2. Calista
2
CALISTA
I held the shovel in my hand and stared at the sand, the beads of sweat starting at the nape of my neck and sliding down my spine. Every morning, my hair was clean and weightless, but by the end of the workday, it was like a knotted bird’s nest because the strands had been soaked in sweat before they dried into twigs.
I stared at the sand, unsure if I could plunge my shovel inside for another scoop. Even if I beat the odds and found another black diamond, it would grant someone else’s freedom and not mine, and that was poor motivation.
General Titan said I didn’t have to come out here, and maybe I should accept that offer. With Amelia gone and no incentive to work, I had no purpose down here. But if I didn’t come, my only purpose would be as his slave.
And that somehow seemed worse.
“ Roooaaaaarrrrrr .”
I immediately dropped to my knees at the sound and looked up to the sky. Instead of seeing the bright-blue sky, I saw darkness, frost against the windows, torches bright in the distance. I felt the castle shake even though the sand was still. Then I blinked, and the blue sky was back—and I saw the mighty dragon pass.
It had happened in the blink of an eye, a flash of black scales glimmering in the sunlight, a beast so large it completely blocked out the view from the pit as it passed overhead.
The sand beneath my feet shook a moment later, a small earthquake that upended most of the people in the pit. Shovels fell flat against the sand, and people screamed in fright. I was already on my knees, so I didn’t topple over like everyone else.
“ Rooooaaaaarrrrrr .”
I clenched my eyes shut because it was so loud, piercing my eardrums and making me momentarily deaf. The memory of the dragon flooded back to me, standing behind its rider with his sharp teeth slightly parted, so massive that swords and arrows would feel like paper cuts against its scales. The sight of the dragon had paralyzed me that night because I’d never seen anything like it, never been dwarfed by something so large and strong, something that had wings and could fly. It made me feel…insignificant.
When it went quiet and the dragon halted its roars, the diggers got back to work.
I remained on my knees with the shovel in my hand, my heart racing with fear of the past and the present. A plan was only as good as the opportunity to execute it. The Death King and Khazmuda had arrived, and this chance may never come again.
I deserved to be free—and that dragon was my ticket out of here.
At the end of the workday, I was escorted to my chambers, and as always, I rushed into the shower and scrubbed all the dirt and oil from my strands until my hair started to feel weightless again. I stepped out and filled the tub with warm water as I sat there, my hair slowly air-drying.
The front door opened and closed, and then footsteps sounded.
I tightened the towel around my body to stifle his arousal.
He came around the corner and looked at me, in his full uniform with his cape hanging down his muscular back. Dangerous eyes locked on mine as he stepped into my space. If he didn’t own me physically, he owned me silently, just as he did now.
I sat there and listened to the water fill the tub, hoping he would go away.
“I have business to attend to this evening.”
I’d hoped that was the case. “What about my dinner?” I’d tried to kill him many, many times, but I’d never tried to escape. With the horses and camels locked up under bolt and key, I had no chance of making it across the desert. If I went east, the direction closest to civilization, they would catch me. If I went another direction and lost them, I would die. Titan knew this, so he never restrained me while we were both awake. He locked the door before he left, but it wouldn’t be hard to break a window. To keep him assured that tonight was no different from the others, I acted exactly the same, silently hating him and only caring about food.
“It’s on the table,” he said. “I expect you to be naked on the bed when I get back.” Hearing me say I loved him, even if I’d been coerced, had increased his already staggering libido. Now he wanted me more than ever before.
“Then let’s hope you don’t come back.”
His eyes narrowed slightly at the insult, but he reserved his ire for his return. He left the bathroom, walked across the room, and then the door opened and shut a moment later. The lock clicked into place.
I immediately turned off the water and opened the drain, letting the precious water disappear. “I’m getting the fuck out of here.”
I had no clothes other than the ones I wore to the pits, so I donned my beige tunic with the hood, pulled on my leggings, and tightened the straps of my boots. I had no weapon to bring with me, not even a small dagger, but even the greatest blade would be useless against the beast Khazmuda.
