Page 23 of The Princess of Nothing
I envied the prisoners whose walls cast a shadow on them. The pits were bigger than any prison in Magaelor. It went on for hundreds of thousands of feet. Old stands, broken and rotting, stood by the ragged rocks. This was once where they held games now dubbed too barbaric for civilized society, so they’d been turned into an outside prison to keep the worst of criminals. Apparently, one of those was me. Many of the souls around me, in their individual cages, begged for death daily. I understood; it was torment of the worst degree. Death was a release I couldn’t afford. Unlike them, I had something to live for and a hope that the cage was not my final destination. It couldn’t be. I had faith in the ancestors, in destiny, that I would make it back home.
“I’m innocent!” one man proclaimed as he was pulled out of his cage. “I promise. I never touched that girl! I—” A large bat silenced him with a skull-crunching thud. I winced and looked away. I couldn’t bear to watch. Xenos prided himself on being so enlightened, always saying how Berovia was so developed compared to Magaelor, and yet the dark underbelly ran far deeper than ours.
Another man threw up when the man’s blood, who’d been beaten to death, reached him. My mouth twisted in disgust. The guards were paid in bribes to “take out” certain prisoners. Watching the corruption strengthened my resolve to survive. Once I got back home and reclaimed my throne, I was going to find a way to rain hell upon King Xenos and all he stood for.
I couldn’t keep my eyes open for another second. The sounds of whimpering and sniveling from other prisoners accompanied me into the darkness. I wished I had my staff, not just for the magic—although that would be the main reason—but for comfort. My connection to the spirit realm and my ancestors brought a solace that nothing else could. Even though I could sense them still, the heart of their world beat stronger when I held the ash wood from their burial grounds.
I opened my eyes once more, just for a moment, to look at the stars through the top of my cage. Such beauty couldn’t be stolen, not even here in the worst of places.
***
I’d barely driftedoff when a thunderous roar shuddered the ground and cage. Beyond the cages, in the large, unused area of ground in the pits, silver scales reflected the moonlight as a dragon with yellow eyes and a long snout was pulled by men with several chains. I turned around to takein the scene better.
My fingers gripped around the iron bars. The beast was massive, standing tall, with a low-hanging belly, long tail, and yellow claws. It snorted from its snout, then looked around at us. There was something different about this dragon compared to the other beasts I’d happened across; there was intelligence behind her eyes. Puffs of smoke rose from her nostrils as she let out a deafening growl.
Behind her, a smaller dragon, the color of night, walked with less resistance. Its amber eyes locked onto the bigger dragon. I presumed the larger one must’ve been her mother. The guards had to have cast a spell on them to stop them from breathing fire, else they’d all be dead by now. I’d read about dragons when I was a child. I was fascinated by them, and now here two were, in front of my eyes, but like me, they were prisoners.
I could have sworn the big dragon looked right at me before both were dragged across the sandy, dusty ground to the other side of the pit. There, a large tunnel, which had been barricaded off, was opened and they were taken down to who-knew-where.
“What’s happening here?” I questioned under my breath. Dragons were supposedly a protected species. In fact, I remembered it was Berovia who ordered it so after my father attempted to steal one and bring it to Magaelor. I was sure he planned on using it during battle and obtain more eggs, which were a delicacy and could only be bought from pirates, but the men he sent never made it back. All but one ship was wrecked, or so we had been informed by the four survivors out of eighty who’d been sent. They told my father that the small Berovian-owned island in the south was filled with bones and skulls. They washed up with the waves against black rocks of solidified lava as the water dragged them up and down the pebbled beach.
“Psst,” someone hissed.
My gaze found him. A leathery-faced man with sullen eyes and a long neck was staring at me. He was new. He must have been brought in while I was sleeping. “Winter.” His voice was hoarse.
“Yes,” I said, clearing my throat. I’d hardly spoken aloud since I’d been imprisoned; my voice had dried out along with everything else. I’d do anything for a delicious, tall glass of water right now. The things I took for granted before I’d been locked away, I’d never again not appreciate.
“I’ve been told to give you a message.”
My heart hammered.
“I was moved here from the west wing dungeons. A faery, Cedric,” he said, then coughed. “He told me to tell you he was being let out today, and he couldn’t reach you in his dreams.” He scratched his head. “At least I think that’s what he said. It’s all confusing.”
The ground fell beneath my feet. “No, that makes perfect sense.”
“He was a friend,” the man told me, although I hadn’t asked. “He’s a good man, that faery. He was kind to me.”
I licked my lips. “Yes, I imagine he was.”
“I was worried I wouldn’t find you, but you’re the only woman here and an empty cage had opened next to yours.”
I looked around. I didn’t know how I hadn’t noticed it before, but he was right. I hadn’t seen any other women.
I craned my neck to peer around the man as he ran his fingers through his long, greasy hair. “Did you see the dragons?” I asked, once I got a good enough look at those imprisoned behind him.
He nodded. “They’ve been at this for years. They told me I was mad.” He laughed, showing his yellow teeth. “A conspiracy, they said, but I knew I was right. They’ve been trying to use them for whatever reason, but the one they had died. According to my networks. Not that it was ever confirmed. Xenos is good at keeping things a secret.”
“Where are they taking them?”
He looked over to where the large tunnel was. “It used to lead down to where warriors would wait when the games would be held. Where they’d fight to their death. I know down there is a connection of tunnels. They could lead anywhere. They were blocked off for the longest time. I imagine they will be again now they’ve taken the dragons away.”
“We must tell someone.”
He laughed. “Who would we tell?” He gestured around us. “They didn’t care to hide them in front of us, because everyone knows no one survives the pits.”
“No one?”
“No one.”
