Queen Of The Great Underworld

29

As unconsciousness seized me, the last thing my mind registered was the numbers. Always numbers.

::Strength through silence,:: Aaru was banging on the wall of his cell. ::Strength through silence.::

When Yarrow and his friend dragged me from under the bed, those words became my last thought:

Strength through silence.

BEFORE

Sarai 15, 2204 FG

“LEX COULD BE HURT.” Ilydsey STARED INTO THE mouth of the cave.

My heart jumped. I’d never been in a dragon cave before. Mother had f*******n it, because it was too dangerous. And, as with the drakarium, it was generally considered rude to go tromping into a dragon’s home. But I didn’t want to tell Ilydsey no; not when I desperately wanted to go in myself. To help. And because I’d always wanted to see the inside.

Ilydsey fished the calm-whistle from her pocket, then motioned at her backpack. “Get a noorestone, will you?”

Jan felt around the bag until he found an elongated noorestone, shining bright white-blue. Crystal, momentarily distracted from the scent of a larger dragon, stretched her neck as long as it would go and gave the noorestone a small trill of approval.

“Ready?” Ilydsey’s voice trembled.

“This is a terrible idea,” Jan said, but not in a tone that discouraged.

He wasn’t wrong. If Lex was hurt, she could lash out. We could be cooked inside the dragon cave. Even the sweet tone of the calm-whistle wouldn’t do much to save us from a frightened Drakontos rex.

A tendril of dread wove through our group. No one expected to actually find Lex.

Jan held the noorestone high as we stepped inside the cave. The walls were dark, more melted stone, but some of the faces were polished enough to reflect the noorestone light.

It was another world in here. Five steps. Ten. Stone crunched under our boots, and I was grateful for the thick soles. People without the proper protective gear usually ended up with shredded feet when they came into the sanctuary, or any place where big dragons lived.

Fifty paces in, we came to a huge central chamber, with fifteen delicate columns to brace the ceiling, and molted scales scattered across the floor like red coins. Evidence of an absent dragon. Three other tunnels branched off into darkness.

Piles of noorestones shimmered along the walls, illuminating the vast space like clusters of fallen stars.

This felt intrusive, coming into Lex’s home. This was her private space, and these were her possessions. She hadn’t invited us here.

“Look.” Jan’s mutter echoed off the walls as he jabbed his noorestone toward the center. “Do you see it?”

Now that he pointed it out, I saw a pair of long depressions in the rock and dirt littering the floor, and—

“Are those wheel tracks?” The words felt heavy and unreal.

Jan crept closer to the wide gashes in the debris. “Yes.” His deep voice echoed across the cavern. “Someone was here.”

With a cart. And a load that carved deep tracks into the dirt.

They hadn’t left anything, or taken anything . . . except.

“Someone took Lex,” I breathed. How could someone just take an enormous dragon?

Tears shimmered down Ilydsey’s cheeks. “Who?” The word seemed to choke out of her.

I reached for her hand, but I didn’t have a good answer. Poachers, maybe? That was a horrible thought.

“We’ll have to tell someone,” I said. “Your parents, first.” But we’d take it all the way to the Luminary Council if necessary. Dragons were protected. This was an insult to the Galadriel Treaty, and worse—an insult to the Fallen Gods themselves.

“Did you see tracks in Astrid’s cave last night?” Jan searched farther into the room, pausing at the first slender column of black rock. He picked up a shed scale, which glittered ruby in the light of his noorestone.

“I don’t—I didn’t look.” Ilydsey’s voice was hoarse.

“Let’s go.” I tugged her toward the tunnel again. “We should check on Tower.”

“Right.” We headed outside again, squinting at the bright sunlight, and aimed our horses toward Tower’s cave. We had to know.

None of us really expected her to be there. And she wasn’t.

“We’ll find them,” I said later. “We’ll do whatever it takes to get them back.”

THIRST GNAWED AT ME, BUT THE HOLLOW AND ACHE weren’t nearly as acute as before. I was on my back, lying on something not exactly soft, but far more luxurious than the stone floor of my cell. A thin bed, maybe.

“Four days?” The feminine voice was distant, distorted by my own muggy mind. “You left her in there for four days and thought she wouldn’t die?”

“She’s still alive.” That was Yarrow’s voice. Of course I knew his voice. I’d been waiting to hear it every moment since he closed the cell doors after my bath—dreading to hear it.

If he’d offered just a sip of water, I’d have told him everything he wanted to know. I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself. I’d have done anything for drink, especially once the hallucinations started.

He moved closer, still talking. “That’s what matters to you, isn’t it? Keeping her alive?”

“We need her healthy, too. In case the Luminary Council sends for her. You’ve heard the rumors from the Shadowed City.” The voice was feminine, definitely, but too far away for me to know immediately. More likely I didn’t know her at all. There were a lot of people in the Heart of the Great Warrior, I had to keep reminding myself. “It’s a Galadrielcle that she’s alive,” she said.

“I left her with enough water to survive, as long as she rationed. And she did.” Yarrow stood so, so close to me. Too close. “She’s not as stupid as you think. She knew to save her supplies.”

“You’re lucky,” the woman said. “That’s all.” They were both quiet for a moment. Papers rattled. Metal clanged. Then: “What did she do, anyway?”

“I caught her stealing food to give to her neighbors. You know those Anabelns. They just can’t help themselves when it comes to charity.”

My heart sped up. I hadn’t been stealing food for Aaru and Gerel. What was he talking about?

“She’ll recover in a few days,” Yarrow went on. “She’s already improved. Look. She’s responding well to the treatment.”

Treatment?

Vaguely, I became aware of a faint pressure against my inner elbow, and strength flowing in. I could breathe easier. My heart beat at an even pace. Drowsiness made my thoughts float away, but the panic had subsided.