Chapter 3
Hours later, Vizor landed on an open mesa and gently sent me down.
We’d been traveling south and assuming we didn’t change direction, it would seem we were heading to Ralis.
Perhaps that was one of the reasons Vizor had been chosen for whatever this was, the dragon was from that city originally and thus more familiar with it than most of my father’s usual picks for shadier work.
I stepped back when Vizor unwrapped his black tail from my waist, warily watching him with a growing suspicion.
He hadn’t spoken into my mind once during the entire flight.
All dragons had at least some degree of telepathy while in our true forms. Not only did Vizor share the same unique dark orange eyes as Eddie, but he had the same glossy black scales in his dragon form.
Two things that were associated with the bloodline that blessed dragons with strong telepathy.
Vizor raised his head, twin curling horns spiraling back before tipping upward, and scanned the area.
Black dragons weren’t all that uncommon—not like my coloring—but just like Eddie, there was a luminescent sheen over Vizor’s black scales that rippled with different colors in the sun.
The effect was stunning. Not that I’d admit it.
Not to Eddie because his head was big enough already and definitely not to the man that worked for my father and kidnapped me.
Fire rippled across Vizor’s large body and seconds later he appeared before me as a man wearing the same black tunic and pants from earlier. In the sunlight I could see that his black hair actually had a red tint to it.
Slowly, as if he didn’t want to startle me, he raised his hands. I’m sorry.
You keep saying that, I signed sharply. But I care far more about actions than words. And right now, both of yours are meaningless to me.
He stared at me for a long moment. We all do what we must to survive.
Whatever you need to tell yourself. I glanced around at the landscape surrounding the mesa.
We were far beyond anywhere I had flown but I’d studied maps enough to recognize a few markers.
It seemed like we were heading to Ralis but Isonver, the other remaining city, was west of here.
So it was possible that was why he’d stopped at this particular junction.
Eddie was from Isonver, maybe I could find allies there. Where are you taking me?
Ralis.
Damn it. I took a deep breath trying to calm my panic. Why?
Vizor dropped his gaze. We need to keep going. There is a watchtower with supplies a few hours flight from here, we’ll rest there tonight.
He kept his eyes firmly fixed on the ground while he told me all this—which was why he didn’t see me coming until it was too late.
My fist slammed into his jaw, causing his head to snap to the side.
Eddie’s voice filtered through my mind. Don’t give them a chance to recover. Keep hitting until they stop moving.
Behind his charming smiles and clever jokes, Eddie was vicious. Especially when it came to keeping those he cared about safe. He’d been the one to make sure I knew how to defend myself, both in and out of dragon form.
Unfortunately for me, Vizor was just as fast as Eddie and he obviously didn’t care about my well-being. My second punch hit nothing but air and then I was spun around yanked back against a hard chest, my arms pinned down to my sides.
You’re a piece of shit, I thought loudly.
Vizor flinched. It happened so quickly I wasn’t entirely sure I hadn’t imagined it.
Had he heard my thoughts? I didn’t bother asking.
Either he didn’t share Eddie’s abilities, or he did but was keeping that information to himself.
If it was the latter, did my father know?
It was a bit of an open secret that Thorod had been the one to kill off most of Eddie’s kin and my father had helped him with that.
But maybe now that most of them were gone, they thought having one that was loyal to them would be useful.
I’d need to be careful about what I thought around him just in case.
Just as fast as he’d grabbed me, Vizor stepped back, putting enough space between us to be in his dragon form again. Before I could even try to make a run for it, that damn tail wrapped around me and then we were flying once again.
The sun was just starting to set when we landed on another mesa.
It was a strange experience to be flying through the air but not in control—one I didn’t enjoy.
The skies were calm today and Vizor had held me in his tail securely but also carefully the entire way so I’d never felt like I was in danger of falling.
But with this cursed collar around my neck, I couldn’t shift and was therefore entirely at Vizor’s mercy.
It felt wrong for a dragon to fear the skies and it made me hate my father that much more.
Once again, Vizor carefully set me down and shifted back to his human form.
I’m going to make some dinner. He turned and started trudging towards the tall watchtower that was made out of a stone the same sandy shade as the desolate landscape around us.
All the watchtowers had been crafted by daemons, a way for them to keep an eye on the monsters in the sky that had preyed upon them.
The daemons were gone, but their towers remained.
For a second, I thought about running again…
but where would I go? It would be dark soon and dragon’s had terrible night vision.
I couldn’t shift and even if I did climb down the mesa—which was towered far above the flat dry earth around it—then what?
Fend for myself against the trakdi that preferred to hunt at night?
Survival always came first. For now joining Vizor in the tower was my best option. Eat. Rest. Conserve my strength. I could press him for more information and then devise a plan for when we reached Ralis.
Decision made, I walked towards where Vizor was waiting at the base of the tower, holding the door open. There was the faintest hint of a smile on his lips as I stalked inside the tower, like he’d been waiting for me to come to this evitable decision and found it deeply amusing.
I debated punching him in the face again but decided it would diminish my odds of getting answers out of him later so I kept my clenched fist at my side. Once I got past the door, I headed up the winding stairs, Vizor following silently behind me.
Just like all the previous watchtowers I’d been in, this one had a level midway up that was clearly the living space with its assortment of chairs and tables.
Mostly empty shelves lined the walls but they’d left a few trinkets behind.
I idly looked them over. Mostly fae artifacts.
The daemons had loved to take apart the fae spells and reverse engineer them.
