Chapter 14
No! The prince was lying. The shock had Ransom’s mind blanking.
No. His father had possessed integrity. He was sure of it.
The same honor and valor Ransom tried to use in ruling their clan.
Gryffnn ruled in his stead with the same boldness and fairness.
His father wouldn’t have acted that cowardly.
Then he glanced at Scarlett, caught her sympathetic reaction.
She believed the prince. His gaze went to Talon, and the Trolleris’s brown eyes held the same sorrow and compassion.
Turmoil bubbled through Ransom’s mind. Grata, could it be true?
His mother? Had his father used her to save his own skin?
Ransom thought back. He’d been a youngster still, but this explained so much.
The mood swings in his father. The changes.
His father’s lack of patience and harshness.
And his mother. One cycle, his mother had been there and the next…
As a child, he’d assumed she’d gone to her room since she’d never been strong, especially after the birth of his sister. Servants had whispered. He’d recalled that, but he’d never attended a funeral.
His father had changed after his mother’s death.
Later, as an adult, Ransom had told himself he’d mourned his lost wife.
He also recalled the elders reiterating the unspoken laws about flying boundaries.
None of them were to go into or near the mountains.
While he and his friends had tested the limits, they’d never flown too close.
The tolerance they’d obtained from working with the smaller stones to produce their jewelry had been enough to keep them safe.
The prince hadn’t gained control of his mind until he and Nanu had crashed in the mountains.
Was the prince telling the truth? One or two of the older warriors were still alive. They might know. His father’s papers were the other option. He’d never gone through them—hadn’t wanted to pry into his parents’ private matters. Ransom swallowed. If he survived…
Grata! How could his father have traded his safety for that of his wife? He’d given her to the prince. Then, a truth struck him.
A horrifying one.
Who the hell was he to judge?
He’d followed in his father’s footsteps, capturing Scarlett to offer in exchange for the safety of his people.
He’d done the same phrullin’ thing.
While his parents’ marriage had been one of convenience between clans, Ransom had lucked out and found a woman who completed him. One his dragon adored. Strong and mouthy and courageous. Scarlett would go down fighting at his side.
He glanced up again and met Scarlett’s gaze. She winked at him. Winked! And despite, their lack of verbal communication, he could practically hear her probable words. We’ll kick his royal purple butt.
Scarlett would fight to the end, and he could do nothing less. There was still time to fix this, to do the right thing and act with honor.
Think.
The loudest crack yet reverberated within the chamber. Talon hissed. Scarlett’s eyes rounded. Ransom’s best guess—the wall no longer contained the lava.
“The volcano is erupting again,” Scarlett snapped. “If we don’t get out of here, we’ll all die.”
“You speak falsehoods. I do not believe your trickery.”
Ransom blinked. The prince might have magical powers, but he was an idiot.
“Go and look,” Ransom said. “We can’t go anywhere. That way. Walk toward the popping and cracking rocks.”
“I can’t hear anything,” the prince said.
Scarlett shot him a side-eye while Talon’s nose twitched several times.
“We will leave the chamber,” the prince announced. “I would see this volcano that worries you so much. One at a time. You.” He flicked his fingers at Ransom. He repeated the action, and illumination spilled into the chamber.
Ransom found himself able to move. Hesitating, he sought Scarlett’s gaze, but she remained frozen in place.
“Go,” she said. “Hurry.”
Ransom nodded and strode from the center of the chamber.
He glanced over his shoulder, saw the prince tottering after him, and increased his pace.
Once they reached the intersection, Ransom glanced to his right.
Grata! Scarlett was right. The lava had broken through and was crawling in their direction.
Thankfully, the flow was a trickle, but that could change.
“This is the exit. Go back for Scarlett before she gets trapped. I promise not to leave. Where would I go? You control my mind. I can’t escape.”
The prince nodded. “Very well. Wait outside at a safe distance. We will be with you soon.”
Ransom dived through the chamber entrance, furious at his helplessness. Think! His dragon roared, almost deafening him. Of course!
Ransom summoned his dragon, mentally stronger now that he had a strategy. The instant Scarlett crawled from the chamber, he’d let rip with his fire. He’d toast the phrullin’ prince before the Maphra royal knew what had hit him.
“I hope you have a plan,” Scarlett whispered to Talon who perched on her shoulder. “His purpleness is cray-cray.”
