The Raven and the Dragon

Chapter Eighteen

Nimah had expected some entertaining reactions to their retelling of the whole affair. She wasn't entirely disappointed. Lady Byrne and King Gideon remained impassive, which was a bit of a letdown but predictable. Alicia tried, but a confused frown started growing on her face the longer they talked. Eve covered her mouath a few times, her mismatched eyes going wide at the particularly terrible parts, but said nothing. And Bo...

Well, Bo looked like he was having a heart attack just thinking about what had happened to them. It was pretty funny, though Nimah did feel a little bit bad. Only a little. It wasn't like she'd planned to do this just to get that reaction out of him.

"So," Lady Byrne said when their story was over, "you...went to where the dragon was to get away?"

"It was the only thing I could think of," Lord Laine said. He sounded almost apologetic, though Nimah thought she noticed a bit of a smile in his voice. He had been really excited about the dragons. "It worked, at least."

That got a reaction from Lord Gideon—a brief, almost startled laugh. "You're a very optimistic person, Lord Laine," he said.

"I try to be, when it's warranted." There was a spark of curiosity in his eyes whenever Lord Laine looked at King Gideon, like there were a thousand questions he wanted to ask that he was holding back. Too polite to ask, she guessed. Nimah was glad she'd had no such reservations when they'd first met. It may not have been proper, but she'd rather have her curiosity sated. "I'm not sure if anyone has noticed we're the ones who took him. I'm sure it won't take them long to figure out if they haven't already."

Lady Byrne nodded. "You're right. We should prepare ourselves for an assault or perhaps an offer of a deal." She glanced out of the room. "Hopefully my brother's generals will be more willing to bargain than he is."

That was a pickle. Nimah genuinely didn't understand what Lord Reardon was trying to achieve by staying silent. He'd seen that they had at least one dragon. Alicia must have mentioned that they had more. What was he trying to achieve? Maybe he's just being spiteful. He looked like the spiteful sort, even when it would just end up hurting him. Not that he was Nimah's problem anymore, strictly speaking. It was out of her hands. She wouldn't even know what to do with him if she were responsible for him.

Maybe I could annoy him into surrendering. It was an amusing enough that she had to bite back a smile.

"I thank you for all your help, truly," Lady Byrne said. Her face was still impassive, but there was a hint of genuine gratitude in her voice. "You have taken a great risk to help my family. We're in your debt."

"We are," Alicia agreed. "We'll get you home as soon as possible. Especially you, Lord Laine. I know he knows who you are an if they do figure out where he's gone..."

Lord Laine shook his head. "Don't go out of your way to take me anywhere. I'll be all right for now. This place is impenetrable, right?"

"That's what they say."

Nimah just hoped there was some truth to that. Things could get ugly when the enemy realized their lord was missing. At least they won't be able to get us through the rug. Even if they found it, it would be useless to them. Though King Gideon was short two rugs now.

He'd be fine. He could afford two rugs.

They went for food not long after that. They hadn't been fed much after they were tossed into the dungeon and had no breakfast whatsoever, so the meal they were given—while a tiny bit bland—was welcome. "So, did that go better than you thought it would or worse?" Nimah asked Solomon teasingly.