Page 20 of Tamhas

8

Keira

At least they left the lights on. I don’t have to sit in the dark.

That was about the only positive thing I had to focus on as I sat on a cot in the far corner of the cell with my knees drawn as close to my chest as they could get.

What were they planning to do with me?

I imagined Emelie, waiting for me to call her. She knew I was going to look for Tamhas that day. What would happen when I never called her again? She’d probably find a way to come looking for me—after all, she found the location the email came from.

All I could do was pray she never got such a crazy idea in her head. They would do the same thing to her as they had to me, and she couldn’t fight the way I could.

I’d fight a lot harder if they didn’t have me so hopelessly outnumbered.

No matter how I looked at it, the truth was right in front of my face: I couldn’t escape. Not one of them was on my side. I might be able to get one of them to feel sorry for me and maybe be a little lax with the level of security around me, but that would take a little time.

I didn’t think I had that much time to spare.

Dragons. Fucking dragons. What alternate universe did I fall into? Dragons didn’t exist outside storybooks.

Right?

I couldn’t believe I was actually questioning the existence of a mythical creature—but this was a mythical creature I’d seen with my own eyes, and I had never doubted anything I’d seen with my eyes before then. Mainly because I was the only person I’d ever completely trusted, besides Emelie.

Other people had only ever let me down.

I had seen three dragons flying through the air. I had seen them land. I had seen them turn into actual, honest-to-God humans with gold rings around their irises. I had spoken with those people, I had kicked the crap out of them—as much as I could, given the time I had before they got smart and attacked all at once.

I knew what I saw. I was sure of it. And they hadn’t told me I was wrong when I accused them of being dragons, either—if anything, they had seemed surprised that I knew. That was all.

I wasn’t supposed to know.

No wonder they had attacked me as soon as they laid eyes on me. I wasn’t supposed to be there. No one was. I wondered in the back of my mind if that was part of the reason why it was so easy for me to get lost. Like… I was supposed to get lost and give up before I reached them.

But that was insane.

Then again, what part of what I had seen and done that day wasn’t insane?

Footsteps echoed down the tunnel again. Only one set, this time. I guessed I was about to see the leader again, that he would have more questions for me.

I didn’t get up to greet him. I didn’t owe him a damned thing. I only buried my head in my arms, turned slightly to the side so I could see him when he reached my cell.

He came to a stop. I could only see him from the waist down.

“Keira.”

I knew the voice. It wasn’t his voice, the leader’s voice. It was…

“Tamhas?” I raised my head, staring at him. “Oh, my God. It’s you.”

“It’s me,” he muttered. “I wish I could say it was good to see you.”

Something ached in my chest. Something sharp, cold, clean. Like a knife. “Oh. I’m glad I came all this way, then.”

His face fell. “No, no. I don’t mean it that way. I only… wish it was different. I’m glad to see you. Just not here.”

“I would’ve been happy to meet up elsewhere. Believe me.” I swung my legs over the side of the cot, sitting with my feet on the floor and my hands gripping the thin mattress as tight as I could.

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