Something we hadn’t figured out until they were long gone.
Not for the first time, I wondered what they were doing now. Had they found a better life somewhere else? Did any of them regret what they had done to the dragons?
It seemed unlikely I’d ever know. The daemons had never returned to this realm after leaving it and we’d never been able to figure a way out.
Whatever interest the fae had once had in us was clearly gone now because they had stopped visiting long before the daemons had pulled their vanishing act.
All the other realms had apparently been happy to move on and forget about us.
With some reluctance, I walked over to where Vizor had lit a fire in a makeshift pit near one of the windows. Days in the dragon realm were hot but the nights were often cold, especially this time of year. I took a seat and held my hands up to the flames, warming them.
Vizor went through some of the supplies left behind by the patrols that regularly used all the remaining towers and passed me some dried fruit and meat.
Not the most appetizing of dinners but I was starving and any food would do.
He watched me scarf down all the food in under a minute, frowned, and then passed me more.
Did they not feed you? His brows were furrowed together.
I shoved the last piece of meat into my mouth before setting the remaining fruit in my lap. Do you think they serve three course meals in the dungeon? I arched a brow at him.
He lowered his hands for a moment before raising them again. You’re his daughter. I don’t understand any of this.
Clearly your lack of understanding didn’t stop you from obeying my father’s wishes. I glared at him and then ate some of the fruit. Why are you taking me to Ralis?
Vizor clearly didn’t want to answer this question because he looked away from me. I threw a piece of fruit at him.
His head snapped back towards me, the fire giving an eery glow to his eyes.
WHY? I demanded.
I’m to deliver you to a man named Erec. He’ll be meeting us at the watchtower just outside the city. Your father believes you’ll be safer there.
I stared at him, noting the way his jaw tightened and how his usual graceful movements when signing were clipped. He was angry. He knew this wasn’t right and was upset about taking part in it.
But he was still doing it. And that pissed me off.
Let’s not dance around it. I leaned forward a little. You’re paying for a seat at the dragon council by delivering me to the man who paid my father the highest price for my hand in marriage—to which I get no say.
Our realm is a cruel place in case you haven’t noticed, he signs angrily back. We all do what we have to survive.
I gave him a dismissive look and turned my gaze to the fire but suddenly Vizor was there, gripping my chin and forcing me to look back at where he now knelt in front of me. He released my chin and moved back just enough so it was easier for me to see his hands.
My father died before I was born. His only gift to me was this wretched eye color that painted a target on my back as soon as I opened my eyes.
My fingers briefly flicked up to his eyes before dropping to his hands again that were signing angrily with tight jerky movements.
It was only me and my mother for years because nobody else wanted to be associated with someone linked to that cursed bloodline—even if I don’t have any of their gifts.
A hint of pity flickered across my face and Vizor caught it. His own features became even more cold and distant.
You were in that dungeon for what? A week?
Two weeks? You think you know what it’s like to go hungry?
A bottomless rage swirled in his eyes. Ralis isn’t like the other cities.
Everyone there is looking to cut your throat and there are no happy marketplaces where the people are poor but still willing to share what they have.
If I ate three times a week it was only because my mother chose to go hungry and feed her only son.
She died when I was eight years old and I had to fight for every scrap of morsel on my own.
Your father might be a bastard but you grew up in relative safety and I’m guessing up until recently never had to worry about where your next meal was coming from.
He wasn’t wrong. I knew Ralis was worse off than the other two cities but I hadn’t known it was that bad. It took some of the edge off my anger… but not all of it.
I raised my chin. You’re right. In some ways, I have had it easy.
And I’m sorry for what you and your mother went through.
But how do you think my new husband will treat me?
Do you think he’ll be kind? Or do you think he’ll leave me broken and crying on the floor?
You’re from Ralis. You probably know him.
Tell me Vizor—what type of life are you delivering me to? In your eyes, does that make us even?
He clenched his hands into fists for a moment before launching into his next attack. Where was all this fire at the citadel? You always seemed so timid there, hiding behind that haughty clever-tongued princess and her loud-mouthed lover.
Cerri and Eddie. Technically she wasn’t a princess but it’s the nickname everyone gave her because she acted like it. And my friend being who she was, she took that nickname that was said in jest and made it work for her. Eddie was absolutely a loud-mouth.
Being the center of attention has never been my preference, I respond stiffly. And criticize them all you want but at least my friends are trying to make our world a better place instead of working for men like my father.
And how much will that comfort you when your friends are dead and you’re all alone?
A humorless smile plays across his lips.
Sooner or later, Thorod will force Cerri to marry someone of his choosing the same way that your father is doing.
And I think we both know that Eddie would fight to the death for her—and death is what it would be.
Likely for both of them. You should have chosen better allies.
I jerked back as if he’d hit me. They’re not allies. They’re my friends, you asshole.
The world is a cruel place and it’s only going to get worse. Take the high road all you want. I’m going to take the one that lets me survive.
On that grim note, Vizor moved away from me to stretch out on the other side of the fire.
I refused to look at him and instead settled down on my side and stared at the flames.
He’d used his magic to fuel the fire so they’d burn all night.
Unfortunately, thanks to all the windows lining the walls, the tower was drafty so it was still cold and I’d foolishly picked the spot closer to the window.
I did manage to drift off to sleep, waking several times when my teeth started chattering. At some point, I thought I felt Vizor slip in behind me, and carefully tug me against his warm body. But when I woke in the morning, he was on his side and I was cold again.