Chapter Eleven
Valora
The day after talking to Henrick, when I went to Lord Dracul’s quarters, he was not in his usual spot at the desk. Instead, he sat on one of the couches near the bookshelves, reading a large leather-bound book. I could tell based on the cover that it was one about tonics, I recognized it from when I had dusted the books a few weeks ago.
He glanced towards me briefly when I entered, but went right back to reading.
“Good morning,” I said when he did not say anything.
He continued reading for a couple moments before shutting the book. “Good morning, Valora,” he said, standing with a swish of his velvet robes. “Today, I will be working on a few things,” he said, tapping the book with his forefinger, his ring glittering in the light. “I will need you to go to Lord Lorka to get ingredients for me.” He walked over to his desk and grabbed a small piece of parchment, completely filled with looping handwriting.
“Yes, my Lord,” I said, taking the list from him.
Our hands briefly touched and I gasped at the spark that I felt in my stomach at the contact. Lord Dracul must have felt something, too, as he raised an eyebrow.
“I will be back soon,” I said, turning to go and trying to not focus on what had just happened.
A couple minutes later, I was at the entrance of Lord Lorka’s cave. There was a bell outside and I rang it gently, waiting for a response. Hyacinth came to meet me, rushing from deep inside the cave. She came to a stop and stared at me, a quizzical look on her face.
“Lord Dracul needs ingredients,” I said, holding out the piece of paper.
Hyacinth took it from me, her eyes scanning over the list. “We should have most of these here,” she said. “But a few, I might need to send for.” She gestured for me to follow her inside.
I was surprised to see that the entirety of Lord Lorka’s quarters was covered floor to ceiling in foliage. Somehow, the floor was covered in grass, and vines stretched up the cave walls, with ferns and flowers spread out all over the cave. In the corner was a small waterfall, water trickling down the rocks. He had a window that shone light inside, illuminating a beautiful delphinium. I stopped in my tracks, admiring the view, and Hyacinth turned to look at me.
“I wasn’t expecting to see something like this inside a mountain,” I said, still absorbing the view in front of me.
She smiled. “It’s one of my favorite places here,” she said. “Lord Lorka takes great pride in this place and all manner of plant life. That’s why he’s in charge of the gardens and crops.”
Hyacinth led me further inside to another room filled with shelves that were stuffed with all sorts of food. Fruits and vegetables were separated by season and there were jars of spices and pickled crops. Towards the right were jugs of juice and cider.
“Does all of this feed the entire clan?” I asked. Though it was an expansive collection of food, it did not seem enough to feed all the dragons that I knew lived within the cave system. I had not come across any except for the Dragon Lords, but from what I had been told, the rest of the clan lived deeper inside the caves. Very rarely did any of them go see the Dragon Lords.
“No,” Hyacinth said, starting to pick out items that were on the list and putting them in a basket. “This is Lord Lorka’s special supply of ingredients from what he personally grows. Lord Dracul prefers to use these rather than the ones harvested by the workers. He says they’re better quality.”
“Lord Lorka grows all this himself?” I was flabbergasted that a Dragon Lord would have time to do such a thing. Based on the size of the produce, he had great skill and care towards growing things.
“I help him,” Hyacinth said, smiling at the unspoken compliment. “But it is just us two.”
“That’s amazing,” I said.
“Thank you.” A deep voice came from behind me and I spun at the sound. A man with tanned skin, cropped orange hair, and yellow eyes looked at me. He was dressed simply, wearing a beige linen shirt, rolled up to his elbows, and dark-brown pants, cuffed at his calves. Surprisingly, he was barefoot and covered in dirt. A golden hoop hung from his ear and glinted in the light of the lanterns.
“My Lord, it is a pleasure to meet you,” I said, bowing. “I was talking with Hyacinth about your personal store. It is quite impressive.”
He smiled at the compliment. “And what brings you here today?”
“Lord Dracul asked her to fetch some ingredients,” Hyacinth said, holding out the piece of paper for him to look at.
Lord Lorka brushed past me to see the list, frowning slightly as he looked at the ingredients. “Interesting,” he mumbled to himself, bringing a hand to his chin as he examined the list further.
“There are a few items that we don’t have here,” Hyacinth said, pointing out the ingredients in question. “I planned to fetch someone to get those from the main storeroom for me.”
“There’s no need,” Lord Lorka said. “I will be back in a couple minutes.”
He disappeared, and Hyacinth continued to gather the remaining ingredients, the basket almost overflowing.
After a few minutes, Lord Lorka returned, three small jars in his hands. “These are very potent,” he warned me. “So please tell Lord Dracul to only use a small amount, around half of what he would normally use.”
I nodded at his instructions, and he put the jars in the basket, making sure they were safely tucked away.
“Thank you, my Lord,” I said, bowing once more. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Hyacinth smiling at my behavior and felt a swell of pride.
“Please feel free to come back anytime,” Lord Lorka said with a smile. “My storeroom is always open to Lord Dracul and his Dragon Maiden.”
Hyacinth led me back to the hallway and bade me farewell. I made the way back to Lord Dracul’s cave with the heavy basket, surprised at how much he had requested. I knew that he had his own stockpile of ingredients and could not figure out why he would need so much more. When I entered the cave once more, he was over by his tables, which were filled with potions and glassware, his back turned to me.
“I have everything you requested,” I announced, heading towards him.
He looked up and motioned for me to set the ingredients on the table next to him. “Did Lord Lorka say anything?” he asked, looking through the basket and pulling a few items out and setting them aside.
“These three jars are very potent. You should only use half of you normally would,” I said, pointing to the jars Lord Lorka had specified. “What do you need so much for anyway?”
