I laughed weakly through my tears. “I followed your lead.”
The knights gathered around us, battered and bloodied but standing. Only then did I notice that the hall had gone quiet.
Sir Vanoak knelt, pressing a fist to his chest. “The hall is ours, my King. The Okon are broken.”
Raventar closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, strength returning as he sheathed his sword and turned with me to face the demolished dining hall. The mist had faded, revealing charred floorboards. Even the stone walls and ceiling bore black marks. The furniture was scattered and broken, and so were many of the Okon. But the Dragons had all survived, and the Okons were on their knees.
“Do you surrender?” the Dragon King called out to the Okon.
“We are dying, Your Majesty,” an Okon said. “We fought only to serve our chief. Now that he is dead, we just want it to be over. Please, kill us.”
Chapter Thirty-One
The Dragon King strode past his knights to stand before the kneeling Okon. “Are you so certain there is no cure?”
“Chief Nahel embedded silk into our flesh.” The Okon warrior waved at the scars on his neck. “It has made us into monsters.” He held out his arms, displaying the glowing veins. “It tears at our souls even as it strengthens us. I'm so tired.” He hung his head. “Please, Your Majesty, just kill me.”
I stepped up beside Raven and laid a hand on his arm. “Don't.”
“They beg for mercy, Mate. How can I deny them?” Raven's expression held regret, as if he'd already done the deed.
“Magic condemned them. Maybe magic can free them.” I looked at the Okon. “Give us some time to find someone to help you. Please. Don't give up. I have Nahel's notes. There may be a way to undo this.”
“Why would you help us?” another Okon asked. “We have done terrible things.”
“Did you want to do those things or did you feel compelled?”
The man looked at the other Okons before saying, “I felt compelled.”
I nodded. “I believe he wove some of the enslaving silk in with that which strengthened you. You were bound to obey him.”
“That's why whenever I tried to stop him, I froze.” The first Okon surged to his feet. “Damn that bastard!”
“Let us try to help you.” Looking at them, I knew this wasn't just for them. Helping my enemies, perhaps changing them, would help me.
“My mate has lived bound by the same magic that has altered you,” the King said. “If he thinks you can be saved, I believe it too. Give us one month. If we cannot help you by them, I will end your lives painlessly.”
“My name is Levru,” the first man who had spoken said. “One month, Your Majesty. If you save me, I will be your warrior. If not, I will accept your mercy.”
The other Okons stood and pounded their chests with an agreeing shout.
The Dragon King lifted an eyebrow at me.
“Yes, I know,” I muttered. “Now I have to save them.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
The Okons helped us clear Nahel's fortress. Levru, in particular, remained by the King's side to guide him to the keys for the cells, Nahel's quarters, where they found additional notes on his experiments, and their stores of weapons. There was only one bone-thread blade, and Raven incinerated it.
The captives didn't react well to the Okons, so the Dragons handled them. They were taken to rooms to wash up and rest until they could be fed and then transported home. I helped with them, leaving the King to see to the preserved corpses and Nahel's laboratory.
“Here you are.” I waved a Deldin couple into a room. “Freshen up and come to the dining hall when you're ready to eat.”
“Thank you,” the man ushered his wife into the room.
As I closed the door, I heard the woman crying and her husband comforting her. I sighed, knowing firsthand that being freed wasn't the end of captivity.
Turning away from the door, I faced the last person in my group. I was glad he had hung back. I wanted to speak with him privately. After opening the door of one of the many barracksrooms in the fortress, on loan from the Okon warriors, I waved the man inside. Doing my best not to stare, I followed him in.
