Chapter Thirty-Four

Chloe

Dragon prison accommodations left a lot to be desired. The cold rock slab hewn straight from the wall was uneven, and the thin straw pallet on top did nothing to help. There was no pillow either.

I sat with my back to the wall, fighting back shiver after shiver. The glani was not a warm garment, and down in the bowels of the palace, there was a distinct lack of heat to offset my exposed skin.

For the millionth time, I glanced around the cell. The one thing it had going for it was the surprising spaciousness. Set directly into what I had to assume was bedrock, the only way in and out was a small door-sized hole cut from solid rock. It was at the far end of a ten-foot-long hallway that opened into the huge cell.

I'd paced it out after the first hour. It was forty feet long and twenty-five feet wide. The ceiling had to be at least twenty feet high. All rock. It had taken me several hours of pondering to finally understand why it was so large.

They were meant to hold dragon shifters. The prison cell was big enough to allow them to shift, and the narrow hallway was long enough and thin enough the door was out of reach of a dragon claw.

With the mysteries of my new residence unlocked, I settled in for the long haul. Surely, they would send someone down to question me. That was my current line of thought.

Would it be questioning? Interrogation? Or outright torture? That was just one more problem. There was such a lack of intelligence about dragons and their methods that I didn't know what to expect. That unknowing was, in some ways, worse than knowing.

The sound of activity at the door brought me back to the present. I frowned, consulting my internal clock. It was far too early for my next meal. I figured they were bringing one at every six-hour intervals, but it had been somewhere between three and four hours since the last.

"So, it begins," I mumbled, though I didn't bother getting up. They could come drag me to wherever they wanted to question me. I wasn't going to help them.

A single person emerged from the unlit hallway as the door closed behind them. To my surprise, it was the sovereign herself.

The weight of the dragon-scale blade at my back grew heavy, a reminder of the only advantage I had left. Of course, I wasn't sure how I would use it. It wasn't like I could overpower her. I would have to stab her in the back.

Killing the ruler of all dragons didn't seem like a good way to prove I wasn't a traitor. And taking her hostage to demand my release wasn't an option either. She would simply grab my wrist as I held the blade to her throat and shatter it with a squeeze. No, I would be better off biding my time. Waiting.

"I must admit," she said, speaking first, "I was as surprised as Silas when I was shown the evidence."

"Evidence," I said slowly.

"Yes. The photographs of you meeting with the CIA agent. You played your part here well. Nobody suspected a thing."

"That is the role of a spy," I drawled.

"So, you admit you're a spy?"

I thought about the language of her question.

"I admit I was sent here to spy on you," I said.

"An interesting choice of words," the sovereign said, her green eyes flickering with an intelligence I found myself admiring. She was fast.

"If you say so." I considered spilling the beans, telling her everything, but what would that get me? Nothing. No, they would have to ask the question first. To prove they could.

Then I would tell them. But not before.

Not that I didn't want to. I longed to just open, to make everything better. I wanted to see Silas again. To feel his arms around me. I stared at the ceiling, willing myself to not cry.

I'm stronger than this.

It had hurt. The instantaneous way in which he'd flipped his opinion of me. Revealing just how deep the prejudices ran. I'd thought he was different.

But I was wrong, and it sucked so much. An empty feeling, where his presence should be.

"Do you have anything else you wish to say?" the leader of all dragons asked, coming closer, arms crossed. Even in the dim light of the cell, her platinum-blonde hair seemed to shimmer and glow.

That wasn't fair either.

"Not to that question," I said. "I've already made Silas' life difficult enough. I'm not about to make it worse if that's what you're hoping for."

She tilted her head, staring down at me. "All I hope for is peace and happiness among my people."

"Well, now you have it," I said dryly. "You've exposed me, and you can all unite in your hatred. Congrats. Yay."

"You don't seem to care about your situation."

"I guess we're both just making assumptions then, aren't we?" I shot back.

The sovereign gave me a hard stare. "Spit it out."

I shook my head. "Ask the right question."

"And what would that be?"

"I can't tell you. You have to ask it on your own."

"If you don't say anything, the Council will likely vote to kill you."

"Well, then at least Silas' life will be better off, not having to deal with me hanging over his head for much longer."

The sovereign frowned. "I'm not so sure I believe that."

I fixed her with a thoughtful gaze. She was so close. Could she see through her own prejudices? Because if the ruler of all dragons couldn't, then there was no point. I would never be welcome among them. Never be trusted.

"You do want him back, don't you?"

"I care for him if that's what you're asking. That was not a lie."

She nodded slowly. "I believe you."

I opened my mouth to ask how he was doing but couldn't get the words out. I wasn't sure I wanted to know. What if he was already moving on? Had he accepted Caine's daughter as his mate by now to soothe the tensions between families? I didn't want to hear about Silas with someone else.

I just wanted him to be with me.

"Very well," the sovereign said, turning to go. "If you have nothing more to say …"

I couldn't take it.

"How is he?" I blurted, lunging up from my seat. "Is he okay?"

"He's fighting a duel later today. Because of you."

I stiffened. "A duel?"

"With Caine."

"That seems unfair. Isn't Caine a little old to be fighting someone like Silas?" I asked.

"Yes. He's up to something. And I'm afraid Silas won't see it coming."

"Why not?" I asked, worried. What on Earth was he thinking?

"Because." She started walking again. "He's too busy obsessing over you."

Then she was gone.

I sank back into the bed, mixed emotions vying for supremacy. Shock over the news of the duel. But also a spark of … something at hearing that Silas wasn't as over me as he'd acted.

He still cared.

Just as I did.