Arwick (A Light Of Roria Sequel)

Chapter Sixteen

Addisyn

"Wait, what? You want me to negotiate with a dragon? I thought they were horrible flying monsters that killed most of the Pegasi?" I asked Elijah, astonished.

"Dragons are interesting beings. They are quite selfish in nature and care very little for other races and beings, and it was because of this that they chose to fight alongside Kane. They believed it was the greatest way for their kind to survive. Making a bargain with Kane, they agreed to fight beside him. In doing so, their land, which lies at the highest peaks beyond the land of giants, would remain untouched."

"So you think because they're being captured, they might be willing to make a bargain with me?" I asked.

His smile grew wide before he tapped the brim of my nose. "Exactly."

"I have just the thing." His hand rested on my bicep as he began to draw circles with his thumb while the other wrapped around my back, pulling me closer to him once more. "Tell the dragon you are not just any fairy but a princess and the one to bring forth the prophecy. If he chooses to assist you, as a member of the fairy court, you will decree the dragons be under the protection of the fairies. Mention also that I wield an element blade, and once returned to me, I will wield it with magnificent vengeance until this place lies in ruin."

His last words seemed to send a chill down my back. He could be truly intimidating when he wanted to be, and it was a blessing we were on the same side for more reasons than one.

"And you think that will work?" I was still a little worried to speak to a dragon.

"It is as I have said," he started out. "They care very little for anything but their own survival. Because of who you are and the element sword, the dragon will know Kane's reign is over and the time of the light of Roria has begun."

I could feel just how certain he was that it would work, and it made me grin, but as the feeling of his touch began to lessen, I glanced at his hand, which remained on my arm. "What's happening?" I asked nervously. "I can't feel your touch."

"You are beginning to wake," he told me with sadness.

Suddenly a drop of water touched my skin. We both stared at it, surprised, before Elijah wiped it away with his finger just as more drops landed on my skin from seemingly nowhere.

"Hold on to your faith, dear heart. We will see each other soon!"

With each word he spoke, his voice became fainter, my mind beginning to drift away from his presence. With a final blink, I gasped at the sudden downpour of water against my face. The room around me was bright and the air hot, and I lifted my hand to shield the water from continuing to run into my eyes while my other hand pressed against the warm ground to raise me to my knees.

The guard snickered, turning the cloth-like sack upright, stopping the flow of water he'd been pouring onto my face. His skin was much cleaner than most of the guards I'd been around, and his uniform was a polished silver. His head was shaved, and his dark eyes lay between thick straight brows. His nose was crooked at the center, most likely from an old break, and his thin lips appeared soft. I considered his face and thought had circumstances been different and he wasn't a dark wielder bent on killing someone like me, I might think he was handsome.

"Have you endured enough of this place?" he asked, but something in his face looked suspicious, like he wondered why my condition wasn't worse. "Though it would seem you are more resilient than one would think possible." I already knew the answer. Any weakness the heat would have bestowed had been healed because of my shared dream with Elijah. When I didn't reply, he tossed the sack to the floor in front of me. "Drink," he commanded. "King Ahab has ordered you be brought to the throne room."

I snatched the sack, taking a drink like I'd desperately needed to quench a thirst that wasn't there, and my actions seemed to satisfy his curiosity.

Grabbing my arm, he forced me to stand, forming a dark blade and pressing it to my flesh. "Put on your armor quickly so we may leave this place, she-fairy. Your time in the burn room is finished."

***

"Finally!" Ahab exclaimed, rising to his feet. The throne room was mostly empty, with only Ahab, his son, and several women kneeling at Ahaz's feet for his enjoyment. "Our defiant champion has arrived." Ahab smiled while his hands seemed to wave in a dramatic fashion. "What was the state of our she-fairy when you entered the burn room, Zadok?" Ahab asked.

"Unconscious, sire," Zadok started out. "But murmuring to herself. Most likely hallucinating from her heat exhaustion."

"Well," Ahab said while his eyes studied my frame, "you seem to have recovered." With a look of pleasant surprise, Ahab glanced at his son, causing Ahaz to gesture for the women to disperse before he came to stand beside his father.

"She is strong," Ahaz said. He grinned before circling me. "This is both problematic and pleasing," he started out. "Her strength would make for a fine dark wielder, but she won't let go of the foolish notion that divinity is the better option. Perhaps we must resort to other methods if we are to rip this belief from her mind and bring upon Arwick's first dark fairy."

I looked to Zadok, surprised that they spoke so freely about their plan in front of him. I hadn't forgotten how they'd meant to keep it between themselves about where I had come from and who they believed me to be. I could only assume that whoever he was, they trusted him a great deal.

"There have been many a guard speaking of travelers emerging from the caves, but of course I have silenced them, saying such allegations went against the words of our king, who stated she came from outside the wall."

"Very good, Marshal Zadok," Ahab started out. "Tonight you will find one of our finest beauties to keep you company in your bed." He grinned.

The men began to laugh among themselves while I looked to the ground, feeling dirty for simply having heard their perverse conversation. "Perhaps this one then?" Zadok said, pointing toward me with a wild smirk. "I would be more than willing to assist you in breaking her spirit."

With a deep breath, I closed my eyes, fearful the sadistic king and his equally fiendish son might actually think his statement was ideal. The three of them continued to laugh, and before Ahab or Ahaz could reply, the large doors to the throne room burst open as a single guard immediately lowered his head in a bow.

"Forgive my sudden intrusion, my king. But one of the prisoners in the dungeon is not what she seems. I wish to explain but fear you will not believe it unless it is seen with your own eyes," he said.

There was fear in his voice, like he knew entering without permission might cost him his life, but there was also urgency. At that moment I worried what he was about to say might have something to do with Staci, whose true form had remained masked under John's conceal. I didn't want her to be thrown into battle like I'd been, and it was clear how valuable fairies were to these men.

"Whatever is in the cell I will deal with myself," Ahaz said to his father, turning back to face the guard. "If what I find is anything less than imperative for my eyes to see, I will slit your throat."

Ahab rested his hand on Zadok's shoulder before facing me. There was malice in his eyes before he spoke. "Have the servant bathe her, my son," he started out. "Then put her in our finest silk and send her to Zadok's bed, chained if need be. I believe it is exactly what we need to strip away her light and replace it with dark."

With a startled breath, I tensed, ready to fight what they had planned for me. Ahab, having caught my sudden change in stance, pointed a stern finger. "Contest to this, she-fairy, and I will burn each of your friends at the stake while you watch."

A shudder escaped my lips while a deep anxiety began to course through my veins. It took everything in that moment just to keep from falling over as my eyes instantly grew wet with tears. I wanted to do whatever was necessary to keep them from hurting me in such a way, but if I fought it would cost my friends their lives. The affliction was so heavy my body began to slouch, and my knees buckled.

Ahaz's shouts seemed distant, and I couldn't make out the words, too affected by my own agony to listen, and when Agatha had reached me, I followed her absentmindedly. Reaching deep within my heart, I cried out to divinity, praying for it to rescue me from the twisted plots these people were ready to bestow upon me.