The general’s bedchambers were on the first floor, so jumping down to the foundation wouldn’t break my legs. But these windows didn’t slide open. They only cracked to let the air inside, opening outward just a few inches. It was impossible for me to squeeze through, so that meant I had to break the window.
Someone might hear…or someone might not. I was about to find out.
Most of the solid objects in the room had been removed because I’d tried to use them as weapons, so I had to grab one of his boots from the closet. I looked through the window into the night, wondering where the mighty dragon was located in the sand. Torches illuminated the immediate surrounding areas, but I still couldn’t see the beast. He might be farther out, farther into the darkness.
I stepped back and protected my eyes with the crook of my arm before I slammed the sole of the boot into the glass. At first, there was just a thud, the collision sending me back slightly. I’d assumed the glass was thin and delicate, but to survive the sandstorms, it must have been fortified with an extra pane. When I tried again, I threw my entire body into the effort, the heel of the sturdy boot making the glass shatter into shards and crystals.
The sound was like a loud drum, a thud so distinct, it was unmistakable. If anyone was nearby, they undoubtedly heard it.
That meant I had to haul ass.
I pushed away all the extra shards from the window frame so I wouldn’t cut myself on the way out. I pulled up a nearby armchair, dropped the boot, and hopped onto the cushion, and then I threw myself over to the other side. The fall was harder than I expected, and I hit my knee on the stone but was smart enough not to release a cry.
I gritted my teeth then ran for it, sprinting away from the torches into the darkness in case someone was watching. I needed to disappear before anyone figured out where I’d gone, so I ran, feeling my speed diminish once my boots hit the sand. I pushed onward, running past the last torch and entering the shelter of the darkness. A heavy breeze had swept across the dunes yesterday, sending sand into our eyes as we worked. But tonight, it was still. Still and cold.
I forced my breathing to slow so I could hear beyond the sound of the flickering torches, to hear any indication of where the dragon might be. He was probably asleep in the darkness, his hard scales protecting him from the frost that would settle across the surface of the sand. I lifted my chin to look up at the sky, to see the cloudless night and the sea of glittering stars. I’d been here for seven years, and it wasn’t until now that I realized I hadn’t seen the night sky once since I’d been taken captive. A solid roof had been over my head, shackles on my wrists and ankles, enslaved for a lifetime of imprisonment. I stared longer than I should, overtaken by the beauty of the sky, wondering if my father was up there…somewhere.
Then I heard it. Quietly in the distance…the gentle sound of snores.
The dragon.
I moved forward, my boots digging under the surface as the sand shifted beneath my weight. In the moonlight, I could see the textured lines in the sand, the markings caused by the breeze and the settlement of the sand. I moved up a hill, hearing the sound of deep snores growing louder and louder.
When I made it to the top of the hill, I looked down into the next valley and stilled when I saw the enormous creature below. Its scales were so shiny they were practically a mirror, reflecting the moon perfectly on their surface. His large body rose and fell slowly, the snores a low vibration in the air.
Transfixed by the sleeping dragon, I stared, unable to believe this ferocious beast could look so…gentle. For a moment, I forgot what I was running from, everything that was at stake, because the dragon was just so…beautiful.
Last time I’d come face-to-face with Khazmuda, I’d never been so scared. But now, I wanted to draw closer.
I moved down the hill, boots sliding in the sand, and when I reached the bottom, I fell onto my ass and rolled forward. The landing was soft because the sand was never in a solid state. I pushed myself to my feet and slowly came closer to the sleeping giant, the sound of its snores growing even louder, his powerful lungs opening and closing with the force of the wind.
I came closer to his face, seeing it tucked under one of its beautiful wings.
Now that I was there, I didn’t know what to do.
I looked over my shoulder to the hill of sand that blocked my view of the compound. Horns didn’t blare in alarm. It was quiet. It seemed like they didn’t know I was missing yet. Yet. I moved toward the flank of the dragon and looked upon its back, seeing the black saddle secured around its massive size. There were stirrups for the legs or handles for gripping. I saw no reins like the kind that were used for horses. So, how did the Death King direct the dragon where he wanted to go? Maybe he spoke to him? I seemed to be missing something.
