Page 117 of Realm of Thieves

The corridor opens up and all at once my questions are answered.

We’re in a massive underground keep, with stone buttresses that rise fifty feet in the air. Nearest to us are three cages.

There are people in the cages. Some dead, some alive, some women, some men, some robed like the Daughters of Silence, all blindfolded and gagged.

The veiled woman stands in the middle of the room, facing the dark shadows at the back, holding up her torch, which trembles slightly in her hand.

“Magni,” she calls into the darkness. “For your wisdom and grace we give you your gift. May it sustain you, may it sustain us.”

I stare in horror, her words sinking in, watching as something comes lumbering out of the shadows, the sounds of heavy chains clinking.

Its head appears.

Far larger than any deathdrage, with slick green skin that reflects the torch that seems so tiny in comparison, and protruding fangs that are as long as my body. Its tongue shoots out of its mouth, flickering in the air like a snake. It lets out a low hissing sound that rattles my bones.

It’s unlike any dragon I have ever seen. An entirely new species.

And one named Magni. Whether it’s named after the Grand Sorcerer or they think it is the Grand Sorcerer, I’m not sure. But it doesn’t matter, because they have a fucking dragon chained in their dungeon.

The woman lets out a shaking breath and then quickly moves over to the cages. She unlocks one of them and reaches in, grabbing an old, naked man by the arm and hauling him out. Along with being blindfolded and gagged, the man is bound at the feet and ankles.

My stomach twists in disgust as she drags him across the dirt floor toward where she was standing before.

“I will bring him closer to you now,” she says, projecting her voice at the dragon in warning. “This is your gift, not I.”

I have to wonder how many Sisters lose their life doing this. What if the dragon decides it doesn’t want to play nice? Are dragons even sentient enough to know that they are gods? Does this one?

I have to do something.

“Hey!” I cry out, raising my sword. I don’t know what I expect to do from here because I certainly don’t want to run into the dragon’s line of fire.

But it’s enough for the woman to turn around to look at me.

Enough for the dragon to be surprised, unsure if I’m friend or foe.

Enough for the dragon to lunge forward, its heavy claws smacking the ground and making the whole keep shake, dust falling from the rafters, the iron collar visible at its neck, the chains rattling, straining to keep the beast in place.

Enough for it to open its mouth and bite the woman in two, swallowing down her upper half before doing the same to her lower.

The muffled cries in the cages intensify. I wait for the dragon to breathe fire on me, but instead it retreats into the shadows, chewing as it goes. Perhaps it doesn’t breathe fire at all.

I take my chance and run forward, picking up the old man and carrying him on my shoulders, removing him from the dragon’s reach, just as I hear a scream coming from down the corridor in front of me.

Suddenly Lemi appears in front of me, having shifted.

“What the fuck,” I exclaim.

Lemi just runs around in a circle as Kirney and Brynla run into view.

I almost break down at the sight of her.

But from the fear in their eyes, I know there is no time.

She looks around the room wildly while Kirney says, “What the drage is this place?”

“What’s happening?” I ask her as she runs to me.

“She’s immortal,” she says through a gasping breath. “The Harbringer is immortal. She came back to life after Lemi ate her face, and now the rest of the convent is on our tail. We have the egg, though, so at least there’s that. What’s happening here?”

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