Chapter Seven
Kai opened his eyes to see a rock ceiling above him.
Sitting up, he groaned. His head throbbed and it was probably because of the alcohol he’d imbibed the night before.
He didn’t remember much of it, which had been the point, but now he wondered how he’d found himself there.
There had been a woman in the tavern, and he could have sworn he’d left with her. Had she brought him to a… small cave?
Looking around, he frowned. This couldn’t be right. He stood and walked over to the door, looking out into the tunnel. Tunnel? Was he having a nightmare? Another one of those dreams where he was back inside that cavern with the dragon, running for his life as the beast tried to swallow him whole?
“Prince awake!” a voice said and he turned his head to see a small person standing there. She looked familiar. Where had he seen her before? No—wait. In his chambers! She was there with…
“Hello!” another voice said, a small man walking up behind her. “Prince hungry?”
“Where the hell am I?” he barked. “Why did you bring me here? Who are you?”
“Many questions,” the male said. “We answer. Come, come! Follow gnomes.”
“Gnomes?” Kai murmured but followed them down the tunnel and into a room larger than the one he’d just been inside of.
It looked like a small cottage, albeit in a cave.
The gnomes, whatever those were, led him to a table and he took a seat, eyeing the creatures as he did.
Then his patience ran out. “Who the hell are you two? What do you want from me?”
“Manny,” the gnome said, smacking himself on the top of the head.
“Right.” It was a strange introduction, and Kai hoped the gnome didn’t expect him to smack himself as well. “I’m Prince Kairon.”
“Nunu,” the female said, also smacking herself on her head. She was wearing a hat, so it didn’t sound quite as painful as when Manny had done it. “Greetings Kairon.”
“Just Kai,” he replied. “You said you are gnomes?”
“Yes, gnomes!” Manny nodded. “Dragonite servants. In Athera.”
“Sure. Right. Athera. I’ve never heard of that either. Why am I here?”
“Break curse,” Nunu answered.
“Curse? What curse? Why me?”
“Need prince. Break curse.”
“You already said that,” he scowled.
“Break curse,” she repeated, nodding. “Not hard. Easy.”
“If it’s so easy, why don’t you do it?”
“Need prince.”
“Right.” He was begging to understand. Sort of. “It has to be a prince? And what do I get out of this?”
“Prince helps. Breaks curse. Gets happy. Very happy.”
“I’m not sure how breaking this curse for you is going to make me happy,” Kai said, unimpressed. He stood to leave. “I’m sorry you’ve wasted your time. I’m sure another prince—”
“No, no!” Manny said, blocking his path. “Right prince. Give try.”
“Yes, yes!” Nunu said, rushing up beside him. “Give try. Meet dragonite.”
“Meet… who? Dragonite? Drag—no! No, no, n—”
Kai’s refusal was cut off when he felt the realm shift and once it settled again, he opened his eyes to find himself in the one place he never wanted to return to. The place he’d seen in his dreams—nightmares, rather—since the moment he fled this damn mountain and the monster within it.
Frozen in place, his eyes darted around the cavern.
He knew it was there. The dragon who he’d been lucky to escape from before.
It must be this dragonite that the gnomes mentioned.
They could call it whatever they wanted, but he had no interest in being eaten by the beast. He spun around to find the door but ran right into a solid form and toppled backward onto the dirt floor below.
Looking up, his gaze met the familiar large purple eyes from before. The dragon’s head lowered and those eyes narrowed on him. He tried not to whimper as the eyes assessed him. Was it planning out which of his body parts to consume first? He wouldn’t give it a chance to try.
Rolling out from underneath the dragon, he dashed toward the same hole in the wall where he’d found the stone and slid behind a stack of crates.
Reaching into the top crate for something to defend himself, he grabbed whatever was on top and opened his hands to see…
silk? Peeking into the crate, he realized it was full of clothes—dresses—from what he could see on top. Useless against a monster.
A shadow fell over the room as the dragon passed by the hole.
Gulping, Kai glanced out and saw the beast was watching the locked cavern door.
That same door opened and a gnome came in, but she was not either of the two he’d just met.
This one, a female, was carrying a tray filled with fruit and some sort of rolls.
The smell of the rolls lured him closer and his stomach grumbled.
He stayed in the safety of the hole, though.
The gnome sat the tray down on a short rock and began to toss whole fruits into the dragon’s mouth.
Kai tried not to cringe every time the beast opened its jaws and revealed rows of sharp teeth.
But the dragon seemed to enjoy the food, especially the rolls.
He hadn’t eaten anything since supper the night before and would love a roll, but he didn’t trust the dragon not to add him to the menu.
“Come out. Prince safe,” the gnome said, waving him over. “Meal time. You eat. She eat.”
“She?” he asked, without meaning to. “That beast is a girl?”
The dragon’s head snapped over to him, and she narrowed those eyes again. Strange how they appeared almost human. Calculating, intelligent, observant. He could see she was studying him and the hair on the back of his neck rose.
“Don’t like?” the gnome asked. “No fruit? Jelly roll?”
