31. Chapter 31
Bronk escorts us to our rooms, which are a cluster of interconnected chambers branching off down the castle’s south corridor, conjoined by ancient doors embellished in runes.
He casually leans against a doorframe and takes a swig of his mead, his fiery dragon spellmark rippling down his muscular arm, swaying along with his movements, almost like it’s dancing.
“Through this door, you will find your living quarters,” he says, thanking the servant who delivered him the drink.
“If you need anything… anything at all, give this silver bell a small tug, and one of the servants will come find you.”
“What if we’d rather tug on something else?” Maxine asks innocently.
Bronk nearly drops his beloved pint of mead. I burst with laughter.
“Great Mother spare me,” Bella mutters. “Get a room you two.”
“Seems like I already have one,” Maxine says with a half-hearted shrug, motioning toward a door behind Bronk. “I was just wondering what the Skaldrathian people do in their free time, that’s all. Do they tug on things? Play with things? Suck on things? And if so, what?”
Bronk’s cheeks flush.
“The Skaldrathian people are dragons, Maxine,” Bella says between gritted teeth. “They probably spend all day practicing blowing fire or something.”
“Blowing. Exactly.” Maxine unleashes a crooked grin.
Bronk clears his throat, takes a sip of his drink, and then clears his throat again.
“Erm. I suppose that if you get bored,” he poses, his eyes burning brightly beneath that mop of flaming hair, “you could always ring the bell a few times. Three times in a row, to be exact. I’m sure that I could find you something to erm… blow.”
Maxine flutters her feathery eyelashes. “Is that a promise?”
“Are you always this much of a piss-poor tour guide?” Bella snaps.
I fight back more laughter, but it slips through my lips and comes out in a wheeze.
Bronk draws a long pull of his vessel as he calculates Bella’s question.
Then he sets the empty glass on a table beneath the bell.
“To be honest, I’m not sure why Sylas offered for me to show you to your rooms, considering I’m not trained in such a skill.
My expertise is on the battlefield.” His gaze shifts back toward Maxine as he adds, “And in bed.”
Maxine coughs in an effort to conceal her tickled laughter. I lean against her shoulder and hide my face in her hair to conceal my snorting.
“Funny. I was under the impression that your only expertise involved getting hammered and flirting with women who are far out of your league,” Bella remarks.
“Don’t forget about tossing unsuspecting passengers off his back over the Leviathan Sea,” I add with a weak rasp, nearly forgetting about the pain in my leg from how hard I’m laughing.
Bella’s scowl deepens.
“Drinking does not require expertise, my dear,” Bronk explains.
“And convincing beautiful women to bed me? Well, that is simply pure luck.” He peels himself away from the wall, his gaze pinning on Maxine like she’s a bird caught between his teeth.
Then he adds, “Dinner will be served promptly at sundown.” His smoldering gaze shifts toward me and sobers instantly.
“If you are truly keen on getting that antidote, then I suggest you arrive on time. Sylas can be a petty bastard. If you’re not there, he might dump the antidote into Lord Fig’s wine.
” He dips into a half-assed bow and then strolls back toward the main corridor, casting one last look in Maxine’s direction as he does.
“Wait. What about Lily?” Maxine shouts at his disappearing figure.
He pauses to consider this. “Your friend will be fine. I will even bring you to visit her tomorrow, if you’d like.”
“I look forward to it,” she says, her face softening.
Bronk nods, looking as if he’d like to stay. But then he must remember he has other duties to tend to, because he rounds the corner and absconds into the shadows without another word.
Once he’s gone, Maxine pushes open the bedchamber door. “This place is heavenly,” she swoons as she plops face down on the bed.
Bella peers around the white-washed room with scrutiny. “Yes. It’s almost like we’ve stepped foot through the pearly gates themselves,” she grumbles in retort.
Bronk was right, this place could use a bit of sprucing up. The room has been stripped entirely of color, and the walls are as bare as fleshless bones. Even the furniture has been polished in various shades of ghostly pales, untouched by a woman’s warmth.
“I personally think it’s magnificent,” Maxine sighs dreamily.
“It’s like a bare canvas! Have either of you ever painted before?
There’s this tingly feeling I get before laying down the first paint stroke, a thrill over all the possibilities of what it could become.
For example, I think that I’m going to add a few splashes of lilacs and roses to these walls, perhaps a royal blue rug at the foot of the bed. What do you think, Shay?
“What do… I think?” I stutter, unsure of why she’s suddenly decided that my decorating skills are up to par.
