They reached an enormous black castle nestled in the middle of a molten orange river. Sharp jagged towers appeared to be made of the same shiny black stone as the surrounding mountains. Large torches and snarling gargoyles flanked the doors.
Thank you,Elizabeth said to the dragon.
The dragon crouched and extended her foreleg, giving her a path down. Leaving Caspian seated, she carefully dismounted, shimmying down the dragon’s leg. She ignored the barking pain in her leg as her boots thudded to the ground.
Asmodeus helped Caspian down, supporting his weight, and rushed him inside.
Elizabeth was about to follow them when she hesitated.Are you hungry? she asked the dragon. If the dragon had been a guest in her home, she would have offered her food and drink.I need to make sure my friend is alright, but I’ll see if we can get you some food as thanks.
Food?
Yes. What do you eat?
Meat.
Gruesome images flashed in Elizabeth’s mind of half-eaten sheep and cattle.
Will you wait? We will give you food as thanks for your spectacular rescue once we are sure he is alright.
Yes, little mortal.The dragon snorted.I would like payment in gold or food for my services rendered tonight. I was injured, too, and did not relish the experience. Food would go nicely towards my forgiving you.
Elizabeth gave a curt nod.I’ll see what I can do.
She limped into the castle, not pausing to wonder at the raised stone pathway—the only thing keeping her from plunging into the moat of molten lava. The heat was so intense that even walking several feet above the viscous surface made her sweat profusely.
She looked down at herself and saw, to her surprise, that the arrow had been jostled out during the flight. Now her injury bled sluggishly, leaving a trail of blood across the floor. Luckily, it hadn’t been barbed and wasn’t nearly as deep asit could have been, but it really,reallyhurt. She limped, favouring her good leg, half dragging her injured one behind her.
I’m safe, and I’ll be home soon.
The thought gave her the strength to push on.
She called, “Asmodeus?”
He answered with mind speech.Up here.
She followed the mental connection up the stairs and into a room filled with luxurious black curtains and a bed dominating the floor.
Caspian lay there breathing heavily, his eyelids fluttering. His midnight blue skin, enormous horns, and gigantic wings took up most of the bed. Asmodeus held a damp cloth to his friend’s forehead, brow furrowed in concern.
Asmodeus had started cleaning Caspian’s wounds; bloody rags were piled beside them. Elizabeth’s eyes lit on the gore-covered cloth, and nausea swept over her despite everything she had seen today.
Bracing herself, she looked more closely at Caspian. There was a gash in his lower abdomen, several injuries on his arms, and his wings had large holes in them, as if someone had stuck a knife in the membrane and dragged it downwards. His shoulder hung at a strange angle.
She had been so focused on getting him out, she hadn’t even taken stock of how badly injured he’d really been.
“He doesn’t look good,” Asmodeus said, swallowing. “They drugged him so he can’t heal himself or access his powers. He may need to stay here in the Underworld to heal for quite some time. I have—I have never seen him this bad, and I can only guess at what they did.”
“Cut my arm and give him some of my blood,” she offered. “It will help him heal faster, right?”
Asmodeus shook his head. “You are injured. You cannot lose too much blood right now, and you are already tired.”
“Human blood has more restorative properties than animal blood. I am already injured. It is no difficult thing.”
Asmodeus considered, lips thinning. He did not seem keen on the idea.
Elizabeth looked down. Her wounds were a mess of gore—the hole in the front of her leg was still bleeding sluggishly, and her inner thighs were rubbed raw from dragon scales. With adrenaline coursing, the pain had felt like a dull ache, but now it was agonizing.
“Caspian, come here.” She drew his massive, horned head into her lap.
