Page 57 of Bound By Honey

Sage frowned thoughtfully. It was clear that the prince's experience had left behind a deep-seated loathing of these creatures. "Your Highness," she spoke softly, her words full of compassion, "hatred breeds hatred, and violence begets only more violence. We should not judge an entire race from their past sins. They may have changed, and we should be open to discovering more about them before we pass judgment."

Prince Owen stared back at her before finally nodding. He seemed pensive, like he was mulling over something. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at the mountain wall beside them.

"You are right, Sage," he said after a while, determination in his voice. "I cannot judge an entire species based on the actions of a few. But I cannot deny the potential for the destruction they can bring."

Sage admired his courage to defend his people, but she also pitied him for his hatred of the dragons. To her, they were majestic creatures, symbols of strength and power

The sky suddenly grew dark as the procession rounded a sharp corner. Sage blinked, unable to make out what was ahead. The prince had stopped, and his guards were murmuring among themselves. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Sage realized they had reached the mouth of a cave.

Prince Owen grasped the rope attached to Sage's wrists. “This is our destination." His voice rose above the wind as he pointed into the darkness. "If they are in these mountains, this is where we will find them.”

A chill ran down her spine. In the cave, she could not see the prince's face, but she could tell he was not afraid—he was ready to face whatever danger lurked beyond. Sage followed him inside, her heart pounding with anticipation.

The rest of the group ventured after them, guided only by the faint glimmer of fire in the crown prince's outstretched hands. The further they traveled, the darker and colder it became until, finally, it seemed as if they had reached an impenetrable wall of blackness.

Prince Owen stopped and held his flames aloft. Sage could make out a large opening in the darkness ahead—the entrance to what appeared to be a vast underground chamber. She shivered, cursing herself for not having grabbed her cloak before trying to help Sawyer. At least she felt stronger since injuring herself yesterday.

But then, Sage remembered why they were there and turned to Prince Owen. "Your Highness," she asked in a small voice, "what is your plan for getting that potion into the dragon's mouth? And what will you do if there's more than one? That won't be enough to take care of multiple dragons."

The prince smiled grimly at her question before stepping into the chamber, his flames lighting up his face beneath his mask. "My plan is simple: I will use my fire magic to lure them out of their lair one by one," he said confidently. “And with Treston here," he pointed to one of the guards behind her, "using his glamour magic, we can create more bottles and return as many times as necessary. Being one of the most powerful glamour mages they should stick around long enough to get the job done before disappearing. Jackson,” he pointed to another one of his guards, "will keep them asleep as we work. The others are here as my backup plan if this all goes sideways. No need for you to know any of that, though."

Sage nodded while her heart beat rapidly as she thought of all that could go wrong. But she put her fears aside and diligently followed him into the chamber's depths. They soon encountered several sleeping dragons within its confines, their scales shimmering like moonlight whenever the crown prince's firelight hit them.

Sage gazed at the six giant dragons. They were more magnificent than she had dared to imagine. Despite her fear of them, admiration coursed through her for these beautiful creatures.

Sage noticed several large eggs tucked partially beneath two of the dragons. Her heart sank as she realized what this meant—even though her potion wouldn't kill the giant dragons, she had no way of knowing what effect it would have on them. What would the crowned prince do to them?

She stepped closer to get a better look and noticed that one of the eggs had started to crack open. She gasped in surprise and quickly backed away, hoping none of the dragons had noticed her presence.

Sage followed Treston as he slowly advanced, his glamour magic ready to create more bottles. Prince Owen carefully positioned himself near each dragon’s mouth while Treston used his magic to create bottle after bottle. Before long, all of them were filled with potions and ready for delivery. Jackson stood guard behind them, prepared to put any dragon that awoke back into its slumber.

Sage kept her distance as the five men worked to pour the potion into each dragon's mouth. She felt helpless, powerless to do anything but watch. She was relieved to know that her potion shouldn't kill the dragons but was afraid the prince would forfeit her life once he discovered the truth. What would happen when he found out his potion had not worked as intended? What would he do to her then?

As she searched for a way to escape, she noticed a small alcove near the back of the chamber. It was far enough away from where they were working that she could slip away without being noticed. She rushed over, her heart pounding.

Once Sage was safely tucked away, she waited anxiously for the potion's effects to take hold. After what seemed like an eternity, a roar echoed through the chamber as each dragon awoke, angry.

Prince Owen and his men acted quickly; Jackson used his spellcasting to attempt to put each dragon back into a deep sleep while Treston created more potion bottles. Sage watched with bated breath as they worked, hoping their plan would fail and she could find a way to escape.

Sage huddled with dread in her hiding place, the loud roars of the dragons echoing through the chamber. Flames erupted from their mouths, lighting up the room as they tried to attack the fae men. With their magic, the fae held their own against the dragons, but each spell seemed to stun the dragons momentarily instead of subduing them.

One of the dragons lunged forward and grabbed one of the guards in its mouth. Sage gasped in horror as it made its way toward a tunnel at the back of the chamber. She was about to scream when she realized that any noise would give away her hiding place.

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Sage watched as Prince Owen and his men slowly lost their fight against the dragons. They were running out of options, and soon it seemed like it was only a matter of time before the dragons defeated them. As if sensing her thoughts, one of the dragons turned toward her hiding spot and began approaching.

She stumbled backward, panic coursing through her veins as she frantically searched for somewhere else to hide or an escape route. Just when she thought all hope was lost, Prince Owen noticed what was happening and used his magic to distract the dragon. He shouted for Sage to make a run for it while he held off the beast.

Sage didn't hesitate; she bolted from her hiding spot and raced for one of the tunnels on the other side of the chamber. The one they had entered from was blocked by the fight, but perhaps the one the dragon had taken the guard down could help her escape if she didn't get eaten first. She could hear claws scraping against the stone behind her as she ran, but thankfully it seemed like whatever spell the prince had cast had slowed the dragon.

Sage darted toward the tunnel, her heart pounding with adrenalin. She was almost there when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye—Prince Owen fighting with one of the dragons that had been protecting three eggs. The dragon roared back in response to the attack, almost stepping on the eggs. Sage changed course and ran toward them, covering them with her body while rolling them away from danger.

The eggs cracked as they tumbled, and a little dragon's head popped out, looking at Sage with wide eyes. Knowing they were safe for now, Sage scrambled back to her feet and headed for the tunnel again.

She hesitated before diving into the tunnel's darkness, not sure if she would make it safely back out alive. Her hands grazed the dark tunnel’s walls, her heart pounding and her breath becoming heavier. The clicking claws only made her move faster. She stumbled over her feet several times before regaining her balance.

As she continued through the tunnel, something soft nuzzled against her leg. Startled by this unexpected contact, she jumped, nearly screaming until she realized it was a dragonling that had followed her. Its small eyes glowed a dim gold in the dark.

Her heart warmed at the little creature now curling itself around her leg. She should return the dragonling but wasn't sure how the other dragons would take it. While considering what to do, Sage realized she had made a major mistake. In the dark, she had taken her hand off the wall and had moved around with the dragonling so she no longer knew which direction led to the dragons. Her hand ran down the scaled back of the dragonling before she stood, chose a direction, placed her hand on the wall, and began making her way in the dark once again.

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