Chapter 17
Fucking finally.
Two months in the hospital. Three days waiting to see if she carried Alpha’s spawn. Three days of traveling.
Vallie finally stared at Balaur.
She had expected to feel some fear coursing through her veins. Anger at the very least, gazing upon the place of her imprisonment. But all she felt was resolve and power. She was here. Vallie had survived eight years of captivity, crossed the wall, and made it through the Wastelands with ease.
She was ready to save her sister.
They moved silently and closed the distance between them and the open drawbridge. The heavily clouded sky was just beginning to show signs of light, the black giving way to streaks of pale gray.
“Follow me,” she breathed, snaking her hand around Lambda’s wrist. She was still mad at him, pissed as a stepped-on-snake, but that didn’t mean she didn’t care about him. They were getting out of here together with Verona, as was the plan. A fight didn’t change the plan.
He followed her over the narrow bridge. It wasn’t too impressive, a slim walk that four humans could stand across without falling into the pit below. The dragons had no need for it—if they were to leave, they would simply fly. But, humans needed a way in and out of the keep, hence the bridge.
The pit was at least fifty feet deep and empty. No water, no stakes, nothing but a long, slow death laid there. Vallie stuck to the middle of the bridge, with Lambda close behind her. She crept silently through the massive stone archway and into the keep.
A wave of nostalgia hit her. Eight years ago, when she first walked into Balaur, there had been a dragon on either side of her. She had fought like hell, trying to pitch herself over the edge of the bridge. Her heart was so broken, and a life in captivity sounded like no life at all. Plus, fuck those dragons. They didn’t deserve to have her. But it was Verona who stopped her. Verona who begged her to stay.
How could she ever abandon the person who saved her life?
She looked up at the towers, flipped off Cade’s, then turned toward Bedek’s and pointed it out to Lambda.
“The entrance is on the other side,” she said, just barely a whisper. The grounds were empty, which wasn’t odd for this time of day. The dragons tended to late nights and even later mornings, rolling out of their golden beds much later than the noon hour. The guards would be around here somewhere, but more than once Vallie had caught one slumped in a corner asleep. They stayed close to the inner wall, a fifty-foot pile of stones crafted together with mortar. Vallie looked up the side. Now, the fear was of being trapped inside. If the drawbridge was raised, how would they climb that? Especially with Verona in tow.
Lambda reached out and squeezed her hand. She turned back.
“Are you ok?” he mouthed.
She nodded. Vallie needed to keep focused. If she let her concentration slip for one moment, she could make a fatal mistake.
She turned forward and trained her eyes on Bedek’s tower. They were almost there now.
Something clattered within one of the towers.
“Fuck,” Vallie breathed. She turned to Lambda and pressed her mouth against his ear. “The servants are awake. Follow me to the door and stay there. Bedek doesn’t have many working for him. You need to guard the entrance while I get Verona.”
“We shouldn’t separate,” he answered, a hint of a growl on his voice.
“Stop that,” she hissed. “I need you to guard the door. Our biggest threats are outside of the tower. Make sure I have an exit.”
He furrowed his brow and set his jaw, but finally nodded in agreement.
“Be careful,” he warned.
They crept the rest of the way to the tower, ears pricked for any other noise, but there was none. Perhaps the clatter didn’t wake anyone else, and the servant was busy cleaning up whatever mess she had created. The rocky gravel beneath their feet shifted slightly in the morning, but nothing that couldn’t be explained away by the wind. They ducked around the base of the tower and found the heavy, wooden door. Vallie checked the latch, which lifted silently, then eased the door open.
“Vallie,” Lambda started and pulled her to him. They both slipped into the tower, which was dark other than a solitary torch halfway up the stairs. Lambda pressed against the wall, his arm wrapped around her waist. He tipped her chin upward and ran his thumb over her lips. “Be safe.” He pressed a kiss against her lips so quickly it was over before Vallie could sink into him.
“I will,” she promised. “I’ll see you soon.” She gripped his hand one last time, then disappeared up the stairs.
*
Vallie had never been inside Bedek’s tower.
She knew bits and pieces. His quarters were in the turret. He didn’t have a dungeon, so his pets lived among his rooms. He didn’t care for chained up women and preferred to decorate his everyday living space with lovely pets rather than spend his days terrorizing him. Vallie didn’t see Verona often, but when she did, her sister was clean and well-dressed, a far cry from Vallie’s time with Cade.
The stairs were stone, thank every god in the sky, so Vallie didn’t have to worry about creaks, but she did keep her eyes flitting between ahead of her and the steps. She didn’t want to knock a stone loose and alert Bedek to a trespasser.
She moved silently, her hand against the wall to steady her steps. Her heart thudded so loudly blood rushed in her ears and deafened her. She was so close. Almost to Verona. Vallie bit her lip. She needed to make it. She had to get her.
What if Bedek had died last month? What if Verona was gone already—traded away to a dragon in the south, or even simply another dragon of the north?
What if she never found her sister?
Her mind raced into a panic, and she quickened her steps, galloping up the last few stairs. She resolved to check Bedek’s rooms first. She didn’t know of any dragons that slept with guards in their rooms, but all had guards within their towers. She’d rather risk waking a half-dead ancient dragon than a slew of young guards.
Vallie made it to the highest floor, where the stairs ended, and with a deep breath, pushed open the door.