“Yeah, his grandmother,” Daegan agrees before looking away.
Gaethri lets out a thoughtful grunt. “We’re on a journey of our own.”
The female snaps her head toward him.
“We’re already locked up. What do we have to lose?” he grumbles at her.
She rolls her eyes.
“What kind of journey?” Daegan asks, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. Like he’s readying himself to run a full interrogation.
“The kind that can get us a death sentence,” the female remarks.
“Well, you’re not dead yet. You’re locked up in here instead,” Daegan comments.
“That’s because he doesn’t know the extent of it,” Gaethri says.
I study both of them. They look like two people who have accepted their fate and have nothing left to lose. “We didn’t ask your name,” I say to her.
“Rhydra.”
“Rhydra,” I repeat. I like it. I have a good feeling about her.
“What are you guys doing here, Rhydra?” Daegan asks.
I’m not sure how he manages to sound intimidating and sympathetic at the same time.
“Trying to find a way to end the curse,” she says simply.
My jaw hangs halfway open. I flick my gaze to Daegan, but he hasn’t reacted even the slightest bit. He continues to stare at them with his arms crossed in that same assessing way.
“Such a thing can’t be done,” he says simply. Smooth. “No one’s ever even attempted it.”
“That you know of,” Rhydra adds.
Daegan quirks a brow. “And what makes you think you’ll be able to pull that off? What do you have to go on?”
Gaethri and Rhydra glance at each other, a silent conversation passing between them. I look around us for a moment, making sure we are alone. There’s nothing but a long, dimly lit hallway behind us, and the next cell is very, very far down.
“You’re a dragon shifter, right?” Rhydra asks Daegan.
“What else?” he replies coolly.
“Okay. Well, I know your people are suffering too.”
“Everyone is,” Daegan snaps back.
“Not them,” Rhydra says, her head motioning toward me.
“What’s your point?”
“Why are you with an elf? Can we trust her? Do you trust her?”
“Yes.” A simple word spoken without hesitation. And yet the one word makes me feel such a sense of… acceptance. Belonging. I glance at him, but his gaze remains on her.
She narrows her eyes, then looks at Gaethri. He shrugs.
“We came here in search of a way to reverse the curse. The library here is ancient and rivaled by none.” Rhydra shifts and looks away. “Or so I’ve been told.”
