Chapter 20
Verona hurried them to the staircase. Bedek called out, once, twice, but they didn’t stop. They kept their feet on the path.
They were getting out of Balaur.
Vallie was so happy she could cry. Verona was here, holding onto her. They were reunited. She hadn’t failed her mother. They were together. Nothing could tear them apart.
“Where is your—” Verona clamped her mouth shut and thrust Vallie into a dark corner.
Two dragons Vallie had never seen before sauntered up the stairs.
Fuck. They were dressed like guards. Each held a spear and they wore ridiculous breastplates. Vallie never understood the point of covering a mainly metal body with more metal.
“Ah, Verona, pet. Has Bedek expired yet?” a slimy voice asked.
“He is not long for this world,” she answered slowly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he has died in the time since I left the room.”
“Good, good.” One of the dragons grabbed Verona’s upper arm. “We’ve been waiting for that old carcass to finally die.”
“Time to start our hoard. And have our own servants and pets.”
“No!” Vallie shouted from the darkness, diving forward and grabbing Verona, trying to steal her away.
“What the fuck!” One of the dragons exclaimed. They each took one of the sisters, pinning their arms behind their backs. “You’re…aren’t you one of Cade’s? That was sent to the wolves?”
Vallie struggled against his grasp, trying to break free. She jammed her elbows against his solid torso and threw her body from side to side.
“Ugh, she stinks like a wolf!” one of the dragons said, wrinkling his nose. “She’s had a wolf all over her.”
Vallie fought against his grasp, but he held tight.
“What should we do with them?” the other asked. “Verona was an easy take. This one…the lords might want to execute her.”
“No!” Verona shouted. The dragon holding her tightened his grip.
“Two pets are better than one. Then we won’t have to share. It’ll give us time to build our hoards. We should keep her. She’ll keep her mouth shut to avoid the rope.”
This couldn’t be happening. They’d been so close, so fucking close! If she’d gotten there half an hour earlier, they would have disappeared into the early morning without a trace.
Now, Vallie stared a return to captivity in the face.
She wouldn’t do it. She’d known freedom, she’d met Lambda, there was no way she was going back to an empty belly and freezing nights on the dungeon floor. The dragons had stolen eight years from her. They didn’t get a moment more.
“I would rather die,” she yelled, and spit in his face. “I am not your pet. Or your servant or your bride. I’ve given the dragons enough and you get no more from me. From either of us.”
“You stupid cunt,” the dragon said, loosening his grip on Verona to wipe the spittle off his face. “You really are more trouble than you’re worth.” Vallie tried to squirm away, but he grabbed her again. “Take her to Cade’s dungeons. They’ve been empty since she left.” He grinned, his sharp teeth gleaming in the morning light. “It’ll be a nice place for her to wallow until she dies.”
“No! No!” Verona panicked. “Please, she’ll be good. We’ll both be good! You need brides, don’t you? I could be a bride. I’m calm. I could give you offspring. And if I were a bride, Vallie wouldn’t make trouble. She would be a dutiful servant to whoever took me as their bride. Plus, I’m untouched.” Verona rambled.
Vallie felt her heart thud at the last declaration. She knew with one-hundred-percent certainty that Verona was not untouched. She couldn’t imagine what a dragon would do in retaliation for being lied to about something so critical to their…tastes.
“You’re a bit old,” the dragon holding her said. “You can’t have many fertile years left. And Bedek allowed you to get fat. I don’t think I could take such a creature as a bride.” He paused and shrugged at his friend. “Could you?”
“You, monsters!” Vallie shrieked. “Verona, it isn’t worth it. Don’t bind yourself to one of them for me. I’d rather die than have you thrown into that hell!”
Suddenly, from behind Verona, a looming shadow pulled the dragon that held her from the scruff of his neck. “No one is dying today, least of all these women,” Lambda growled. He tossed the dragon as if he weighed no more than a pillow against the wall. The dragon crumpled into a heap and did not move.
“Stay there,” the other dragon commanded, his grip tightening on Vallie’s neck. She tried to pull his fingers away from her skin, her breaths becoming short.
“Stand behind me, Verona,” Lambda said calmly. He turned back to the dragons. “Let go of my mate.”
“Your mate? You should have a tighter leash on her.”
Vallie started to see spots on the edges of her vision. She tried to gulp down air, but only small sips were granted with the pressure on her throat.
“Unhand my mate,” Lambda growled. “Now.”
“I don’t think so. If I let her go, you’ll kill me. No, I think I’ll raise the alarm, get her hung. Then we can execute the lot of you. A wolf in our territory. Didn’t you kill Cade for crossing into your territory?”
“Cade was killed by Tella’s mate because he threatened her. You are threatening my mate. If I die in dragon territory, an army of wolves will cross the line. Do you know how many of us are mated to the humans you treated so ill? My brothers are clamoring for dragon blood on our claws. We’d gladly die to watch your entire race suffer.”
Vallie scratched at the dragon’s hands.
But then, something changed. Lambda became…taller, broader, and hairier, if that was possible. His face changed, the angles taking over and his eyes going straight black, flooding the whites until they were nothing but deep darkness.
“ Give me my mate ,” he bellowed, his voice shaking the staircase.
The dragon dropped Vallie to the ground, and she heaved a breath of sweet air. Verona fell to her side and gathered her sister into her arms, while the wolf grabbed the dragon and smashed a fist against his head. He joined his brother on the floor in a pile.
“Vallie, tell me you are all right,” Lambda begged.
“I’m ok,” she panted. “We need to leave.” Lambda gathered her into his arms. She pressed her face against his neck for a moment and allowed herself half a moment of feeling safe wrapped against him.
“Follow me,” he commanded Verona. “Stay close, they won’t stay unconscious for long. We need to put distance between us and Balaur.”