Page 28 of The Gold Dragon Prince
“It’s around the far side of the estate,” Freddy answered. “It’s a bit of a hike to get there.”
“Then we should start out now,” Selle said.
The determination I felt from my mate was as encouraging as the kindness of the serfs. We all set out in a group, the serfs dashing into their smashed houses to find whatever paltry weapons they had. Some of them joined our parade to the secret door with nothing but the broken beams or sharp pieces of wood from their smashed furniture. It wasn’t the excellence or effectiveness of their weapons that mattered in this fight, it was the strength of every one of their characters.
Freddy was right when he said the secret door was a bit of a hike. We passed through one of the other villages, one that hadn’t been damaged by the ogre attack, on our way, pausing to tell them the story of all that had happened. I was surprised once again when the serfs of that village asked to join us, even though they hadn’t been attacked and didn’t know either me or Selle. It was heartening to see that there was still good in the world, even when there was so much evil.
We continued on, and after another hour’s walk, we reached a part of the estate’s wall where a small woodland stretched from the river that wound past right up to the edge of the wall. There was no village at that point in the wall and no farmland either. The woods weren’t thick, like the forest that stretched around my mother’s castle, so we were able to wind our way through the trees to find the door.
It wasn’t an ordinary door in the wall. It was almost built into the ground, like a cellar door, with a small wedgeof stone behind it. The stones and the door themselves were overgrown with weeds, but Freddy and the others made quick work of pulling them apart.
I was worried that the door would be locked, and it was, but it was also so ancient that Freddy was able to hack through the softened wood near the handle to break through it and pull it apart.
“It might be dark and dank in the passage,” he said as a few of the others lit torches they’d brought. “Be prepared.”
“I am as prepared as I can be,” I said, grasping Selle’s hand. I smiled at him as my confidence grew by the moment and went on with, “I would brave even the darkest cave to reunite my family.”
Selle smiled back at me. “I love you,” he said, then drew in a strengthening breath and glanced into the dark mouth of the passage. “Let’s go get our baby.”
I smiled at my omega’s bravery. I also held him back, though he wanted to charge into the passage first, as Freddy and a few of the others with torches descended into the passage before us. They were the ones that could bring light into the passage, so it was necessary that they led the way.
Selle and I followed quickly after them, though, ahead of the majority of the serfs with their crude weapons and torches. If Saoirse could see us, which was a possibility, she would probably laugh at how primitive our army was, but she would be wrong to laugh. I’d never felt anything like the courage that surrounded me as we picked our way through the dusty, crumbling passage as it stretched under the wall and into the heart of the estate.
“Have a care,” Freddy whispered after we’d been walking for about five minutes. “There’s a doorup ahead, the one that leads into the outbuilding. There’s no telling what we’ll find on the other side.”
I nodded and felt Selle nod. I tightened my grip on his hand. Whatever happened when we broke through into Saoirse’s estate, whether we encountered our prize right away or a fierce battle, I would do whatever it took to protect my brave mate with my life.
The passage was several feet underground, so Freddy ascended a small, broken staircase to reach another door, then tried the handle. Even in the dark, I could see it was rusted and in disrepair, which told me that whatever sort of outbuilding we would come out into, it wasn’t often used.
The door wouldn’t budge and my magic was still useless to help open it, so Freddy pushed his shoulder into it, gently at first, then with more force.
“The only way in is to break down the door,” he said with the first touch of worry I’d heard from him.
“I’ll do it,” the young alpha we’d met before said, coming forward.
The lad was brave to volunteer, and it turned out he was strong as well. He turned the handle, then threw his shoulder into the door several times until it finally cracked and flew open.
We all held our breaths as the passageway opened into what looked like a disused room in a stable. Dust and the smell of old, rotting hay filled our lungs, causing a few of our small army to cough.
“They way looks clear,” Freddy said, gesturing for us to follow him onward.
I glanced to Selle, smiling at his now dirt-smudged face, sending my love and pride in him through our bond. Those feelings were returned with love and surprising confidencefrom Selle.
It took my breath away. I was the dragon, I was the one with magic, yet it was my omega and the serfs who assisted us who showed so much more courage than I thought I had.
We poured into the disused stable room, filling it as Freddy and the young alpha checked out the smudged and dirty windows to see where within the estate the stable was. I really should have taken the lead, since I was the dragon and this was my mission, but to do so at that point would have meant assuming leadership over people who knew better than I did, so I held back.
“Everything looks clear,” Freddy whispered. “We’re just behind the manor house, in a corner of the kitchen courtyard. We should be able to?—”
His words were cut short by the sudden bellow of what sounded like a dozen ogres. More than that, a great crash sounded near the door and the end of an ogre cudgel cracked right through the wood.
“They’ve found us!” someone shouted. “They know we’re here!”
“Get out of this building as quickly as you can,” I shouted, tightening my grip on Selle’s hand and searching for all the ways out of the room. “Don’t let the ogres trap you in an enclosed space. They’re slow to fight when they’re out in the open.”
“This way!” someone shouted at the back of the room, breaking a window so they could climb out.
“Over here!” another brave woman shouted, climbing into what looked like a small hayloft with barn doors that she was able to pull open once she reached them.
