Page 135 of Enchanted Crown
At the treebelt which signaled The Drak was close, Zaire and I threw out instructions to Malachi and Nyx.
Malachi was going to enter The Drak on foot while Zaire and I would drop down from the sky. Nyx would wait for Zaire’s move. And Jagen and the others would hold off until we needed them.
Were it not for the six hostages Morana had smartly acquired, she’d already be dead. One on one versus Esta, she would lose every time and she knew it.
Get ready to drop,Zaire told me.Your wings are going to want to shift with the plummet.
I pinched my shoulders back and let my magic build and burn but willed my wings to stay hidden.
“No roaring until we are in there,” I reminded Zaire. “Do not give Morana warning.”
To Esta, I added,Do not look toward the entrance of your lair, but we are about to drop down to The Drak. Nyx is hiding and waiting for our command.
She didn’t respond, but I could feel her hope.
Zaire tucked in his wings and we began racing toward the ground at an insane speed. A weightlessness took over every nerve in my body and it took everything in me to keep willing my wings back. Even falling to the ground wasn’t this fast. I couldn’t breathe or think, except to hold on to Zaire’s scales and wait for the sweet relief of the ground.
We flew over the lake of The Drak so low I was confident Zaire’s feet or tail avoided it by mere inches.
And then we rolled right into Esta’s lair.
I fell off Zaire’s back with the force of our entry, Zaire opting for speed and surprise over finesse. I rolled once and found my footing, my eyes immediately darting to my wife.
I inhaled deeply, happy to find her breathing. Alive.
A slick wet noise was heard, following by a gurgling. My eyes went to the source only to find Morana had slit the throat of the nearest woman hostage that she had been holding at knifepoint.
“I thought I told you this was between the two of us,” Morana told Esta.
“No!” Esta moved to help the hostage, like any decent human would, and much to my own horror, Morana moved swiftly.
She grabbed Esta and yanked her to her feet.
Zaire’s roar rattled the ground of the lair.
My worst fear was realized as Esta took the place of the now dead hostage, a dagger held to her throat.
CHAPTER 45
Abead of blood ran down Esta’s throat and I absolutely saw red. My rage was palpable, a living breathing entity, a monster which I was going to be happy to unleash upon Morana.
Morana had apparently tied Esta’s hands together with a rope when making her shift into her human form. Or Esta had done it herself. It was a minor detail Esta had not told me, likely not wanting me to worry more than I already was.
Morana stood with her back to Esta’s treasure, the hostages sitting at her feet in the large cave, a human wall between us and her. The hostages had not only bound hands and feet, but also each had a rope in their mouths too, unable to communicate more than yells and murmurs. I recognized one of the hostages as a farmer we met in Rael.
And as my eyes briefly took in our surroundings, I saw Mina also. The server at the tavern in Keld I liked. One of the first faces I had seen upon arriving in Dra Skor.
Of all the people in Dra Skor, I had to recognize two of them? I didn’t want to have recognized a single one of them. I wanted tosave my wife. Focus on only her. And yet there they were. Five remaining Dra Skor citizens. My people. Innocent people.
“Let Esta go,” I demanded Morana, my voice promising violence. “Donothurt a hair on her head.”
“Anyone makes a move I do not like, and she joins the other,” Morana called out. She switched her attention to me and let out a derisive snort. “You and I could have been great together, you know.”
“You never wanted Dra Skor to heal, so no, we wouldn’t have,” I snapped.
She gave a shrug. “Valid point. I liked your father better anyway.”
What was she talking about? She didn’t know my father. Unless she did. But I had to focus. What could I do to get Esta away from that dagger?