“Jelly roll?” That sounded delicious and he took a chance, mainly because the dragon hadn’t eaten the gnome yet, but also because his stomach was growling. “Are you sure she won’t eat me?”
“Dragonites? Not eat. Not prince.”
“You’re sure? There’s no way she gets full from just this small amount of fruit and rolls. Look at her.” A growl erupted from beside him and he held up his hands. “I don’t mean you’re fat. You’re just… large.”
The dragon smacked him in the back with her tail and he nearly tripped. He glared at her but that didn’t stop him from snatching a handful of rolls and tiptoeing behind the gnome, heading straight for the door. When he reached out for the handle, it was locked.
“Dammit!” he hissed, spinning back around. “Let me out of here. I did not agree to this foolishness. I am a damn prince. You cannot keep me here.”
The dragon’s shoulders shook as if she were…
“Are you laughing at me, beast?” he spat. “You have no idea what will happen to you and this mountain once my father finds out where I am. Stop laughing!”
Rasa gave him a sympathetic look. “Prince alright. Break curse. Go home.”
“What? If I break this stupid curse, I can go home?”
“Sure, sure,” she said, shrugging.
“Then how do I—” But before he could finish his question, the gnome disappeared. “Shit!”
Looking over, he noticed the dragon was watching him. Sighing, he took a seat on the ground and leaned up against the boulder behind him. Then he started eating the jelly rolls. Surprisingly, they were delicious and he scarfed them down, quickly.
He licked his fingers and when he looked up, the dragon had moved closer, tilting her head. What was she doing?
“What?” he asked, for no good reason. She couldn’t answer him. “They were good. I don’t want to waste any. Don’t judge me.”
The dragon nodded toward the tray, which was still in the cavern. The gnome hadn’t taken it with her. Slowly, he rose and moved over, swiping another roll. When he looked up, the dragon licked her lips. Did she have lips? Either way, her tongue swiped out.
“Want one?” he asked, then held it up. “Tell me how to break the curse and I’ll give it to you.”
This made her narrow those eyes at him, yet again. So he just took a bite and smiled at her, watching as the dragon angrily stomped away from him, stopping on the far side of the room and collapsing into the dirt. Was she… pouting at him? Kai shrugged and finished off the rest of the jelly rolls.
Later on, the gnome returned with another tray of food and this time she brought a stack of blankets also.
He looked down at the terribly uncomfortable pallet she made for him in the dirt and cringed.
But he didn’t seem to have any choice. He obviously wasn’t getting out of here anytime soon.
At least, he didn’t have to worry about being eaten by the dragon in his sleep. He hoped.
Sighing, he took his portion of food, dried meat strips and more fruit, and sat on the makeshift bed, staring at the dragon with distain as the gnome fed her.
This entire situation was ludicrous, and he wouldn’t stand for it.
He’d never before been treated this way and he would find a way to get his revenge on whomever came up with this scheme.
And if he ever saw the pair of gnomes again, who abducted him and brought him here, he would strangle them both with his bare hands.
~*~
Willow waved goodbye at the junction of the road and Sage felt her heard cracking. She tried to put on a brave face, knowing this day would come, since the nymph had no reason to stay with them any longer.
Yet, she had become friends with Willow and didn’t want to see her go.
Especially now, with things between her and Lukas being so strained.
They’d hardly looked at each other since their spat in the forest the day before.
She dreaded the rest of the journey to take Lina home and then the return trip back to Orious.
Watching Willow walk in the other direction, Sage couldn’t hold back her tears.
She spun away, so the others couldn’t see, then felt a warm embrace as arms wrapped around her.
She didn’t need to look up to know it was Lukas.
She knew his scent. And despite their argument, she let him hold her as she cried.
Once she was able to climb back onto her horse, Sage wiped her tears and rode silently as they continued their journey to Carroway.
~*~
Klary tried to keep a straight face as another vase smashed to the floor and her father roared in anger.
The king had destroyed at least a dozen of her mother’s prized vases, the same ones her father had had made for her during their marriage.
But there was no reasoning with the man now. Not after Kai disappeared.
“Search again!” Crusis barked at his knights who had undoubtedly just entered the hall to inform him they had not located the prince. Yet again.
They had searched all day and now it was dark outside.
Even if they did sweep the grounds once more, the chance they would find Kai was lower than it had been earlier in the day.
Good luck telling the king that. He had been enraged to discover his son was missing from his chambers that the castle servants had seen him enter yesterday morning with their own eyes. Then he’d just vanished.
“It’s that son of bitch, Terrin, who’s responsible for this!” Crusis growled, pacing in front of his throne. “His daughters disappear and so he thinks he can punish me by taking my son. That’s exactly what’s happened.”
“Or maybe,” Klary said softly, “whomever has taken the princesses of Carroway also took Kai? It could be the same person.”
“Nonsense! If the person was stealing princesses, they would have taken you, not Kai. Instead, Terrin took my heir, the only one I have. A far worse slight against me.”
Klary looked at the floor and tried to ignore the insult her father had just given her.
Deep down, she knew he valued Kai above her.
Like he’d said, the prince was the heir.
Yet, it caused a pang in her heart when she heard him say those words.
She rushed out of the hall before her father could see her tears.