Chapter 18
Lambda stood at the foot of the stairs, ready to kill anyone who might come through. His whole heart left when Vallie did, traipsing into the belly of the beast. Vallie had insisted Bedek was old, and wouldn’t be able to do much, but what if he had guards? Or if old dragons were still very strong? Anything could happen.
Lambda dug his fingernails into his palms, feeling their telltale shift into claws.
No. He shook his head. He had to stay in this form. If he became a wolf, there was no telling what he would do, what sort of danger he could create if the beast took over. He needed a clear head.
Vallie needed him to keep his post.
He tried to focus on that: keeping the tower secure. They could handle everyone within it. He hoped. He could smell dragon close by and more than one, but how many he couldn’t be sure. It didn’t smell like an army…but there were a few.
Lambda looked up the staircase. He wanted to follow Vallie. He wanted to run through the tower and kill anything reptilian that dared to move and run away as fast as he could with Vallie and Verona.
But, that plan would probably get them all killed.
So, he waited. He strained his ears to hear something, anything to let him know she was all right, but nothing but silence came.
That had to be a good sign, right? If someone had found her, there’d be yelling and at the very least a scuffle.
And then, he heard crying. His body stiffened, moved to jump, but then stilled. It was coming from outside, not above. And it wasn’t Vallie. Lambda had heard her cry, and this voice was too high for her.
He pressed his ear against the door and listened.
It was a young woman, or at least sounded like one. She leaned against the door on the other side, then lifted the latch.
Fuck . Lambda scrambled behind the door.
The door pushed open with a sniffle and Lambda pounced. He grabbed the woman and clapped a hand over her mouth, then turned her to face him.
“Don’t scream!” he hissed. The woman’s eyes went wild, and she squirmed a bit, but then stopped. She raised an eyebrow and cocked her head.
“I’m going to take my hand away, but you cannot scream,” he whispered. “Do you know Vallie? Tella? Phaebe? All the women who were sent to the wolves?” She nodded. “I’m a wolf. Vallie is upstairs getting Verona out right now.” Lambda knew he had to take a huge risk. “Do you want to leave Balaur and live with the wolves?” He let his hand drop away from her mouth and stepped away from her body.
She could scream if she wanted, alert every single dragon in Balaur that they were there, and all their plans would have been smashed to nothingness in the blink of an eye.
But she didn’t scream. She only looked at him, then rubbed her shoulder a few times.
Hell, this woman looked terrible. She had a huge bruise on her forearm and her fingernails were caked with dirt.
“There’s a hospital in Luven, where I live. A doctor who can help you. And you don’t have to stay there, if you don’t want to,” he whispered. “They will feed you and treat your injuries.”
“That can’t be,” she answered slowly. “The wolves are monsters.”
“We are monsters, but in Luven, things are different.” Lambda glanced up the stairs. “Right now, I’m waiting for Vallie, the love of my life, to come back with Verona. If you want to come with us, you should get a head start.”
“I…” the woman shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t know the way.”
“Walk over the drawbridge, then run southeast. There are some collections of trees that are good for hiding. But don’t stop until you can’t walk anymore. I’ll find you on our way.”
“What if you don’t?”
“Find the wall. Get to a tree and use it to climb over. One of our patrols will find you on the other side and take you to the hospital.” Lambda patted his pockets and pulled out some jerky. The woman looked half-starved. “Here, eat this.”
She snatched it out of his hands and shoved the food into her mouth, barely taking the time to chew before swallowing.
“Fuck,” he mumbled. He fished out another piece of jerky and gave it to her. She ate this one slightly slower but was still done eating in record time. He looked at her feet, which were wrapped in a slipper sort of shoe. They’d never last the hike home.
Lambda wanted to take every single servant, pet, and bride away from this awful place. But, he couldn’t do that and guarantee Vallie’s safety.
She had to come first.
“Go, quickly. Try to be silent. We’ll find you.”
The woman nodded, then turned.
“I’m Natya,” she said.
“Lambda,” he answered. He dug into his pocket and pulled out another piece of jerky. “Save it. Just in case we get held up here. Eat it when the sun goes down.” Lambda didn’t know if a starving person could ration food, but if the worst happened, if he and Vallie didn’t make it out of here, he couldn’t leave Natya to wander the Wastelands without any bit of food to keep her going.
Tella didn’t speak much about her escape, but Epsilon had alluded to the terror she endured and how she’d done it starving and thirsty and without any rest. Food was the least he could provide, sending Natya into the elements.
“Good luck. I always liked Vallie and Verona,” Natya said, then disappeared out the door.
Lambda settled back against the wall and looked up the staircase. The wolf was awake and clamoring. How much longer should he wait until he tried to find Vallie?