Dareena wished she could meet Soldian’s eyes as Alistair moved closer to sniff her again. Surely, she knew she had made a blunder. Would Alistair be able to tell that her feelings and words were not in accord?
As Alistair examined her, she prayed to the dragon god to make her mates see sense and figure out what was happening to her before she ended up dead. There was no doubt in her mind after what Soldian had said—she would not survive to see the spell lifted unless Drystan and Alistair discovered the truth.
28
The next day, Lucyan and Leager set out on horseback for Dragonfell. The two were permitted to bring a small pack with bare essentials, and were given basic steeds to ride. Nothing too fancy, as they were supposed to look like common folk. Lucyan wished he could shift back into dragon form and fly home—it would take far less time. But he could not afford to do so in warlock territory.
It took them two full days to reach the border, and during that time, Lucyan was forced to listen to Leager brag about his accomplishments and regale him with various tales of debauchery. He had half a mind to kill the fool and be done with it, but he wanted to reach the first tavern—he was curious as to how well the warlocks’ methods actually worked on his people.
“Finally,” Leager said as the sign for the Black Dog Tavern came into view. It was in the middle of a small town, just five miles across the border. “It’s about time we got our hands on some real ale, and women.”
“We’re not here to drink and whore,” Lucyan reminded him. “We’re supposed to be gathering information.”
“Who says we can’t do both?” Leager winked. “If you don’t want to, that’s your business. Just means more for me.”
They stabled their horses, and Lucyan gave the stable boy a copper to rub them down while they went inside to order food and drink.
“So, what do you think about them dragons?” Leager asked the barkeep as he leaned over the counter. “Mighty frightening to see them wheeling overhead like that.”
“Impressive, if you ask me,” the barkeep said. “It gives me hope to know we have more than one male dragon roaming our skies now. With war breaking out on all sides, we need all the protection we can get.”
The others sitting around the bar murmured their agreement. “But surely the dragons don’t care all that much about us,” Lucyan said, testing them. “I’ve heard rumors of one of the dragons terrorizing people on the road, burning them to a crisp and taking their gold.”
“Someone did say that the treasury was nearly emptied,” a man said worriedly. “Perhaps this is the dragons’ way of replenishing the royal coffers.”
One of the servers, a woman with a low-cut dress, scoffed at that. “I would think they’d just raise taxes,” she said as she walked past, carrying a tray of ale mugs. “It takes far too much effort to go flying about like that just for a few bits of gold, and besides, such behavior would be beneath our princes.”
“Whichever version is the truth,” another man said, “I think it is a mistake to get involved with the dragons and their quarrels. The royals may not be perfect, but they are the direct descendants of our god. I would not want to face the dragon god’s wrath by attempting to defy them.” He shuddered.
The others agreed vehemently with this. “But surely the government here needs to change,” Leager protested. “So many of you are living in poverty while the dragons sit in their castles and steal your gold. Look at Shadowhaven, for example. They have allowed their humans to create advanced technologies that make quality of life better for all. Surely a government that does not consider humans to be lesser beings is more beneficial for people like us?”
“There might be some things we can learn from the way the people of Shadowhaven operate,” an elderly man said in a quavering voice, “but there is nothing you could do to convince me that the warlocks are better than my own people. They are nasty, conniving tricksters who practice black magic!”
“And they love to terrorize women and children!” another woman cried.
“I hear they do nasty experiments on animals,” a man said in a hushed voice. “A few people have even seen monsters roaming their lands!”
Lucyan hid a smirk as the villagers continued to berate Shadowhaven. It turned out that the village had recently run afoul of some traders who ended up swindling a number of them, selling them protection amulets that did not work. Leager tried to argue with them about it, but the people wouldn’t hear of it, and instead began to accuse him of being a warlock sympathizer.
“My friend has had a few too many drinks,” Lucyan called over their angry protests, taking Leager by the arm. He pulled the man off the stool and dragged him toward the front door. “Let me take him outside and talk some sense into him.”
“Those fools,” Leager fumed as Lucyan brought him around the back of the inn, where no one could see or hear them. “Blaming all warlocks for a few crooked traders. I didn’t realize these villagers were so stupid—it is going to be harder than I thought to convince them.”
“If you mean that it is going to take more than one conversation, then yes,” Lucyan said blandly. “If it was so easy, Lord Byrule would have sent a dog.”
Leager bared his teeth. “Don’t speak to me as if you are better than me. You hardly spoke a word in my defense, and you made me look like an idiot when you dragged me out of there! You are supposed to be helping me!”
Lucyan gave him a cold smile. “You are beyond help,” he said, and then punched Leager in the face. The man’s jaw made a cracking sound, and he dropped like a stone to the ground. Lucyan had half hoped Leager would put up a fight, but he was out cold, and did not respond when Lucyan pressed a finger to his neck, checking for a pulse.
“Perhaps I should not have hit him so hard,” Lucyan muttered as he relieved Leager of his valuables. At least he was still alive. It would be easier to kill the man, but Lucyan wasn’t a barbarian. He would be taken prisoner instead.
After Lucyan had stripped the other spy of everything worth taking, he put it all into his pack, then trussed him up, making sure to gag him so Lucyan would not have to hear him whine. Satisfied, Lucyan took off his clothes and stowed them away, then tied his pack around his neck before shifting. Lumbering around the outside of the inn so he could find a clear spot to take off, he spotted some villagers staring at him, both frightened and amazed. He recognized a few of them from the tavern and inclined his head.
“I told you it was best not to mess with the affairs of dragons,” the man said to the woman standing next to him. “Just think what he would have done to us if we’d spoken against the crown!”
Lucyan chuckled, the sound coming out as a raspy huff. He gripped Leager in his left hand as he took to the skies, heading home. With any luck, he would catch up to Ryolas and Basilla so he could escort them the rest of the way. The last thing he needed was for the two of them to be captured just as Basilla had been freed.
29