Page 42 of A Bond of Ice and Glass
Erax leans back in his seat. “I’m sorry we are in this position. You’ve been cold for days and hungry. I should be doing this all better.”
It’s hard to hate him when he says things like that. “Well, thank you for this. I’m still not sure I needed you to save me from my best friend, though.”
“You did.”
His tone is flat. Angry almost. He pauses, his entire demeanour changing, his shoulders tensing. I frown, wondering what is happening when I see it. Shadows of people start moving around the room, and an eerie silence echoes. The noise from the other people has gone silent.
“They’re going to attack us and try to kill us because they think I have more gold. Or they’ve figured out who you are. The hair gives you away, even though it’s one of my favourite parts of you.” Erax sighs as my eyes widen. Four big men steadily walk closer, with at least another five more behind him. “It’s going tolook barbaric and like I’m an evil fucking bastard, but it has to be done. Because I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”
One of them charges right at us, and before I can even blink, Erax has pulled out his dagger, the blade flashing in the firelight as he stands, kicking his chair to the side. He strikes the man straight in the face with the blunt end of the dagger, sending him spiralling back across the room. How is he that strong? Erax cracks his neck as three more gigantic men charge together, deciding that overpowering him is a good plan.
It’s not.
Fire dances out of the fireplaces, like a snake in the air, and it slams into all three of them. Right through their bodies, one by one, and they scream. The fire burns them to a crisp in a second. The other men run for the door, but Erax moves, getting there first. I feel frozen in my seat as I watch Erax fight five men on his own like it’s nothing. They never stood a chance. He delivers a kick straight to the balls of one man, his dagger slams into the shoulder of another, and he spins like he is air itself. He pulls his dagger out, jumping over the falling man and, in a swift move, he manages to grab the neck of one of the other men. With one hand, he snaps his neck. I flinch at the snap. Erax kicks one of the men in the face as he steps over him to the last one. His eyes are glowing as he follows the last man standing, who is backing away. Erax gets to him within three steps and fire bursts out of his hands, engulfing the man in flames until there is only ash on the ground.
Erax lifts his eyes to meet mine, and I breathe in deeply. “Howare you this powerful?”
“Dragons,” he answers flatly, his chest moving fast.
We stare at each other for a long moment as I realise he could have killed Loch and Noble. He could have burnt that entire castle and village down if he wanted to. He didn’t. He spared them and took me back… but why?
The bartender comes rushing round the corner, her eyes widening as she takes in the carnage. Erax unclips another bag of gold from his belt.
“For the mess, provided you stay quiet ’til morning. Otherwise, you’ll be joining them.”
“Yes… yes, my king.” She bows her head and takes the gold. “I was born in the mines, and I would never… I’m sorry they did this. I had nothing to do with it.”
“Mines? What mines?” I question.
Erax just looks at me for a long moment. “We will go to our room now. Again, I apologise for the mess.”
The bartender shakily nods as Erax takes my hand, and I don’t tell him to let go this time. I know I’m a shaky mess, too. I’ve never seen anyone fight like that, like it wasn’t even a fair fight at all. There is a number on the key, and Erax leads me up the three flights of stairs before we find the right door. Thankfully, the fire is lit, and it’s warm when we go inside.
There isn’t much to the room, just a double bed that has been wedged into a triangle-shaped room, peeling wallpaper, and a grey fur rug that has mud on it. The boards of the ceiling are falling off in places, and some have been literally taped back together. At least the boards above the bed look in good shape. There is a window, a small one, and it overlooks the forest.
I walk across to the other door in the room, next to the fireplace, and find a bathroom with buckets of cold, clean-looking water and a toilet cut into the ground. It’s better than nothing, I guess. It all looks clean too, and it’s just one night.
I come back and stare at the bed, at the plush red sheets and pillows.
“We could make a pillow wall.”
“I’ll sleep on the floor.” Erax huffs and heads for the door. “I don’t trust the others sleeping here not to come and stab us in the night.”
He plonks himself down in front of the door, resting his head against it before he begins to yank his wet boots off. I sit on the edge of the bed, pulling off my boots too. “Why did they attack us? It seemed a little random.”
“Because this area once was a very rich, populated town. After what I did, after I got rid of your parents, it’s not a rich town anymore. The bartender is a survivor of the mines, but the rest of them? They lost out. The poor people in my kingdom, which are the majority, love me. But the few that profited off what your parents did, like the ones living in this village, where this inn probably brought in thousands of gold pieces before? They hate me and they always will because I’ve turned them into normal people with no power or gold.” He pauses. “Want to know more? You won’t like it. I told you to ask me for the truth when you were ready, and this conversation will lead to those answers.”
I need to know.
“What did my parents do? I’m too young to remember, and… they kept me sheltered.” It still hurts to say that. Sheltered doesn’t even come close. More like imprisoned, now I’m realising. “My childhood was spent locked in the castle, and I rarely left the grounds. I didn’t have people to communicate with or ask. The servants were too afraid, and any nobles I asked, I suspect my parents paid them to lie.” I cross my arms. “I’ve never understood why the people loved you so much and hated my parents. Tell me why. Tell me the truth.”
“Are you sure?” His tone is gentle. I nod. “There were mines in your kingdom. Huge mines. The first five layers were pretty much riddled with gold. The next were full of crystals and gems—rubies, diamonds, starquartz the size of your hand. Your parents kept your people as slaves to mine every inch of it. All twenty layers of them.”
He watches my reaction closely. I try not to show how much his words are horrifying me. I feel sick.
“Anyone who rebelled and broke the endless laws your parents made up,” he continues after a moment. “Even anyone who was simply out of place in their perfect world, was sent there to work the mines until they died. Women, children, sick people. The elderly. They’d also send their entire family and close friends if they were opposed. The turnover of people in the mines was huge because people died often.
“Anyone that betrayed them, anyone they wanted to punish, poor people who just stole food to survive, would be sent there. They all knew that, the moment they went in there, they were going to be whipped and caged every night when they slept. They were going to be treated like cattle. Babies were born in the mines. They never saw a day of sunlight in their lives and worked from the second they could hold a pickaxe.”
