Page 138 of The Last Dragon
“You forget there’s armed soldiers scattered over the entire Stronghold.”
“Then I’d better be silent.”
“Zel.” She slaps my shoulder, her tone sharp, as if she’s talking to a child. Or Ilian. “You’re going to get yourself killed!” She furrows her brow in thought. “Maybe…” she trails off. “Maybe I can get you past.”
I blink.
“There’s been a riot—a small one, but enough to make everyone doubt.”
“What caused the riot?” I ask, surprised it’s gotten this far.
She shrugs, peeking around the corner again. “There’s one thing you can’t take away from a human.” A smile tugs on the corners of her lips, and then, her eyes meet mine. “Curiosity.”
“Then convince them to join us.”
“I can try, but with everything that’s happening, I’m not sure who to trust,” she says, before shaking her head as if coming back to reality. “In fact, I don’t even know if I should trustyou.”
“They’re pinning this on me, Eryca!” I exclaim, eyes wide.
“And that’s not helping your reputation.” Her tone drips with sarcasm.
“Ligerion,” I blurt. “Tell him about what we saw in Pirlem. That might convince him to be on our side.”
She nods. Suddenly, the hall echoes with approaching footsteps. Eryca gasps, grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet.
“This way,” she says, and drags up the nearest stony staircase and into a narrow hall. Whispers drift from the landing above. Eryca’s brows knit as she tilts her head toward the sound. It’s the lieutenants—Rylan and Abern.
“The perimeter isn’t secured yet. We need to wait before we can continue with phase two,” Abern’s voice travels all the way to my ears.
“We need more soldiers,” Rylan adds, a faint sound of a pen scribbling across brittle parchment accompanying his words.
“You, keep a lookout for Aaran,” Abern says, shuffling his feet, keys rattling on his belt. “If he comes near, don’t wait. Shoot on sight. And make sure to aim for the head, throat, heart. Anything else, he’ll probably survive. Let everyone know.”
“Yes, sir.” A sarcastic, familiar voice taints the air, dragging each word lazily.
Alex.
That fucking rat. After I’m done with Grogol. He’s next.
“See who else can keep a lookout,” Rylan says to Abern. “And get me something that will make that little bitch talk.”
My stomach twists. He’s talking about Nida. Anger boils within me, but at the same time, I’m relieved. She’s alive.
Eryca signals for me to stay, pressing her finger against her lips before checking if they’re gone. She peeks back, waving for me to come up. I take a breath, calming my rapidly beating heart, before I step up the staircase. Of all places, this is the last place I’d want to have a seizure. Eryca grabs my arm again, darting into the hallway before shoving me into a room.My room.
I close the door behind me, locking it with the key still in the keyhole, and press my body against the door. Eryca runs her fingers through her thick curls, sweeping them to one side. She twirls on her heel, facing me, her eyes panicked.
“Are you going to tell me how you’re involved with Valous?” she whispers, yet her anger is still seeping through it.
“Later,” I say, moving toward the wall where the bow is.“Later?” she scoffs, “You need to—”
Two knocks. Pause. Two more knocks. My legs move toward the door without permission. “It’s Sam.”
“How do you know?” Eryca hisses.
“He always knocks like that.” The door flings open. Gentle green eyes stare back at me, as if taking in my presence. Quickly, he dashes in.
“It’s a bad idea for you to be here,” Sam whispers as I close the door.
