We walk in silence for a little while, and I don’t try to break it. I honestly have no idea what to say to this guy. Glancing at the guy next to me, I have to ask. “Do you have a spirit dragon?”
“Yes.”
“Could it defend you if something happened to you?”
“Yes.”
“Would it hurt whatever came after you?”
“My spirit dragon would tear to shreds anything that threatened me.”
I turn to look at him. “Okay then.” I ask my next question without looking at him. “Could it take down a guivre?”
He stops walking and looks over at me. “What did you say?”
I face him as well. “I asked if it could take down a guivre.”
His eyes narrow. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why would you ask that?” he demands.
I’m not exactly sure why he’s responding this way. “I was just curious.”
His eyes stay on my face another moment and then he turns away and starts walking again. I keep pace with him. He doesn't say anything, and my mind keeps turning our conversation over and over in my head. “What do you know about guivres?” he finally asks in a quiet voice.
“They’re terrifying creatures that are difficult to kill.” I don’t say anything about how they’re attacking and getting worse or about the war that I want Rauk and his people to fight in. We walk in silence for a while, and I wonder just how far away Rauk is and what he could possibly be doing.
It’s not for a long while that the guard finally speaks again. “I don’t know why you’re asking about guivres, but as powerful as spirit dragons are,” he pauses. “I don’t know that they could take down a guivre.”
His words settle over me. That’s the second time someone has told me they don’t think a spirit dragon could defeat a guivre. “What about several spirit dragons?” I ask.
“Do you have an unhealthy obsession with guivres or something?”
“Sure. Go with me on this. If you had two or maybe three spirit dragons, could they take down a guivre?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
We walk in silence after that, and a sort of despair settles overme. If the spirit dragons can’t fight, then we’re doomed. The whole point of me coming here is lost. I’m so lost in thought, I don’t notice when the guard next to me stops walking. He puts a hand on my arm, stilling me. When I turn to him in confusion, he puts a hand to his lips. Before I can even grab my knife at my waist, somebody gets the jump on me. There’s suddenly an arm around my neck and a knife at my throat. I go still. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?”
I take note of the slight accent. It’s unfamiliar to anything I’ve heard before. He turns slowly, keeping me moving with him. I grimace when I see the guard I was with is unconscious on the ground. Hopefully, he’s not dead. My stomach tightens, and I will myself not to think about the fact that he might be dead because of me. I push those thoughts away and focus on getting free. I know I can call to Redara if it comes to that, but I’m not going to put her in harm’s way if I don’t have to. I also don’t know if she could get to me in here easily.
I guess it’s all on me then. “Who are you and what do you want?”
“Ooo feisty thing, aren’t you?”
“You won’t be quite so happy when I bury my dagger in your heart,” I threaten.
The sound of laughter rings out around me, and my stomach knots.There’s more than one.I wiggle my fingers towards my knife. If I can just get it free, I could do some serious damage with it. The knife at my throat pricks me, and I suck in a breath but stay quiet. I won’t give him the satisfaction of making a sound. “You’ve got a lot of nerve; I’ll give you that. For a girl that’s allalone now, you’re pretty brave.”
“How do you know I’m alone?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer my question. “Now, the question begs to be asked.Whyare you out here alone with this guard, and who are you? Are you a Northerner?” I hesitate a moment, unsure how to respond. There’s a hand in my hair suddenly, and my head is yanked back. “Answer me. Are you one of them? One of those Northerners?”
“No,” I manage to get out. I don’t even know who the Northerners are, not that I’m going to admit that right now. I’m not really sure which is the right side to be on.
“She is,” another man says from not too far away. Suddenly, he’s in front of me. I stare up at the new guy. “You’re going to tell us exactly who you are, Sweetheart, and what you’re doing out here.”
