CHAPTER 53

To Damien’s chagrin; Valiance was now being held in the dungeons; heavily sedated…and he’d remain that way until Dimi could find a clue… but it was for his own good… and his mate’s… Dimi had promised his friend that he would find her. So here he was.

There were scents here. Many scents… and none he could pin to any of his brethren. This was a clue left by Raegan – the dead dragon… because those were her knives embedded in the dragon. He was impressed. Raegan was a remarkable quick study and she had proved her metal by quick decision making and brutal efficiency in a situation where many would’ve just given up. She was good for Valiance. Against all odds; their women hadn’t gone silently. And they had left a crumb for them to follow. But how? Where to start?

Was it possible that they had a traitor amidst them? That their enemies had struck once again? That this dragon was not from Evreux? And nor were his companions who took Raegan and Sarah. Was it possible that these were Titan’s lackeys - Titan who was following in his dead father’s footsteps? No, they wouldn’t have been able to enter the barrier without sounding the alarm… or what if…. His blood boiled at the idea of his soldiers deceiving them in such a horrible and unacceptable way. He didn’t want to believe it but there was no choice than to investigate the border patrol. So he started his long flight to the border of Velar with a hammering heart.

The wind brought him the news before he could see it with his own eyes. Blood… massacre… his soldiers hadn’t betrayed their homeland… they had died fighting… he landed hard in front of the watch tower and saw his men lying in pools of blood in both human and dragon forms. He went to a dragon with burnt orange scales; a lava breather, and sniffed at his wound… Dragon’s bane… likely mixed in their food to weaken them. So someone was involved in this… someone from within.

Damien let loose a roar of anger and pain. Five men, he had lost. And now he had to be the bearer of this wretched news to their families. Five more names to adorn the walls in the hall of heroes. He’d rather it be his name instead of theirs. But this wasn’t the time to mourn… that time will come later when he had avenged them. For now he had a traitor to hunt whose hands were red with his brothers’ blood.

He sent summons to his soldiers to take care of the dead bodies so he could start searching for the traitor. It could be anyone from the other shift or as the clues suggested; the servant who brought food to the post. It would’ve been too easy for him to spike the food with the bane. And the poor souls would’ve been in no shape to fight to their fullest for the bane not only weakened the body of a dragon but also put a stopper to their gifts. So that’s where he would start his interrogation. He had to hurry for God knew they couldn’t keep Valiance for long. The bastard was too powerful for his own good.

……………………………………………

Raegan’s body felt numb where the dragon was gripping her in his claws. Her head was pounding due to the fall she’d taken. She craned her neck to see how Sarah was doing but she wasn’t in her line of sight. A slight current passed her like a whole body shudder. They were so far up in the sky that she couldn’t make out the lay of the land below. The air was almost frosty up here. Dejected; she closed her eyes against the onslaught of cold wind.

After a flight that was hours long; they were thrown in a huge room that was completely bare with the exception of several shackles hanging from the walls on the far side of the room and a plain wooden table in a corner. The floor was covered with hay and nothing else.

The kidnappers had bound their wrists and ankles and thrown them in there, not feeling the need to put a guard in the room. Then again, it wasn’t like they posed even a little threat to the dragon kind, especially weapon less and bound. Raegan waited a few heartbeats after the door was shut and locked from the outside to ease down her breathing and push down the panic creeping up her spine.

Making her way on bound hands and knees, Raegan reached Sarah who hadn’t moved from her position at all. Her tears had dried in streams down her grimy cheeks and her breathing was choppy. She’d crossed panic and entered into silent shock. Silently she took Sarah’s bound wrists and started working on the bonds. It took some time to undo the tight knots with the limited movement of her fingers but she got it done.

When she’d freed her friend from the ropes, she caressed her hair back from her tear stained face, “Sarah, honey look at me” she said softly, taking her chin in her fingers and tilting her head so that she could look at her.

“I promise you we’ll make it back home, okay? Val and Damien will know where to look for us. We just need to hold on” slowly, Sarah sat up and silently started working on Raegan’s bonds.

“What just happened Ray? Who are these people? What do they want from us?”

“If I were to take a guess, I’d say we’re not in Evreux anymore. On the flight here, I felt the sizzle of the portal and I fear we’re in Velar”.

“Where?” Sarah asked confused.

“Velar. The kingdom that went to war with Evreux 50years ago. Katherine; who cursed the dragons back home, was one of Velar’s witches”.

“But Ray that was 50years ago. What do they want from us now? After half a century”.