I came closer, my face just inches from the scales that rose and fell with the heavy breaths. The scales had small grooves around each one, so I reached up and gripped one and then another. With the strength of my arms, I pulled myself up then dug my boots into the grooves on the top of another set of scales.
The dragon continued to slumber.
“Oh, thank the gods.”
I made the climb, moving as slowly and gently as possible, wanting to get into the saddle without disturbing the beast. It was a long climb, and the scales were so smooth, they were slippery to the touch. The cold air dabbed at the sweat on my forehead like a cool cloth. I continued to hoist myself up, higher and higher, until I finally made it to the leather saddle. It was a saddle for a single rider, but behind it was space for cargo, like a traveling pack. The dragon was too wide for my legs to sit on either side of his spine, and I realized that was why the stirrups were created and why the saddle was elevated from its back.
From my place, I could see the compound, see that it was quiet, the torches flickering in the night.
No one had heard me break that window.
I could return to the mainland without them even knowing I was gone…if I could get the dragon to cooperate.
But what the fuck did you say to a dragon? Would he even understand? How did the Death King communicate with him? Maybe he controlled him with magic. “Um, hello?”
The dragon continued to sleep.
I raised my voice louder this time. “I’m so sorry to wake you, but I was wondering if you could help me.”
The dragon took its final deep breath but then held it.
Now I knew he was awake.
The breath released, and then his breathing turned low and shallow. The sound of his snores disappeared. Now it was just quiet, the desert silent.
He shifted and moved, and I instinctively grabbed on to the handles so I wouldn’t tip over.
His head slowly rose into the black sky, jagged spikes all along the back of his neck. His eyes were dark like his rider’s, but they were illuminated in the dark. He slowly turned and arched his neck, turning to look at me upon his back.
I froze in place, just like I had as a little girl.
His large jaw parted, and his jagged teeth became noticeable, razor-sharp and threatening. Fiery breaths left his mouth and pushed my hair back, hot and humid like a summer breeze. He came closer, moving slowly, tipping his head slightly so he could lock his gaze on mine.
I didn’t breathe.
I was pretty sure my heart stopped too.
The standoff only lasted seconds, but it felt like minutes. His dark eyes were bright in the moonlight, staring me down with contempt. His breaths grew louder, accompanied by a low growl.
“I know I’m being super rude right now, but I really need a ride outta here.”
When he released a breath, it was heavier and so was the growl.
“Please.”
His teeth widened, and a distant light came from the back of his throat, a glimmer of a fire.
“Oh shit…”
Arrogant human .
I flinched when I heard the powerful baritone in my mind, a voice deeper than any other I’d ever heard. My hands gripped the sides of the saddle as I felt my mind prickle from the intrusion. I sucked in a deep breath between my clenched teeth, somehow frozen with the threat of fire right in front of me. I’m not arrogant…just desperate.
His mouth closed abruptly, the light in his throat snuffed out. He drew closer, his black eyes regarding me with a greater degree of scrutiny.
I earned my freedom by finding a black diamond in the pits, but General Titan still won’t let me go. If I don’t run for it, I’m going to die here. So, please…just give me a ride. You’ll be back before anyone notices you’re gone.
Khazmuda only stared, each of his eyes the size of my head. Never mount a dragon without permission.
Okay…can I mount you?
No . His mouth parted again, the light visible between his jagged teeth.
Disappointment burst through me like a ball from a cannon. So desperate to leave this horrible place, I wanted to scream to get my way, but that wouldn’t work with a dragon. I had no power in the situation, so I bowed my head, left the saddle, and began the long climb down to the sand. I stepped away from the beast, hearing his heavy breaths behind me, the hair on the back of my neck standing straight up because I knew my life could end at any moment.
I turned around and looked at Khazmuda, whose head was slightly lowered to regard me.
“Thank you for not eating me.” I could sneak back into the bedchambers and tell General Titan that a bird had flown into the window and smashed it. He might not believe me, and there would be repercussions for that. But it was better than trying to make it across the desert on my own, without food or water.
Khazmuda turned his head, looking in a different direction.
I felt him before I saw him, felt the tension in the desert sand, a presence that was solid and ethereal at the same time.
