. Close enough to see the flames churning in his eyes.You trade what is not yours to give, but I will gladly take it.
She ignored the tremble wrapping around her spine. “Then we have a bargain?”
With a flick of his tail, the chains struck the stone at her feet.
They were anchored deep into the ground, etched with divine glyphs glowing like trapped starlight. These weren’t made by mortal hands. She could feel the power woven in them, power so immense it belonged to the Seven.
Grant me my freedom, Alora Lark of Argyle, and I shall grant you yours.
Her chest rose with shallow breaths as their gazes locked. Every instinct screamed caution. Whatever had bound him here, the gods were not punished without reason.
Her voice came out thin. “Why were you chained?”
