Loren’s mouth opened, but the markings around her throat blazed into life as well. She tried to reach for Kae, but the pain intensified and she faltered. At the throne, Haedria tutted.
“Don’t waste your time, silly girl. Did Seraphis not explain the shackles to you and your band before? I know that you have met previously.” The queen purred, looking to her sister. Seraphis could not meet her gaze. “Has she spilled all my secrets to you already? I shall assume she has, and punish her for it accordingly. Hamilcar!”
The bandit king snapped to attention. He bowed his head. “Yes, my queen?”
“Dispose of the rest.”
Hamilcar grunted. “At once, my queen.” He gestured to his men, and Ain and a handful of other bandits roughly grabbed Kae and Cassendir, and hoisted the sack that contained Ma’trii.
“Wait! You said there was a wolf?” Seraphis stepped forward.
“Yes, princess. Right here. The wolf is owned by the girl, I think.” Hamilcar waved at Ain, who opened Ma’trii’s sack slightly. Ma’trii began to howl and struggle, kicking at the sack and snapping at Ain’s hands.
“Dear sister, let me have the wolf. It looks to be of Aldoran stock, native to the Kilrough Forest. I could use it to further breed my hounds.” Seraphis looked back to her sister, some excitement returning to her.
The queen chuckled and nodded. “Consider it my gift to you, my dear sister. I know how you adore your pets. Have Kerza set a separate cell in the kennels for it till you have the time to train it.”
Seraphis nodded, smiling gratefully. She brought two fingers to her mouth and whistled a sharp, clear note. Duro, her large white hound, bounded forward from where he was lounging by the braziers. With a few more whistled commands, Duro clamped his jaws around the mouth of Ma’trii’s sack. The hound began to drag the sack away and out of an open door off the throne room.
“Ma’trii! No, bring him back! Ma’trii!” Kae cried, reaching for her wolf. Ain caught the huntress and held her back, pinning her arms behind her back again. The sounds of Ma’trii’s despairing howls echoed through the hallway beyond, till it faded. “You monster. What more till you take away and destroy?” Kae said through gritted teeth.
Haedria tapped her chin as she lounged in her throne, pretending to think. The mage markings on her arms still glowed and flickered as if with fire. “You’re quite a feisty one, even in the face of utter defeat. What is your name?”
In response, Kae spat as far as she could towards the throne. A glob of spit landed on the dais.
Haedria raised a brow, but it was Seraphis who answered. “Her name is Kae, my queen. She is from the Kilrough Forest, same as the wolf. I believe they were hunting partners.”
“And her relationship with the princess?”
Kae stilled, taken aback. She looked to Loren, who was struggling to stand. The princess had her back turned to Kae and shook with pain. Kae felt a great urge to go to her, to take the princess in her arms and run, to take her somewhere safe and away from this witch of flame.
“I am not certain, sister.” Seraphis’s voice sounded as if it was far away from Kae.
“Lovers, obviously.” Haedria smiled. “Did you not hear the desperation in the girl’s voice when I shackled her dear princess? I could listen to the sound of a heart breaking all day. And my, how both of them reach for each other. However, I have what I want, I have no need of the girl. What should we do with her, Seraphis?”
Seraphis sighed heavily. She returned to tapping on the hilt of her sword, her nervous fidget. “Perhaps we could have the huntress serve us in the castle somehow? We could always do with more slaves.
“Slaves?” Haedria pondered. The queen shook her head and waved dismissively. “We have enough, I believe. Take her and the mage, have them killed.”
At the queen’s words, Loren turned back to Kae. Tears were streaming unchecked down the princess’s face, and her golden eyes bore tendrils of red and orange as Haedria’s magic continued to corrupt the dragon magic. Loren’s voice was hoarse. All she could say was the huntress’s name.
Chapter Twenty Three
The throne room of Sagna echoed with the huntress’s screams. The look of despair, utter helplessness, the pure fear in Loren’s eyes was more than Kae could bear. The moment the magic took over Loren, silencing the princess and changing the gold to Haedria’s cursed red, Kae realized she would lose her. She would lose the princess before ever having her. The pain of knowing she would never have another chance to tell Loren how she felt, to put it in words and be true, was too much to bear.
“Loren!” Cassendir called. The mage was roughly taken by the arm by Hamilcar’s men. He craned and twisted, struggling to meet Loren’s eyes as he was dragged away. “We’ll get out of this somehow! You, me, Kae, Ma’trii, we’ll get out of this! Don’t lose hope princess!” The scholar’s desperate voice faded as Cassendir was dragged back down the long hall to the entrance of the Firestone Keep, to be executed outside. Kae followed soon after, held between two of Hamilcar’s bandits, kicking and screaming the whole way, out of her mind. All she could say was Loren’s name, over and over, till the huntress’s voice was silenced.
Atop her throne, Haedria rubbed at her temples. “That may have been more trouble that it was worth.” She said.
“You now have the dragon princess, Haedria. That was what you wanted, wasn’t it?” Seraphis said. Her eyes lingered on the