It took me a second to look, to meet the gaze of my nightmares, to meet the look of the man who had taken everything from me. I swallowed before I found the strength to meet his gaze, to see those black eyes that were so similar to Khazmuda’s.
He stood there, his black cape billowing in the breeze that came over one of the hills. His vambraces were black with jagged ends, and the armor over his large shoulders looked like dragon scales. His chest plate was black and textured, a gray outline of a dragon in the center. His hair was as dark as his eyes—as dark as his soul. It’d been ten years since I’d seen him at the castle, in my home, and somehow, he looked exactly the same…like he hadn’t aged a day.
His sword was out of his scabbard, the hilt grasped in his hand. There were several feet between us, and he didn’t cross the distance to slice my head off my shoulders, although it looked like he wanted to. Then he slowly turned to look up at Khazmuda, as if the dragon had spoken to him.
When the Death King looked at me again, his angry stare was tempered with interest.
Khazmuda’s voice returned to my mind, so loud it dulled the sound of the world around me. You have the gift.
“What—what gift?”
The king’s eyes narrowed further when I spoke. He sheathed his heavy blade across his back, his eyes on me all the while. “Let’s go.” He moved to Khazmuda’s side then looked at me, silently asking me to climb up the scales and drop into the saddle.
“Uh…” This was what I wanted, to escape this prison and return to the mainland, but it had always been my plan to do it alone…and definitely not with the Death King. “Go where?”
His only answer was that callous stare.
We were joined a second later by guards with torches—and General Titan. He expertly slid down the hill of sand with the others and joined us. His eyes came to me first, venomous with rage. They lingered for seconds, the promise of retribution written all over his angry face. But then he turned to look at the Death King. “Your Majesty, I apologize that your dragon has been harassed by one of our prisoners. I’ll make sure she’s punished.”
The Death King didn’t look at him once. His eyes were locked on mine like he hadn’t even heard the general speak. “You’re dismissed.” He nodded slightly to the saddle, silently commanding me to climb up Khazmuda’s side.
I actually had a way out. A way to leave General Titan. But I feared the Death King would be far worse than General Titan ever was, in ways I couldn’t anticipate.
General Titan remained, his look flicking back and forth between the Death King and me. His visage grew panicked when he realized the Death King intended to take me with him.
When the Death King lost his patience, he walked toward me across the sand, growing taller the closer he came, his irritated eyes boring into mine.
I instinctively took a step back and sucked in a breath between my teeth.
“You wanted to leave.” His voice was deep like his dragon’s, just quieter, like a gentle breeze. “Here’s your chance.”
“What—what are you going to do with me?”
“That’s my business.”
General Titan glanced back and forth between us, his unease written clearly across his face. “Your Majesty, I assure you she’ll be thoroughly punished by my hand. You have more important matters to attend to?—”
“Why are you still here?” The Death King turned to give the general his stare, and it was far more ruthless than the one he’d just given me.
General Titan froze at the threat.
The Death King stared him down and waited for him to leave.
I was stiller than a statue, doing my best to disappear from existence, the tension too much to handle.
General Titan chose to stand his ground and speak. “I’ve chosen this woman for my own, and she’s chosen me.”
The adrenaline was instant. The rage was potent. “ That’s bullshit ?—”
“Is that why you denied her freedom?” The Death King cut me off like he hadn’t heard me speak. “When she found the black diamond?”
My eyes flicked back to Khazmuda before I looked at the Death King again.
General Titan didn’t say a word.
“If she’s your woman, why is she trying to steal my dragon in the middle of the night?” The Death King continued his interrogation, catching the general in all his lies. “You know what happens to those who lie to me. So, you’re either a fool, or you think I’m the fool. Which is it?”
He continued his silence.
“You’re dismissed, General.”
General Titan shifted his gaze back to me for a brief second before he forced himself to turn away. He began the slow rise up the mound of sand, reached the top, then moved to the other side and slid down to the base.
Now, it was just me…and him.
Like the matter was decided, the Death King walked back to the dragon.
I stayed put, unsure what my next move should be. I could either run back to the man who’d kept me as his plaything for the past year…or I could leave with the man who’d burned my city.