“I think we shouldn’t get too comfortable here,” Bella cuts in.
“Why? Because the dragon king has his eyes set on Shadow?” Maxine laughs, and my smile instantly dissolves. “Oh, don’t pretend as if you didn’t notice.” She waves me off. “He was practically eye-fucking you outside in that courtyard.”
I wipe my sweaty hands on my pantlegs.
“What’s wrong?” Maxine asks, her expression filling with concern as she studies me closer. “We’re finally free, just like you wanted. I figured the two of you would be thrilled.” Her eyes dart between me and Bella, and she frowns.
“We’re far from free,” Bella says, shaking her head.
“What do you mean?” Maxine snorts. “We’ve escaped from the castle, we’ve flown halfway across the world, and now we’re being guarded by an entire legion of hunky dragons. Who, as it turns out, don’t want to kill us after all. This is better than I could’ve ever imagined.”
“The gods won’t give up simply because we’re halfway across the world,” Bella says. “Don’t you understand? Once they realize their pets have gone missing…”
Maxine plucks a stray swan feather from the duvet blanket and tosses it into the air, blowing it away as it spirals onto the bed.
“Oh, I’m sure Rhaziel will come looking for me eventually.
” She props herself onto her elbow as if she’s just realized something profound.
“And upon his arrival, I will inform him that the Curse of Love is a farce. He will be so enraged by his sister’s treachery that he’ll forget entirely about my existence.
Plus, he’ll be so intimidated by the sheer magnitude and size of the dragons, that he’ll leave without fanfare.
I will live happily ever after. Oh! Perhaps I will even become queen of Skaldrathia.
Do not fear, my humble subjects, it will all work out. ” She gives us a regal nod.
“You really think Rhaziel will buy that story?” Bella disparages her. “That he’d let this go because you asked nicely? This is the God of War we’re talking about…”
Maxine’s expression is a mask of amusement. “Have you met him? He has the astuteness of a pile of leaves.”
This makes me giggle-snort.
Bella presses her face into her hands and sighs.
“Once the queen realizes that her precious raven has escaped, and that her statue is missing, she’ll drag her entire army here to find us.
And Rhaziel will be more than happy to accompany her, along with Thalmos.
” Her eyes are a mirror of grief as she adds, “There will be war.”
“Not if I find the Mother of Chaos first,” I whisper.
Bella gives me an affirming nod, like she’s just realized this as well.
Maxine sits up straight, her eyes pooling with equal parts confusion and horror.
“Woah, woah, woah. Slow down. Isn’t the Mother of Chaos’s return the catalyst for Doomsday, or something?
That’s what you said before, Bella, isn’t it?
” Her eyes dart between Bella and me as she adds, “Have you both gone utterly mad?”
“Perhaps,” Bella says, drifting toward a never-touched ivory couch where she seemingly becomes lost in thought.
“But you see, as I was tumbling to my demise over the Leviathan Sea, I had an epiphany.” She pauses to look at me, her eyes glistening.
“Perhaps Shadow is onto something. And maybe, just maybe… the Mother of Chaos can save us from the gods after all.”
Maxine’s brows knit together in flagrant disbelief. “You do realize that you’re talking about freeing an ancient deity from stone, one who is capable of destroying the entire fucking world?”
“Or destroying the gods,” I point out.
Silence bathes the room in warmth. Or perhaps that warmth is spilling from the dress that just materialized out of thin air, sticking out like a sliver of gold against the frosty backdrop as it dangles from the armoire across the room.
I limp across the room and scoop it into my arms, if only to see whether it’s real, or whether the pain in my leg is making me hallucinate things.
“A note,” Bella breathes as a flyaway piece of paper escapes the dress’s sleeve. She sweeps up the crinkled note and holds it out for me to inspect, adding, “It looks like Maxine was right. A certain dragon king does have his eyes set on you.”
I yank the note from her grasp, my eyes narrowing as I read it aloud.
Your heart may be dark, but you bathe my world in light.
“Great,” I mutter.
“He’s spot on, you know,” Maxine says, stretching out her arms and gracefully rolling off the bed. “Your heart is dark. Which explains why you’re such a little ball of hatred all the time.”
I shoot her a death glare.
“As I said…” she continues, seeming blissfully unbothered by all my glowering. “Sylas was practically undressing you with his eyes out there. The very least he could do was gift you a magnificent dream spun gown for the occasion, considering his fierce competition and whatnot.”
“Competition?” I ask. “What are you talking about?”