War. Thea wants no part of it, especially after it took her father's life. But the war won't leave her alone. After refusing the Prince's marriage proposal and being kidnapped, Thea realizes that staying neutral was never an option. Now Thea must d...
Darkness consumed me. No matter how many times I blinked, rubbed my eyes, or waited for them to adjust, I could see nothing through the thick, impenetrable black. Unable to see, unable to assess the area and its dangers, my heart rate increased, my breathing becoming shallower. I clenched and unclenched my hands, feeling my nails dig into my skin.
Get a grip, Thea. All you need to do is go forward and find some light. Walk forward. Come on, let's go. My thoughts forced a foot to take a step, and then another. Hollow thuds echoed, as if I were in a cave. That would explain the darkness.
Gathering my courage and breath, I picked up my pace only to run face first into a wall. Pain flared across my nose and forehead. I placed a hand on the wall, expecting to feel rugged and rough rock; instead, a smooth surface surprised me, as if people had built it. Keeping my hand on the wall, I followed it, counting my steps. As I walked, I also noticed my steps did not echo as before, but rather clicked, as if I were in a small room rather than a cave. I gritted my teeth, cursing this darkness that blocked my sight.
Twelve paces had me at the corner of the room. Turning, I continued my journey only to have my fingers brush against a rough and woven surface. Running my hands over it, I felt individual threads. Some threads ran straight up and down, while others curved as if making a picture. Memories came rushing back, making my stomach drop with dread.
I knew this room.
This was the cottage next to Marduk's mansion. I was currently feeling the tapestry with the picture of the sea. Heart quickening, I walked the rest of the perimeter, picturing the room in my mind. The door was exactly where I expected it, as was the dresser and bed on the other wall. Somehow I had ended up back in the Dragon's Keep.
But what about the light? There should be a lamp around somewhere. It must have been the middle of the night with heavy cloud cover for it to be so dark. Even with the small windows, the stars and moon had still shone through.
Before I could look for a lamp, a dull roar sounded, stopping me in my tracks. Fear, pure and chilling, filled me. A cold draft hit the back of my neck, even though there was no window or door behind me.
The roar sounded again, closer. Then a voice.
"You belong to me now. There is no escape." Marduk.
The breeze turned into a gust, and I ran. Only one creature could create a wind that cold and strong. Where I should have hit a wall, however, I continued. The sound of my footsteps had turned back into hollow and echoing thuds. I didn't have time to ponder these changes before voices started sounding around me.
"Thea, this way." Nourse. I turned toward the sound of his voice, only to trip over the rugged ground a few paces later. My hands stung from the impact, and something wet ran down my cheek. Blood.
"You always did need to watch your footing," Nourse said, a smirk in his voice. Tears, from the fall and the words, burned in my eyes.
More roars, and the sound of claws scraping stone, had me on my feet, running through the dark once more.
"M'lady, follow me!" Jax. Blindly, I turned toward the voice, willing my legs faster, ignoring the pain in my hands, the aching in my feet, only to fall into water so cold it burned. Breaking the surface, I gasped, my body automatically treading the water.
"You know, Thea, you really need to work on finding people you can trust," Jax continued, his footsteps fading away. More roars sounded.
Cold seized my muscles, my movements slowing. How easy it would be to stop, to let the water and darkness have me. To accept this fate rather than the one that kept roaring behind me. My eyes started to close for what would be the last time.
Hands gripped me under my arms, hauling me out onto dry land. "Do not give up, Thea." Maurine. The one who persevered no matter how bad life became. Hope personified. "Here, drink this."
What felt like a vial, its glass lip warm, was held to my mouth, and I accepted the liquid. Warmth instantly filled me, only to be replaced moments later with pain. My muscles started seizing, and I lay there, my body writhing on the hard rock floor.
"Why did you leave me, Thea?" Maurine asked, accusation in her tone. "Was it because you thought I would get in the way? Or maybe, deep down, you felt undeserving of what I offered you: hope and peace. Either way, you are about to get what you want." Her footsteps, small yet defined, faded away, leaving me alone in my suffering.
But only for a moment.
Breath, hot and rancid, filled my senses, and even though I could not see, I knew who stood over me.
"Did you really think you could simply leave and not pay the cost?" Marduk's voice, amused and sinister, echoed, as if he filled the room. "Everyone who falls belongs to me. There is no way out." Even with the poison overcoming me, even with the maw of the Dragon hanging inches above, I struggled to move, to get away, to find a way to escape. Not like this... I didn't want to go like this.
Marduk laughed at my efforts. I managed to turn over and start to crawl on my elbows and knees only to have a scaly paw flip me on my back and pin me in place, claws scraping into the rock beside me.
"You are mine!" the Dragon roared. I tensed, waiting for his teeth to end everything.
"Enough. She is under my protection." A new voice broke the darkness, one full of power and authority. My heart twanged at the voice, as if it recognized it, but no name came to my mind.
Marduk snarled and roared at these words, his claws digging farther into the rock, though the rancid breath became fainter. The voice, familiar yet unknown, spoke again. "Leave now. You are not welcome here." Instantly, as if the creature had simply melted away, the weight of the Dragon's paw disappeared, the smell of death gone.
A soft hand touched my shoulder.
"Thea," the voice, strong and relentless, commanded, "it is time. Awaken!"
With a gasp, I awoke, my eyes opening to see nothing but black.
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