“I guess you could say I’m safe, in a manner of speaking.” Taryn ran her fingers through her hair, which was a dusty mess from sleeping on the floor. “The guards took me while I was waiting for you. I had just closed the secret door when they came for me. I hope they didn’t find the passage.”
“Not to my knowledge. We did find your ribbon, though.” I handed back the bit of blue cloth that I still carried in my dress pocket.
Taryn took it back gratefully and tied it around her hair. “It must have gotten caught in the door. Thank you for bringing it back to me.”
“Of course. I’m just happy to find you again. What happened after the guards took you?”
“They brought me before the king. He questioned me about you, how long you had been gone, where you went and why. He seemed to know a lot about your leaving already; it felt like he just wanted me to fill in some of the missing pieces.”
“Mother said he used magic on her to force her to give him information.”
“I didn’t know the king could do magic. I thought he didn’t like magic.”
“He doesn’t. Which makes me wonder how he is able to do any magic in the first place, let alone become so powerful. It takes a certain amount of skill and power to force information out of someone without breaking their mind. Did he do that to you?”
“No. He didn’t use magic on me.” Taryn paused, looking confused as if trying to recall something just beyond her memory’s reach. “At least, I don’t think so. Maybe he felt, as a lowly servant, I wasn’t worth it. And I don’t think I added too much to his knowledge; once he started having me watched, I made sure you and I weren’t in contact as much. I’m sorry for that, but often it just didn’t feel safe to answer your summons.”
“I understand. So then what happened?”
Taryn massaged her temples, as if her head hurt. “I... I’m not sure. He questioned me, then the next thing I remember is being in this cell. But when the guards took me, it was nighttime. When I was in here, it was noon. Or maybe early afternoon, from the slant of the sun. I didn’t fall asleep; if anything I was exhausted, as if I had been up all night. But I can’t recall what happened between meeting the king and coming in here. I’ve tried and tried to remember, and every time my head aches and I draw a blank.”
She squeezed her eyes shut against the pain, digging the heels of her hands into her head. I reached out and touched her shoulder. “It’s okay, Taryn. Don’t push yourself to remember if it hurts too much.”
Taryn relaxed, but only a little. “It frightens me, not knowing.”
I wished I could reassure my friend, but we both knew there was nothing I could say or do that wouldn’t ring false. Instead I changed the subject, hoping Taryn might have information.
“Did you know Sava is in here? And her brother as well? They’re a few cells down from us.”
“I didn’t know that,” Taryn said. “I tried talking to whoever is locked up next door, but they seem to have lost their mind.”
“That seems to be true for everyone in here.” I told Taryn what I had seen in the other cells.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Taryn said. “But it sounds an awful lot like all those people they keep finding in the town.”
“Whatever Hendon’s doing, I’m going to find out. And I’m going to stop him,” I declared.
Taryn didn’t say anything. I think we both knew that my bravado was just my way of trying to make us feel better. So we just sat in silence, leaning against each other more for human connection than for support.
TIME PASSED IN A SLOW, mind-numbing crawl. How many hours had passed since the guards had thrown me in here? It was hard to tell.
Taryn didn’t have any more news, so I told her mine — finding my father, developing my shapeshifting abilities. When I mentioned I could change into a dragon, Taryn perked up, wondering if I could transform and then break us out of the cell.
I perked up as well, looking around our prison with renewed interest. After a thorough investigation, I shook my head sadly.
“I don’t think it would be wise,” I said. “I’m not as big as my father when I transform, but a dragon is still way bigger than any human. I could transform and break the walls. Or I could transform and be too big for this space, cramped and unable to move or do anything useful.”
Taryn blew out her breath, disappointed. “I suppose you’re right; now’s not the time to experiment. But maybe as a last resort...?”
“I’ll definitely keep it in mind.”
I finished filling Taryn in on the rest of my story. “And then Beyan, that liar, brought back a bunch of soldiers to our camp! We didn’t stand a chance. They grabbed me and took me away, and that’s how I ended up here.”
Taryn clicked her tongue in sympathy. “I can’t tell if you’re more upset over being captured or over leaving Beyan behind.”
“Excuse me?”
“Okay, fine. Beyan — and the others — behind.”
“I could care less what happens to that two-timing seeker! I trusted him.”
“And he trusted you, and look what happened. His charge taken by a dragon, his mission in ruins... I think if you two didn’t care so much it wouldn’t have mattered so much.”
“He only cared about killing my father!” I said indignantly. Taryn just raised an eyebrow at me. “Well, it’s true!”
She shook her head, trying to hide her smile. But I could hear it in her voice. “Of course, Princess. Whatever you say.”
I wanted to keep arguing, but I wasn’t even sure what we were arguing about. Plus, I knew I wouldn’t
