The Escape from Serrok (The Kingdom of Dragons Book 4)

II - Chains and Claws

Kaz groaned as he woke up, his hand immediately finding the back of his head before he could even open his eyes. The pain stabbing through his skull was dull, yet somehow also intense. He couldn't remember why the back of his head hurt so much, but he could imagine that it was probably due to someone knocking him out by striking him there.

He kept rubbing his slightly swollen scalp as his other hand came in contact with something heavy and cold around his neck. That was when his eyes snapped open.

He looked down even though he could barely see the metal collar, both of his hands running over it, and the encased crystals attached to it. He felt despair fill his heart as he leaned against the wall, his fingers still hooked under the offending piece of metal.

Of course, they wouldn't leave him with the ability to use magic, and therefore shift into his true form and break through whatever defenses they had in here, wherever it was, but it was still horribly disheartening to find out that he was powerless. He had never heard of a negating collar being used on a dragon, but the possibility that he was the first one didn't make him feel any better.

He'd read a lot about these collars, and from an academic standpoint he'd even been impressed with how successful they were at suppressing magic in humans, but his appreciation of them had been ruined when he'd seen Elaya wearing one of them. And now he was wearing one himself.

He hugged himself as he scooted back into the corner of the cell he was now locked in, casting a sorrowful glance at his surroundings. The entire room was fairly large, though it was dark and empty, save for several cells that were one next to the other. His own was at the end of the room, right across from a hallway, which had no doubt been intentional.

He wondered how many people would come to spit at him or mock him. But he didn't care. At least he'd saved the people most important to him. Even if Rhen might no longer feel the same.

He let out a sigh, closing his eyes as despair clawed at his heart. He wondered if the dragons would have him executed. That had been what he'd been told when he'd been banished, and now he had willingly helped steal money from the Dragon King. So the odds weren't looking so good for him.

But he couldn't even get himself to care. He was too numb inside to manage it. Rhenor probably hated him now that he knew what Kaz was. He had seen the shock and betrayal in his eyes back on that ship. And Elaya seemed to need him much less than he needed her.

A sad smile appeared on Kaz's face. That had always been true, hadn't it? He'd just never really realized it. Everyone used to treat him as someone important, and so did Elaya, but when it came down to it, he really wasn't that.

All of his importance had always come down to being the sole heir of his clan, and the one who was supposed to continue it. But he'd never had any interest in taking part in clan politics or female dragons, the latter of which had been the much bigger problem in his father's eyes.

Kaz was glad that his father had passed away years ago. At least he didn't have to witness his clan's honor be completely ripped apart. Kaz himself didn't care much about that, but he knew his family had, so he couldn't help but feel a little regretful over it.

But why did he even care? The Astranno clan was likely going to end soon.

He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, trying to push down everything he was feeling. For a moment he wondered if he should have just stayed away and not tried to go to Sigallah. He probably wouldn't be facing certain death then.

The dragons could track down any use of magic by him, and unlike humans, dragons had very specific signatures when using magic. That made it possible to tell if a dragon had used magic, and more specifically which dragon it had been. That was the whole reason why he'd gone to Arlow in the first place. He had planned on leaving Istamid, but when flying over the mountain village, he'd sensed the cloaking spell. He hadn't realized why it had been there at the time, but it had allowed him to transform without the Dragon Mages noticing.