He halted halfway to the dragon and turned to look at me. “You choose to stay.”
“I—I don’t know.”
“You’d be a fool to repeat your actions and expect a different result.”
“And I’d be a fool to come with you.”
A long, piercing stare ensued. “Perhaps.”
I stayed a distance away, sizing him up as an opponent I could never defeat. He wasn’t just taller and bigger than General Titan, but his confidence was deadly. It was quiet and heavy, filling the air around us with a palpable energy that I could feel right against my skin. I’d felt it ten years ago when he’d stormed my castle, and I felt it now. “Do I have a choice?”
“You always have a choice—but you don’t always get the answer you want.”
He spoke in riddles, and I hated that. “What happens if I walk back to the compound?”
“You doom yourself to a life of labor and subjugation. Your life will be brief and unpleasant, and the few moments of respite will be ruined by the buffoon who shoves himself between your legs.”
I felt a twinge of pain because that had been my life for the past year. Hearing it described by another person…made it more traumatic. “And if I leave with you?”
His eyes hardened like he didn’t like to be questioned.
“I want all the information before I make a decision.”
He turned away slightly, looking over the sands in the moonlight. “That was the largest black diamond that’s ever been found. I’m sorry you weren’t granted the freedom you deserved. I’m a man of my word—and he diminished that.”
“Then give me my freedom now.”
“I am.” He turned his gaze back to me.
The air held a heaviness that made it hard to breathe. I knew there was more to his words, but I couldn’t see past his concealment. I walked into a trap in the dark—and couldn’t see an inch in front of me. “I have a feeling we have different definitions of freedom.”
A smile so subtle moved over his mouth that I wasn’t sure if it was real. If it was a trick of the moonlight, of the shadows, or just my imagination. “You’ll join me in Shadow Stone. You won’t be condemned to manual labor, but to the service of your king. You’ll be well taken care of.”
“And what does service of your king mean?”
“It means you’ll serve me in every way that I ask.” That faint smile disappeared, his rage starting to simmer under his skin. “And you’ll feel honored to do so.”
Honored? I should feel honored to service the king who’d killed my father and destroyed my kingdom? “Does servitude include fucking you?”
His gaze hardened on my face before it dipped down to give me a quick glance over in my baggy tunic and old leggings. “It may.”
“ I’m not fucking you .” My savage words came out with their own pair of claws that slashed at the air between us.
He glanced at the compound before he looked at me. “Would you rather be fucked by a buffoon or a king?” His voice deepened, growing tired of the long conversation. He was probably used to issuing orders that were immediately obeyed. Even if he was the monster who’d claimed our home for himself, he was still exceptionally good-looking, so most women probably wanted to fuck him. “That’s the choice before you—now, make your decision.” He turned away from me and approached his massive dragon, Khazmuda. Instead of climbing his dragon by the scales, he quickly pulled himself up by the harness of the saddle, getting to the top in just a few seconds rather than minutes. Atop the dragon, he looked at the landscape that surrounded him, giving me the moment to decide.
I looked back toward the compound, the hill of sand obstructing my vision of that horrible place. If I walked back in there, I would never leave again. My days would be spent in the blistering sun, and my nights would be spent in chains while an asshole forced himself inside me. There was no escape, not with the desert sands surrounding me for miles and miles.
But Shadow Stone wasn’t surrounded by a desert.
It was on the coast, the lush lands right outside the main gates. If I could make it outside, I could get lost in the wild. Once I was out of his grasp, he would never find me again. I could start a new life.
I turned back to the dragon then made my way up, copying the way he’d scaled the dragon’s flank until I reached the saddle. I sat directly behind him, his back and shoulders blocking my view of the front.
“You made the right choice.” He grabbed on to the handles of the saddle. “Hold on.”
“To what?”
Khazmuda launched himself from the ground, jumping into the sky as he spread his wings. It happened in a second, and I nearly toppled backward out of the saddle toward the ground. I grabbed on to the only thing available—the Death King.
He was just as hard as the steel bars of the saddle, his body dense like he was entirely composed of armor. My cheek pressed into his back, and I let out a scream as the world swept past in a blur. “Oh fuck.”