Hafgan made an annoyed face, clearly thinking of the one he should be asking for help: Tristram, whom he was angry with.
I didn’t have time for this, and frankly, neither did they. So instead of breaking into their conversation, I took my pencil and wrote on the back of the message about Roland.
I had to go back to find Roland. Only I can decide what kind of dragon I am. And I’m the kind of dragon who loves Roland Cavendish.
Love,
Aderyn.
And then, without saying a word to anyone, I shifted and flew toward the palace.
17
ROLAND
Once my hands and feet were bound, the villain carrying me from the aviary moved quickly, and though I shouted, it was into the small of their back and muffled by the falling snow outside. That or the late hour meant we made it well away from where we’d started. The sound of his steps turned wooden and hollow, and I had a vague sense of the world tilting before I was dumped unceremoniously onto what felt like a bed.
“What do you want?” I demanded, thrashing on the plush mattress. “If it’s gold, I can pay?—”
My captor didn’t reply, but left me there, blind and bound. He stalked away, and a moment later, I heard the slam of a door and the click of a lock. The room around me groaned, and the squawking of gulls told me he’d brought me to the dock on the river.
The world swayed, even when I’d been set down. We were on a ship, and I could hear the sounds of people moving around beyond this room, and the creak of wood as they prepared to set sail.
“Who are you?” I shouted into the void.
Once again, no response, and no matter how I struggled, my hands were behind my back and I couldn’t wiggle my legs free of their bindings.
I lost all sense of how long I’d stayed there, shouting to nothing until the nausea made me hesitate to open my mouth anymore.
All I could think of was the rocking movement of the ship and how my stomach twisted with every shift. By the time the door opened again, I was dizzy and ready to retch. Quick, perfunctory hands undid the binding at my ankles first, then the person leaned over to free my wrists.
When they stepped back, that left me to loosen the bag over my head with cold, bloodless fingers. I ripped it off my head with a hiss.
Across from me, Lord Forov sat with his ankle propped on the opposite knee, his head cocked curiously.
I bared my teeth at him. “You have erred, sir.”
His lips twitched. “Have I?”
“Mm.” I pushed to sit up, but with the swaying of the boat, I didn’t trust myself to stand. Already, my stomach was rolling. “Everyone who has ever crossed me is dead.” I imagined Bet’s blank face as he finished a man’s life, the coldness in his eyes when he set to his grisly work. “For your sake, I hope it’s quick.”
“Your Majesty, forgive me, but you’re in no position to be making threats. And we shall beallies. There’s simply no need for it.”
I scoffed. “My allies will burn your empire to the ground.”
Forov raised a pointed eyebrow at me. “You put such faith in the snakes you allow to nest around you. They won’t come.”
He was wrong; Tris would come, and without magic, one dragon was enough to tear through whatever defense this one ship had.
But once, I might’ve had whole clans flying to my rescue. Dragons who believed in the future we were working toward wouldn’t let anyone snuff it out so easily. Now? I thought I was largely alone here. Surely Hafgan would’ve shared a warning with every dragon in the Mawrcraig Mountains.
“If they do,” Forov continued, “we’ll consider it an act of aggression and shoot them down.”
“Ah, yes, clearly we would be first to strike.” I stuck my chin out. “Kidnapping our king means nothing in the balance. What do you want?”
Forov’s brow furrowed, the lines around his mouth deepening as he frowned. He seemed to pity me. “The same thing as you, Your Majesty—an alliance.”
“Oh, you’ve ruined that chance.”
