Chapter 25
“Let me go!” Arena yelled, trying to break the rope tying her hands behind her back. Her legs were tied as well, making it impossible for her to shift. Her wound was bleeding again and she knew it wouldn’t be long before she lost consciousness. If she couldn’t shift again, she wouldn’t heal and could bleed out. It happened sometimes during battle with warriors. She turned pleading eyes on the female she now knew was named Shanna.
“Cor, this has gone too far. I thought you just wanted to make Blaze look bad in front of the others. She’s going to die if we don’t let her shift,” Shanna said from the opening of the cave.
Cor paced back and forth. “Why are you here? You were supposed to stay back at the ranch to make sure that the blame fell on Blaze for her disappearance. Why did you follow me?”
“I had second thoughts about things. At first, I thought we would be going back to our individual clans, us to Dyson and the others to theirs. But I overheard warriors talking about Dyson. He is no longer considered a king and in fact is being hunted for crimes.”
“What crimes? No one can take a crown from another.”
“I don’t know the details, but evidently, Dyson did some bad things.”
“Well, this new plan should take care of our problem then.”
“What new plan?” Shanna asked suspiciously, glancing over at Arena with worry.
“When she dies, we will pin the blame on Blaze. They’ll kill him and I will take leadership of our clan.”
Arena was fading in and out of consciousness due to the loss of blood but felt a cold streak through her body when she heard the male named Cor stating his plan. She began to wonder who her captor really was.Is he insane?She had to say something.
“Killing me won’t get you what you want. No one will believe Blaze would hurt me.”
The male and female turned to look at her. Cor stepped closer to her. “Why not? He’s a stranger to everyone here.”
“Two reasons.” Arena took a breath. She knew she wasn’t going to make it for long.
“What reasons?” Cor shook her to wake her up.
“He’s my mate.”
“I don’t see a claiming mark,” Cor pushed her head to the side.
Arena’s dragon growled, wanting to bust free. “I have his scent on me and mine is on his. Mark or no, he’s mine.”
“What’s the other reason?” Shanna asked, coming up to peer over Cor’s shoulder at her.
Arena smiled as she closed her eyes. “He’s the rightful heir to King Zocor. I already informed my second that I want to give up my rule to him. Once I die, they will back him up and come after you. You’re as good as dead.”
Cor slapped her before he moved away. “Lies. He can’t be related to Zocor. Why wouldn’t the king have claimed him?”
Arena didn’t answer because blood had begun to fill her mouth. Cor growled angrily and stepped outside the cave, leaving Shanna and Arena alone. Shanna bent down and placed a cloth to Arena’s mouth, trying to help stop the blood.
“Is that true? Is Blaze really the son of Zocor?”
“Yes.”
“He told me something like that but I thought he was making it up to impress me. Blaze mostly talked about you. His queen. I hated you before I ever met you because I could tell his heart belonged with you. That’s why he never committed to me.” Shanna hung her head. “I’m not carrying a dragonlet either,” she confessed.
“Why did you say it?”
“Cor’s original plan was to upset you and make Blaze look bad so that he could take the leadership role from him. I thought I would be going back to King Dyson’s clan along with Cor, so I went along with it.”
“Dyson isn’t a king,” Arena told her.
“I know. I’m sorry for what I did.” Shanna looked over her shoulder to make sure Cor had not come back inside.
“Then help me escape,” Arena pleaded with her.
