He’d be stuck here five hundred more years. And I had no doubt in my mind that Panos would try to kill him again.
Yuto was strong, but hecouldbe killed.
Unlike Panos.
Panos tugged on the rope, dragging me along behind him. He led me to a trail that cut through the woods, but it went in the opposite direction of Yuto’s castle. There would be no hope of stumbling into his path.
“Stop moping around,” Panos said in a singsong voice. “You’ll get to see the inside of my castle.”
“Forgive me for not being thrilled to my bones,” I muttered back as I stumbled over a hidden root.
“It’s quite something,” Panos continued as if I hadn’t said a word. “Particularly compared to that crumbling old thing of Yuto’s. I’ll admit I don’t quite understand what you see in him, or what he sees in you. But nevertheless, his stupidity is my win. He’ll do anything to save you. There is so much power in dragon blood. Soon, that power will be mine.”
His words were like a punch in the nose. A finger of ice slid down my spine, and I shivered. Panos was going to use me to get to Yuto. I should have known. This wasn’t really about me or my blood. I was just a mortal girl. The power running through my veins was nothing compared to the Lord of the Dragons.
I never should have come back. In trying to save Yuto, I’d doomed him to a far worse fate than five hundred more years stuck in this place. Once Panos got to him, Yuto wouldn’t even have five hundred more years to live. He’d have days.
27
Aradia
After two days of brutal travel where Panos allowed me to sleep in thirty minute bursts here and there, we finally arrived at Panos’s castle. It was a familiar, unwelcome sight. Harsh moonlight swept across the jagged peaks, highlighting sharp edges and bloodied battlements that Panos had never once cleaned. Ash spread across the hills like black sand.
Even from here, I could smell the stench of rot and death.
A cold wind whipped my hair back from my face. I shivered and dug my heels into the ground. I’d decided not to make the journey easy on Panos. If he wanted to take me prisoner, he’d have to do it with a fight.
“This again?” Panos sighed and rolled his eyes. “We’re here, girl. Stubbornly refusing to move isn’t going to get you anywhere.”
“That’s the point. It won’t get me anywhere, which means I won’t go into that godforsaken castle of yours.”
“You’re going inside,” he growled, “whether you like it or not.”
He yanked on the rope, and I tumbled to my knees. Pain lanced through my skin from where the rock cut into me. My trousers had ripped hours ago. There wasn’t much left of them now.
Panos dragged me down the windy, rock-strewn path. When we reached the gates, several of those monstrous creatures sat waiting for him to pass through the creaking doors. Their bulbous eyes followed my every move, hunger spoken in every inhale of their lungs.
I tried to ignore them. Hell, I tried to ignore everything. Blood painted the ground, and some of it was fresh. Cobwebs clung to the corners where oversized spiders scurried about.
We passed through the muddy courtyard and stepped into a building that looked much like the Great Hall back at Drakon Castle, although this room clearly hosted a far different type of feast. A long oak table sat in the very center of the room. Bowls of fresh meat had been spread out, along with pitchers of wine—if that was what it really was.
The scent of death clung to the air. I almost gagged from the intensity of it.
“Welcome to the Blood Hall,” Panos said, stretching his stringy arms wide. “What do you think of it?”
“I think it’s fucking disgusting,” I said.
“Good.” He smiled. “Because this is where you will stay.”
My eyes practically bugged out of my head as a new monster of panic clawed at my belly. “What?”
“That’s right. You’ll stay right in here. Can’t have our food too far from our feasting table, now can we?”
“You’re sick,” I spat.
“Perhaps I am.” He motioned to one of his servants, a tall, wide-eyed man with thin, frizzing hair, whose mouth had been sewn shut. His fingers trembled as he gave me a little wave. I frowned, glaring back at him.
“Fetch the cage,” Panos said to him.
