Chapter Thirteen
Valora
The next day I met back up with Henrick, slipping away from Lord Dracul with the excuse that I was eating lunch with the other Dragon Maidens. Earlier, I had managed to take a piece of parchment and scribble out the message that I wanted Henrick to deliver.
The young boy waited for me, shifting from foot to foot, obviously nervous. He nodded in greeting as I approached.
“Do you know how to get out of these caves? Other than the way you mentioned the other day?” I wasted no time on greetings, my heart beginning to pound. For the last couple of days, my thoughts had been consumed with escape, running through ideas every night before I went to bed.
Henrick hesitated before nodding slowly, his eyes growing big when he realized what I wanted. “If you get caught, you’ll be punished,” he said. “Probably killed.”
“I need to escape,” I said, my voice quiet. “I was taken against my will. I have family to find. Answers that I seek. In a week, it’ll be the new moon—I’m planning to escape then. In the darkness, it should be harder to find me.” I held out the note to him, along with a bracelet for his payment.
He paused, staring at the note, easily guessing its contents before his gaze flicked to the bracelet. I could tell he weighed the consequences of if he got caught and implicated with helping me against the price that the bracelet would fetch.
“Please, Henrick, please help me escape,” I begged. He was my only hope. I knew that everyone else was too scared of the dragons to even think of helping me. Though I hated the thought of using him, I needed to find my brother.
“It’s dangerous,” he said at last. “Very dangerous what you’re suggesting.”
“I know, but I can grab more items to pay you with,” I said. “I’ll make sure you aren’t caught. If this somehow fails, I won’t tell them you helped me. Please.”
The boy considered it for several moments, my heart pounding as the time dragged on, before taking the note and bracelet, sticking both in his pocket. He stepped towards me, motioning for me to get closer. His look of apprehension did not escape my notice and I was grateful that he was willing to risk his life to help me.
“I’ll see it gets picked up, and leave a pack by one of the back entrances that night,” he whispered, his voice dropping as he spoke. “But you shouldn’t come back here. People are getting suspicious. I’ve already been questioned about last time.”
For the next five minutes, we talked through the logistics of my escape and Henrick gave me instructions on how to exit the caves. It was not going to be easy that night, but it was my only hope to escape and see Ronan again.