“He still lost.”
I had nothing to say to that, so we fell into an uneasy silence. D’Arcy leaned into me, much too close for my comfort.
“Most of the drakens are preparing for the next task, which is where you should be. What would Benedict think if you were absent?”
I rolled my eyes. “If you think I care what he thinks, then you haven’t been paying attention.”
D’Arcy’s smile was an indulgent, condescending gesture that made me want to pull away from him. I resisted the urge.
“Yes, I had noticed you two don’t seem to be getting along. That’s a shame.”
His tone made it sound anything but.
“It would also be a shame if Benedict were to find his little human late to the Games because she was dallying with his uncle.”
I grit my teeth, his grip iron around my upper arm.
“We are not dallying.”
His nose was in my hair, nuzzling into my neck even as my fingers gripped the sword at my waist. Then he was gone, too quick for me to take action.
“No one will believe you.”
I took a steadying breath and met his eyes without flinching.
“What will it take to omit that part of my tardiness?”
His fangs flashed, and I had the sinking sensation that I had just made a terrible, terrible mistake.
“I find myself bored in this mountain, as you can understand. The Games have been a pleasurable enough diversion, but they’re hardly lively enough for my tastes, especially when Benedict insists on making them safe. What if you assist me in spicing them up?”
I didn’t have much of a choice, did I? I raised my chin, aiming for a bored tone.
“And what do you suggest? Let me guess: pick you as the winner?” His eyebrows lifted in mock surprise, and as he smirked, I knew he was thinking back to my first night here, and the liberties he’d taken with me. I hid a snarl.
“Not this time, though an intriguing possibility for the future.” I pretended to look mildly interested, crossing my arms in thought. My fingers rested lightly on the top of my sword, and I kept my body loose and relaxed like Kieran had taught me.
“What did you have in mind then?”
He leaned in, his fangs getting closer. My hand gripped the hilt, ready to plunge it into his smug face if I needed to. It wouldn’t really hurt him, but hopefully it’d give me enough time to get a head start down the hallway.
“Wren! There you are!”
I sank in relief as one of the drakens from last night’s dinner appeared, the same two companions in tow. D’Arcy’s sneer only lifted minutely.
“Elders.”
The three new drakens eyed D’Arcy with various levels of mistrust, and my opinion of them immediately rose. The first one approached me while the other two kept an eye on D’Arcy.
“Gelf, my lady.” The silver draken bent over my hand, grasping it carefully like it was made of porcelain. His companions seemed equally reserved, both waiting patiently for their turn to take my hand and greet me. Gelf gently laid my hand back down and backed away.
“Wyrren, at your service.” The second draken almost blended into the shadows, his dark obsidian scales gleaming and speckled with bits of red. His eyes were as black as his body, making the whites stand out even more.
“And I’m Pirth.” The final draken was the deep yellow color of saffron, fading into black on the lower half of his body. His bright green eyes reminded me of Kieran’s, but with more gold in them.
“What business do you have with the lady?” D’Arcy’s tone aimed for imperious but came off condescending.
“Our business, which is no concern of yours.”
D’Arcy growled, baring his fangs. The three other drakens immediately went into a practiced defensive form, gently moving me behind them while flaring their large wings. D’Arcy hissed at the three of them, and they took a step towards him. He backed away, tucking his wings into his shoulders.
“Benedict will hear about this.”
Gelf snorted and swiped at the walls with his claws, and sparks flew.
“Your nephew doesn’t give a shit what you think anymore, so go ahead.” D’Arcy disappeared in a huff, and the sea of wings in front of me deflated.
“May we escort you to the Games?”
I sighed; Bair would have to wait until later.
“Of course.”
They took the lead, and I relaxed as my impromptu guard surrounded me. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but these drakens didn’t set me on edge like the others did.
“We were all mated before the war, so our instincts are not screaming at us where it concerns you, they’re simply yelling.”
I shot a look to Pirth, who merely grinned back. Gelf gave him a light shove.
“Don’t mind him; he’s over a thousand years old but acts like he’s in his first few centuries.”
“You are Elders then, like D’Arcy said?”
“Make that the only bit of information you pick up from him if you don’t mind. That draken has changed since we’ve been trapped here.”
“What do you mean?”
We paused at a crossroad of passages, and Wyrren pointed at a series of three horizontal lines etched at the level of my head on the wall. I’d never noticed them before.
“The more lines you see, the further away from the entrance hall you are. If you keep taking passages with less lines, you will eventually find your way back.”
I ran my fingers over the crude markings, impressed with the genius of such a simple system.
“Thank you, that’s quite helpful.”
We went down the hall marked with two lines.
“To answer your question, yes. We are the eldest remaining drakens who were fighting in the war yet didn’t perish in the eruption on Lyoness.”
“For all the good it did us; no one listens to us anyway,” Wyrren snorted.
The concept of Elders was fascinating to me; I had never seen any elderly humans before, and the vampyres had immortal, un-aging bodies. lykos did age, but I’d never seen