He did not answer my question right away, continuing to pick through the ingredients. “I was running low on things,” he said, checking back at his book before continuing. “There are a few tonics I would like to make over the next few weeks.”
I moved to his other side to look at the book as well. “Like what?”
“There are a few potions that I want to try and combine,” he said, pointing at one page and then flipping a few pages to point at another. “I’m hoping to combine these two in order to help the lingering cough a number of villagers contract in the winter months. Due to the wind, weather, and the dampness in the caves, it is not a good combination.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise, not expecting him to work on something for the humans. “That’s… unexpected.”
Lord Dracul looked at me. “Because why would I care about humans when I’m a dragon myself?” he asked, his mouth quirking into a smirk.
I nodded.
“Well, I want those I care for and protect to thrive,” he said, picking out a couple chunks of ginger. “Are you able to cut these up into small pieces for me?”
I took the ginger and grabbed a nearby knife, beginning to chop across the table from him. Briefly, I was reminded of a time when I would help my mother prepare herbs for our homemade tinctures and a small smile crossed my lips. Quickly, my sleeves got in the way and I rolled them up to my elbows, continuing with my work. I suddenly felt the air go still and looked up to see Lord Dracul staring at my arms, at the scars left behind by the men who had attacked. Immediately, I pulled my sleeves back down, my face flushing with embarrassment. The scars were still pink; not enough time had passed for them to fade yet.
“What happened?” he asked, his voice quiet. Even though my sleeves were pushed back over my arms, he still stared at them.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said, my tone short. The last thing I wanted to do right now was relive that horrible night.
“Valora, who did this to you?” he asked, his gaze meeting mine, silver eyes smoldering with anger.
I shook my head, tears suddenly pricking my eyes. “I said I don’t want to talk about this,” I said, taking a couple steps away from the table. “It happened before I came here.”
His face looked pained as he took a step around the table towards me. Immediately, I backed away, my thoughts once more on that night, and I felt cold, like ice had suddenly been dumped over me. I wanted to flee, to run away from this conversation, and I felt myself beginning to slip away—slipping away to somewhere deep in my mind where I could hide and not process what happened.
“Valora, I’m not going to hurt you,” Lord Dracul said, holding up his hands. “But please, let me come closer.” He took another step towards me, and I stepped to the side of the table, now closer to the entrance of the cave than he was. “Valora, please,” he begged. “I’m sorry. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
My mind raced, my breath coming in gasps as I was overwhelmed with the feelings from that night. I could feel myself starting to mentally retreat and knew I needed to get out of there before panic began to consume me. I took another step towards the entrance, and Lord Dracul cried out in alarm. That was all it took before I turned and sprinted out of the cave into the hallway. My feet flew beneath me as I ran down the corridors, through twists and turns, not sure of where I was headed. All I knew was that I needed to get away before I fell to pieces.
Finally, I found myself in a seemingly abandoned hallway and collapsed to the ground, my chest heaving. A strangled sob escaped my throat and my chest tightened painfully. I curled into a ball, shaking while I tried to escape the nightmare, tears streaming down my face. The pain increased and I clutched my arms tighter, trying to ground myself back to reality.
I was frozen for what felt like ages, unable to move, even as I heard footsteps approaching. A presence settled next to me and I felt a slight amount of comfort washing over me as they sat there, not saying anything. Eventually, the panic lessened to the point where I could breathe properly again, and I lifted my head, wiping away my tears as I did so.
To my surprise, Lord Dracul sat beside me, looking at the wall across from us. He glanced at me when I sat up, his eyes sorrowful. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I shouldn’t have pushed.”
Exhaustion washed over me, and after a moment’s hesitation, I leaned against him, my head resting on his shoulder. I could feel him freeze at the action, but after another moment, he relaxed, moving his hand to cradle my head. The tightness in my chest lessened further. I let out a shuddering sigh and rubbed my arms.
We stayed like that for several minutes, listening to each other breathe. Focusing on Lord Dracul’s breathing helped me calm down further, and the final dregs of the nightmare washed away. Eventually, I pulled away from him, immediately missing his warmth, my chest feeling hollow. My face flushed at the thought that he had seen me in such a vulnerable position.
“I just… can’t,” I said, not looking at him. “It’s still too fresh.”
“I understand,” he said, putting a hand gently on my arm. Once more, I felt the sparks dance in my stomach, but I was too drained to focus on them. “I’m sorry. I was just shocked.” Lord Dracul stood and offered me a hand.
Without a thought, I took it and he pulled me upright, catching me in his arms as I collapsed against him. He held me softly for a moment, and my arms encircled his waist after several seconds, burying my face in his bare chest. He smelled like fire and wood, which was somehow comforting, even after my memories. Despite being brought there against my will, that contact, that warmth was welcomed. It had been a long time since I last received physical affection, and I suddenly realized how much I craved and missed it.
After several moments, we stepped apart. I tried ignoring the way my heart fell at the loss of contact. “Thank you,” I said, wiping away a few lingering tears.
“Shall we head back?” he asked, holding out a hand to me.
I nodded and took it as he led me back through the hallways. I was surprised at how far I had gotten when I ran away. From what I knew of the caves and hallways, we were somewhere near his hoard, but it was definitely somewhere I had never gone before.
The rest of the afternoon was filled with cutting ingredients—no more reference made to my scarred arms—and crushing some of the herbs in a mortar and pestle. It was soothing to work side by side with Lord Dracul, letting my mind focus on the mundane task in front of me. I enjoyed the rhythm of our work, and that night when I went to bed, I fell fast asleep immediately.