Viggo greeted Cyphus with a clap on the shoulder, taking the fish from him with an exclamation of approval. “These will make a fine stew!”
Cyphus is nearly as large as Tage, and his eyes are similarly dark, but unlike Tage, his eyes gleam with hints of blue rather than purple. Also unlike Tage was his reaction to me.
His blockish face flashed hot with anger at the first sight of me and Danhy’s hurried explanation of my presence.
“She has to go!” he insisted, the wide planes of his face flickering with shimmery hints of his scaled dragon hide...the beast roused, instantly wanting out, hungry to get to me.
The threat from him is so immediate and visceral that I shift on my feet, stepping back, prepared to bolt for what little good that would do me.
I bumped into Tage’s solid body. He had come up behind me. His firm hand closed on my shoulder. “She stays,” Tage informed him in a hard voice that felt loud for all its softness.
Cyphus descended to sullen silence and joined everyone at the table, eating with angry movements, casting me murderous glances for all of his seeming acceptance of Tage’s decree.
He’s obviously not fine with me here. Maybe it’s his size, equal to Tage’s; maybe it’s the fury vibrating from Cyphus’s body; but throughout the meal I wonder how obedient he is to his alpha, how safe I will be in this pride full of dragons...whether I will ever be able to close my eyes knowing he is nearby.
At the end of the meal, everyone goes about their tasks, clearly comfortable in their roles.
For once, the food I ate did not automatically reappear on my plate. I stare down at it, dotted with only a few crumbs. It seemshere, I leave a footprint, both metaphorically and literally. Magic isn’t hiding me anymore. At least not here.
I’m directed to help clear the table, bringing food and dishes through a tunnel that opens into another chamber that clearly serves as a kitchen and laundry.
Ten years may have passed, but I recall how to work in a kitchen and set about cleaning with only little direction from Viggo. These duties clearly fall under his purview, and I’m not sad about that as he seems like the dragon least compelled to kill me. Well, aside from Tage. He’s the one who decided I would live back in Isstad, after all. Not that he sticks around after dinner. The alpha disappears, walking in long strides down a tunnel without a backward glance.
“Come. We’ve finished,” Viggo pronounces later, putting out the lantern and casting the chamber to darkness. “Let’s go to bed.”
Bed?
Would I have a bed? Where did they sleep? Where did they expect me to sleep?
I follow him out into the large open space of the cavern, my hands clasped tightly before me as these questions race through my mind like wildfire.
Everyone else is gone. Presumably the many tunnels lead to other chambers, private spaces for each of them. I swallow nervously, wondering if I will be given a room of my own. That feels much too generous for them. Maybe I will sleep on the floor like a dog.
The central fire within the ring of gemstones still burns. Viggo motions to one of the plank benches surrounding it. “You can sleep there.”
I nod as I look at a bench. The wood won’t be very comfortable, but at least I can use a pillow for my head.
At least you’re still alive.
Without another word, he leaves me, done with his tasks, done with me.
I rotate in a small circle, surveying the large empty space, the crackling flames the only sound beyond the scrape of my boots. Slowly, I sink down onto the unyielding bench.
My gaze drifts to the mouth of the largest tunnel. I know it to be the entrance—and exit, for that matter. The way out of their lair.
I study the dark maw, hearing the faint whistle of the wind beyond, contemplating the world outside.Freedom.
If I’m to sleep alone out here, no one would stop me if I just slipped away. They’re all asleep. They would not even notice me gone until tomorrow.
Of course, out there waited the Crags, ready to devour all that was too soft, too weak...too human.Me.
If I managed to avoid the various beasts prowling the Crags, there is still the brutal, endless winter. Even with my uncommon tolerance to the cold, another level of cold stirred out there. I could not survive those mountains without the proper clothing and gear.
I glance back to the tunnel leading to the chamber where I’d helped Viggo after dinner. There is plenty of supplies in there. Dried meats and fruits that would last me weeks. I consider the fur rug beneath my feet. It would be bulky but warm enough if I wrapped myself in it.
“Don’t even think about it.”
The voice snags my attention. Looking up, I face Tage. He tosses a blanket at my chest. I catch the fabric, holding it close like it’s a protective shield.
