Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Fedra didn’t relax until she knew for certain she was alone. No matter how hard she tried to lie, the truth fell from her lips without consent. If magic hadn’t forced her to speak the truth, then what had? She caught another whiff of the incense.
Sian was an Alchemist. It stood to reason that she had created something that could compel Fedra to answer truthfully, no matter what was asked. Sian had said the incense was something meant to calm and relax her. Fedra never would’ve guessed the Alchemist could be so devious.
But there was no taking back things now. The truth was out there. And while Marcus and Con had gotten what they wanted, she had also gotten something—they didn’t resent dragons.
That in itself was mindboggling. She had seen with her own eyes what those monsters could do.
Yet Iron Hall sat next to the land of the dragons, and no one within the city seemed at all perturbed by it.
It had to be because they’d never actually seen a dragon.
The residents most likely spent the majority of their time belowground, so it made sense they wouldn’t have issues with dragons.
Fedra settled more comfortably against the headboard. Then again, if Marcus and the others did go out, the odds of one of them seeing something would increase. If that happened, and they still didn’t mind the dragons, then she didn’t know what to think. Monsters were monsters. Period.
The one thing she knew for certain was that they wouldn’t help her take down the dragons, and if they wouldn’t do that, then she couldn’t kill the Dragon Kings. If she remained blind, the more she was beholden to them. Her eyes were getting better, but slower than she liked.
Now that she knew they would work against her, she would have to lie about being able to see. Just as soon as the incense burned away, she would put out any more brought into her room to ensure that she could lie.
She needed to figure out where she was located in the city, though.
It was something she wished she had discovered when she first woke, but she missed the chance.
No one would willingly give up the information, so she would have to get creative.
Once she knew where she was, she could figure out how to reach the closest exit.
There were several in the city, and she would bet that the current occupants didn’t know them all.
It was part of the information she’d had to memorize on the trip from her planet to Zora.
As big as the city was, she couldn’t just rush out of the room and take a chance.
She had to know at least what level she was on.
She bit her lip as she thought about the caved-in corridor leading to the chamber with the pod. What if the exit she chose had also been damaged? It was possible, and she needed to be prepared.
Running through the city without being detected—and without any weapons—meant she needed to be stealthy. The moment she was free of Iron Hall, she could begin her mission.
Her thoughts tumbled to a standstill when Marcus entered her mind. His voice had sounded strained before, as if he were in pain somehow. She had brought up magic to give Con and Marcus a chance to say they possessed it, but they’d said they didn’t. Or had they?
She frowned as she searched her memories.
No, actually, she was the one who’d said that none of them had magic because they hadn’t reacted to her.
They didn’t admit to having any, nor had they confirmed they didn’t.
Did Marcus have magic? Is that why he’d sounded hurt?
She didn’t like the stabbing pain in her chest she felt at thinking that.
If they were stopping her from achieving her mission, then they were enemies. Pure and simple.
Why did that make her so sad? She didn’t know any of them.
Marcus was merely a voice she recognized.
So what if her pleas had reached him while she was in stasis?
It didn’t mean anything. She had to worry about her own survival at the moment.
That meant putting the mission to the side until she got free of Iron Hall and away from those within the city.