“Haw-haw-haw.”
“Yup,” Scarlett said. “Shifting might break through this spell.”
Talon released an urgent growl and batted her head with his claws.
“I’ll take that as a no. Someone’s coming,” she whispered.
Her pulse raced, each crack and groan of the walls shoving a new wave of fear through her. She didn’t want to die this way.
The prince appeared, his breathing harsh. This exertion was taxing his physical body. He should reconsider if he expected them to carry him down the mountain. Given the opportunity, she’d kick his purple arse and cheer if he rolled.
“Quick.” The prince waved his hand at her, and she could move her limbs again. “Don’t try anything stupid.”
Scarlett ran toward the prince while Talon clung to her shoulder.
“Leave your pet. He is slowing you,” the prince ordered.
“Talon is coming with me.” She raced past the prince, dodging the stacks of coffins to follow the same path Ransom had walked earlier.
Even in her human form, she deciphered his scent trail.
Sweat beaded on her brow, the heat from the lava flow more intense now.
Tiny flames licked some coffins, the rancid scent catching at her throat.
Smoke curled toward the roof of the chamber in black spirals.
Scarlett coughed and increased her speed, almost knocking Talon off her shoulder. He growled and dug his claws into her shoulders. “Ouch.”
Talon growled again.
“Leave the beast,” the prince ordered from behind them.
“He is my pet,” Scarlett snapped, slowing to allow Talon to regain his balance. “I refuse to leave him in danger.”
Talon purred into her ear. Scarlett just bet he bore a toothy smirk. Wee monster.
The entrance lay ahead. Scarlett could see the brighter light. The cracks and creaks from the wall were constant now as the pressure of the lava increased. Once the chamber gave way, lava would engulf the space.
“Hold on, Talon,” she whispered and increased her pace.
“Don’t leave me behind,” the prince complained.
Scarlett ran faster, darting around stacks of coffins and jumping over one that toppled. The wall of the chamber to their left exploded, and lava pushed through.
Talon snapped and snarled in her ear, but she didn’t bother with a reply.
The exit was ahead. She kept running and hurdled a fallen box.
The metallic stench of lava was heavier in the air, the crackle and pop bringing an ominous warning.
Something crashed behind them, and the prince shouted, but Scarlett paid no heed.
She dived out of the entrance hole and crawled on her hands and knees until she was in the whitelight.
Talon released a warning growl, and she jumped to her feet.
A huge dragon sat waiting. Ransom. His gaze remained on the hole, and Scarlett translated the situation without the need for words. She darted to the side and out of the way.
The prince popped out of thin air, right in front of the hole. Ransom reacted with a stream of flames. The heat of them seared her cheeks.
Then the flames froze in mid-air. The second flick of his purple fingers immobilized Ransom in his dragon form.
“I should kill you for that,” the prince shouted. He swaggered over to Ransom and kicked one of Ransom’s legs.
It must’ve hurt because the prince limped as he railed at Ransom.
“Haw-haw-haw.” Talon smothered his chuckle against Scarlett’s ear.
Scarlett sneaked closer. If she could jump him from behind, she might escape those magical, flicking fingers of his.
At the last moment, the prince turned, sensing the rear attack. He froze her in position.
He turned to Ransom. “You, dragon. You will fly us to your home.”
“He can’t fly. Not since you put him in a coma and started feeding on him.”
“You lie,” the prince said.
“Release him. Let him show you. He can’t fly any longer. You’ll have to walk if you want to get off this mountain.” Scarlett didn’t hide her satisfaction at informing the prince of this.
A high-five for consequences.
“I don’t believe you.” The prince waggled his fingers at Ransom and Ransom’s dragon fire spewed across the mouth of the chamber. “Fly.”
Ransom shifted to his humanoid form. “I can no longer fly.”
The prince stomped one purple foot. “Transform back. You are lying.”
“Give him a demo,” Scarlett suggested.
“All right. But stand clear. I have little control.”
“Excellent advice. I do not wish my traitorous queen to get injured before she provides me with offspring. Stand beside me and behave. If you disobey me in this, I shall punish you.” The prince was so matter-of-fact, she believed him.
“I will obey,” she said, adding in her mind, as long as it suits me.
The prince surveyed the area and frowned. “I did not believe the volcano would do this much damage. Come, stand clear of the entrance.” He turned to Ransom. “Fly.”
