Chapter 4 #4
“And if we don’t wish to help you?” Scarlett asked. “From the little I understand, you want us to confront your enemies, and I presume, take them down. Two people against many.” She shrugged. “I don’t rate the odds.”
Daenys turned her imperious brown gaze on Scarlett. “We are not monsters. We will not compel you to help, but we ask you to check on our allies, the Trolleris.”
“And do what?” Scarlett demanded, equally cool.
A silence fell—a long one where Daenys stared at Ransom, and he returned her interest, his dark brows drawn together as if he found Daenys the most fascinating woman in the room.
“There,” Mistress Aelene said. “I will give you a supply of painkillers to take with you. They should deal with your headaches.”
“My headaches have gone.” Ransom appeared surprised.
“They will resume once you leave.” Mistress Aelene spoke with authority. “This is a brief respite, I’m afraid. Use the painkillers with caution because the Maphra will sense the interference and ask questions.”
“I understand,” Ransom said.
Scarlett scowled. She wished she understood because somehow, she’d missed most of the conversation. Mind-speaking. Yeah, telepathy made sense, but that raised even more questions.
Ransom could see Scarlett’s mind spinning, and he understood. He’d be breathing fire by now if he’d been in her position.
“Rest here for the evening. Your injuries will heal by then, and Mistress Aelene can fix some of the pathways the Maphra prince has destroyed.” Daenys’s melodious voice soothed the nagging aches constant in his head since he’d fallen into a coma.
Ransom replied in a similar manner so Scarlett and the others couldn’t eavesdrop. “My mind is clear for the first time since the resonance downed me.”
“It’s because we’ve intervened and dragged you into the past before the injuries occurred. Unfortunately, the pain will take you out at the knees once you return to the present time. Does she understand what the prince is, what he will do to her?”
“No.” Ransom forgot to use his mind and spoke aloud.
“No, what?” Frustration sounded in Scarlett. Her eyes flashed with wrath and impatience, and her fisted hands showed her desire to flatten someone.
“No, we do not require supplies. Our ship is stocked for our journey,” Ransom lied.
“Ransom requires rest to heal, but would you enjoy a tour of our village? Kane finishes his shift shortly.” Daenys regarded Scarlett. “I believe he intends to go to the inn for a drink and a meal. I’m sure he won’t mind the company.”
Scarlett frowned while an objection formed in Ransom. The idea of a handsome Elevenoss male escorting Scarlett anywhere yanked at his temper.
Kane stepped forward, a male in his prime with a too pretty face that Ransom instantly wanted to dent with his fist. Jealousy.
A new concept for him, and not one he celebrated.
Women threw themselves at him—apart from Scarlett.
A fact that galled. Instinct on her behalf, perhaps, because he intended to betray her.
He swallowed hard and closed his eyes, not wishing to witness Scarlett’s interaction with Kane.
A tap on his shoulder had his eyes opening again.
Scarlett bent over him, and he breathed in her fragrance—a combination of the wild outdoors and flowers.
An unusual scent for a humanoid alien, but it reminded him of one he’d sniffed before.
The answer would come to his damaged mind one cycle. Not that it mattered.
“Are you comfortable here with Mistress Aelene? Is it all right for me to go on a tour?”
His dragon objected so loudly that Ransom winced.
Scarlett didn’t react but regarded him with concern.
“Of course.” He had difficulty shoving out the words, but he’d done the right thing. He should take comfort from that.
Daenys left with Scarlett and her people. Mistress Aelene remained.
“Try to sleep,” Mistress Aelene said. “The prince cannot reach you here. You’re exhausted, and you need to regain your strength. My potions can only do so much.”
Ransom closed his eyes, experiencing exhaustion in every muscle.
Yet his mind refused to settle. Guilt plagued him because of his chosen course.
He had no option. No choice. No alternatives.
A big, fat no to every angle his mind conjured to fix this problem he’d landed in the middle of when he’d insisted on accompanying Nanu into the mountains.
He twisted his body and groaned at the pull of fatigued and achy muscles.
“I can mix you a sleeping potion,” Mistress Aelene suggested from her spot near the fire. She held two wooden tools and twisted and turned yarn to create a purple and white tail of color.
“Yes, please.” He pushed himself to a sitting position.
“Does the prince come every blacklight?” Mistress Aelene asked.
“Most.”
Mistress Aelene nodded. “Daenys said they’ve almost made the local Trolleris extinct. You are a mighty dragon. No doubt, he requires your energy to boost his own. He might siphon off some energy to keep the members of his court alive.”
“He’s threatening to latch on to my family and friends. He threatened to destroy them on a whim,” Ransom said.
“Aye, ‘tis something wrong with his line.” Mistress Aelene tapped her temple to emphasize what she meant.
“I keep hoping I’ll discover a way to defeat the prince. I only have contact with him. The rest of his people never touch my mind.”
“There will be a pecking order with the prince at the top since he’s their ruler. His sire had his people invent the resonance. He must’ve died in the epidemic that followed. We never understood why the Maphra people died off.”
“It’s not as if your remaining people could investigate.” Ransom accepted the sleeping potion and drank it in two gulps.
As he welcomed the healing slumber, he fervently wished there was another way.