“We all have our burdens.” I shot back. Spike put his hands up in the air, ending the argument. The meeting dispersed, with everyone eager to attend to their last-minute affairs.
“I will be glad to get back to Lyoness.”
On that, Kieran and I could both agree.
The refugees moved out and down the tunnels in a calm, orderly manner. Zara was down at the bay, monitoring the tunnel’s entrance from the other side. Becca smiled at me brightly, waving. Her hands were full of clothing and supplies.
“I hear you are accompanying us to the bay?”
“Yes. I have some special abilities that could be useful if we run into trouble.”
Becca sighed wistfully, her face taking on a dreamy look.
“I am friends with a draken! Who would have thought!”
I recognized a few faces from the cage around her—others who had been sold and shipped off from her farm. I glanced back at the massive line forming, everyone preparing themselves for a difficult march that would take the entire night. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Benedict, stalking towards us. A moment later Thad appeared from the same shadow but went in the other direction
Becca bowed nervously when Benedict reached us, but he ignored her.
“Be careful. Shift back at the first sign of danger.”
“I am not a child, Benedict. I grow tired of being treated like one.”
His callused hands cupped my face gently, his forehead bent forward to touch mine. He closed his eyes.
“You are right. You are so much more than that. You are my life—my soul. If something ever happened to you, I would make the world burn.”
Adrenaline spiked through my veins, arousal thick and hot in my blood. He captured my lips in a brief but lingering kiss, taking time to fully taste my mouth and bite gently on my lower lip. He pulled away, and I had to remind myself to breathe.
“Come back to me.”
I could only blink dumbly as he left, making his way towards the rebel fighters.
“Oh la. Where’s the other one? I’d like to see him top that.”
Kieran dropped out of nowhere, his wings sending nearby refugees scurrying with a curse and Becca shrieking in delight. He grabbed me and flew back up, out of sight in a small alcove high in the ceiling.
“You heard what she said, didn’t you?”
He flashed me wry grin, fangs and all.
“Benedict can’t have all the notoriety.”
I leaned my head against his chest, relishing the feel of his body against mine.
“No, I suppose not.”
Kieran tipped a finger under my chin, gently lifting my eyes to his.
“He is right. You are everything. Not just to me, or Benedict and Ronan, but the entire draken race. If you do not love yourself enough to take care, love us enough to do so.”
I jerked, my chest tightening at the truth behind his words.
“Don’t cry,” he admonished, tucking me against him. “You are already three times the female you were when you came to our mountain, afraid and beaten. You have always been a survivor—this is no different. You are a queen, Wren.”
I wiped my tears on my hands, my scales rough against the softer skin around my eyes.
“I can handle myself, thanks to you and Benedict, and Ronan.”
I hated the whining tone of my voice. His hand moved between my wings, rubbing a comforting circle on my back.
“I trust you just fine. I do not trust anyone else in this world to treat you properly or to not get you killed. Please understand Benedict and I are fighting old instincts that have not caught up to our evolved minds. I know it’s not an excuse, but we are trying.”
“I know.” I whispered back.
“Now, let’s give those humans something to really talk about.”
I screeched in happiness as he devoured my mouth. If I appeared rumpled or had any odd bruises around my neck when I returned to Becca’s side, she didn’t say anything. She did raise one eyebrow suggestively, smirking.
“I’d sell my soul to have one man look at me like that, let alone the three you got mooning over you.”
I smiled smugly, holding a torch to help light the way as we began our long procession through the darkness. After a while, my mind caught up to her comment, and I frowned as I pondered the meaning. Becca had never met Ronan to see how he acted around me. It troubled me throughout the night, but I shook it away. It hardly mattered now. Our plan was underway, and only the dawn would bring us answers.
Eighteen
We walked through the night, keeping ourselves roused and awake by telling our stories. Each saga of suffering and pain was another dose of adrenaline through our veins, keeping our legs moving and our feet steady. One young woman finished a horrific tale of abuse, detailing how her vampyre master had kept her as a pleasure slave, shackled to his bed. I shivered, knowing Crullfed’s beatings were a cakewalk compared to that.
“I really had it easy on the farm,” Becca said, her voice once again taking on that wistful tone. “Usually we have strict breeding laws—well, of course you know that, knowing where you grew up and all. Our Master didn’t really care if or who we bred with; it led to more humans to work the farm, after all.”
I looked out at the small mass of humanity stretched in either direction.
“It does seem almost idyllic compared to these stories.”
An older woman who had walked near us for most of the way tapped on my shoulder.
“Where did you grow up?”
It grew quiet as everyone near us listened—only the sound of our feet on the stone could be heard.
“I grew up as a human slave in a breeding manor—Lord Crullfed’s, just outside the city.”
I felt their eyes flick to me, confusion and curiosity warring amongst them. A little girl on her father’s shoulders reached her hands out to me.
“You were a human?”
I took a deep