“I can’t,” Ransom said.
“Fly.”
With a shrug, Ransom shifted to a dragon.
He moved to a flat area and started running and flapping his wings. He rose into the air to a height of perhaps her shoulders before crashing to the ground again, despite his wings flapping. The ground shook as Ransom struck hard.
“But how will we get off the mountain?” the prince asked again.
Scarlett wanted to punch him, but it was essential to keep her mobility and await her chance. “How long have you been in the chamber?”
“Over one hundred rotations,” the prince said. “My scientists are—were brilliant. It was a pity they had to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Scarlett eyed the prince with distaste. How the devil did he expect to survive without his advisors? Or collect her eggs? Prince Kalim had not made wise decisions, yet he didn’t understand the danger his selfishness had caused. The man was an idiot.
The prince turned to Ransom. “Perhaps you can carry me. Yes, that should work well.”
The itching on her upper arm was driving her crazy. Talon growled in warning, once again against her ear to keep the prince from hearing.
The prince sauntered closer to Scarlett, and she flinched at the masculine appreciation in his dark eyes. She bit back a snarl and wished she’d taken the time to don her tunic instead of giving him skin to ogle.
Talon ceased hugging her head and moved down her shoulder and arm. The claws on his feet scrabbled across the two itchy spots, and she almost groaned at the relief.
The purple prince leered at her breasts, which were showcased in her favorite sexy bra. Frying fungus, she would’ve packed sports bras if she’d known she’d need to run around mountains and face an ogling prince.
The prince walked a slow circle around her, ignoring the ominous rumble of the volcano. Something was off with his hearing.
Scarlett shared a quick glance with Ransom, who remained in his dragon form. The ground rumbled beneath their feet.
Prince Kalim halted when he faced her again and planted his hands on his skinny hips, his legs asunder.
“With you as the mother of my children, we will conquer this planet, although—” He peered at her arm, the scrapes and bruises on her torso and screwed up his face in distaste.
“You will require cleansing and delousing before we begin. Medical treatment and the like.”
The things on her arm were wriggling and vibrating worse. She wanted to dig in her fingernails and itch, itch, itch. Scarlett glanced at her arm, her eyes rounding. They were—
Talon sliced his claws along the base of the raised areas. Two black missiles shot straight from her arm and dived into Prince Kalim’s chest.
Scarlett gaped, shock rooting her to the spot. The prince screamed and clawed at his pectoral muscles, but whatever those things had been in her arm, they’d drilled inside him.
Talon growled a warning, and Scarlett backed over to Ransom. Seconds later, the prince exploded, his shrill scream of fear and pain echoing loud enough to rival the grumbling volcano.
Scarlett squeezed against Ransom’s dragon chest, staring in amazement as bits of purple goop rained down from the sky. The insect things had disappeared—or died, perhaps.
“Is that it? Did the prince… Is he gone?” Scarlett whispered and stared at the bloody wounds where the itchy protuberances had been. A slow trickle of blood ran down her arm, but her feline was already healing the site. “I’m not itchy anymore.”
“Haw, haw, haw,” Talon said.
The ground rumbled under their feet again, a long, rolling, ominous tremor.
“We should leave,” Scarlett said. “I don’t like the look of that volcano.”
Talon let out a low growl and scampered over to her, holding out his furry arms in a demand for her to pick him up. As she situated him on her shoulder, her gaze settled on the volcano in time to see the entire side give way.
“Ransom,” she shouted.
A river of lava swept over the side, much bigger and faster than the flows they’d already seen.
“Run!” Scarlett shouted. Frying fungus, they weren’t going to make it.
Ransom bellowed and hunched down. “Quick, get on my back.”
The words formed in her mind, and she never hesitated, forgetting about dignity and scrambling up on Ransom.
Already, radiant heat emanated from the fast-approaching lava river. Flames danced across the surface, and the rocks sizzled and popped.
Talon issued an alarmed squeak when he fell, but he saved himself by digging his claws into her calf. Then, he climbed up her torso, monkey-fashion.
Ransom ran, and she and Talon thumped against his scaled side. His wings flapped, but he didn’t lift off, just kept fleeing.
Scarlett glanced over her shoulder. The lava had already reached the chamber and engulfed several fallen statue heads. She checked the terrain, and her heartbeat stuttered. They were approaching a cliff. Her gaze returned to the lava.
They were gonna die.