The Shores of Rethan (The Kingdom of Dragons Book 5)

VI - The Rescue

Rhenor couldn't get himself to fall asleep, even after the guard outside his cell stopped trying to pester him about what was going on in Istamid. This was all too similar to when that druid had taken Kaz.

Still, Kaz seemed to have very bad luck when it came to these situations. If—no, when they rescued Kaz and got out of here, Rhenor wouldn't let him out of his sight for a while. They would leave this island, go somewhere else, and then stay there for at least a week.

Rhen sighed, leaning back against the stone wall behind him. The cell had a bed in it, which had been quite a shock for him when he'd been brought here. He was sitting on said bed, but he couldn't even bring himself to lie down. He knew it would be pointless, anyway. Not when he was so worried about Kaz.

He must have sat there for hours, just staring at the wall opposite him, lost in his thoughts, until he heard a muffled noise from his right, followed by a cry. Rhen frowned, getting up so he could gaze off into the darkness outside of the cell, only to blink when the door to the dungeons swung open.

Standing there was Elaya, her dimly glowing eyes angry. She didn't give the guard in front of Rhenor's cell the chance to even try to attack her as she clenched her fist, making the stone floor between her and the guard ripple. Rhenor grabbed onto the bars of his cell as the ground shook, while the guard stumbled back against them. This was enough for the guard to bolt, running away as fast as he could.

Rhen couldn't blame him. Seeing the ground move like this was disturbing. At least he would feel that way if he weren't so confused.

"You.... You can use magic again."

Elaya waved her hand, making the cell door swing open with a loud bang as the lock broke. Rhen felt himself flinch and grimace. The less rational part of him still wasn't comfortable with the idea of anyone using magic, it seemed.

"Yes. Now come on, we need to save Kaz," Elaya said, wasting no time as she turned around again and walked outside. Rhenor shook his head, trying to get rid of how dazed he felt from everything that had just happened. He left the cell, quickly grabbing his bow, quiver, and satchel that were all hanging from a hook on a wall before rushing to catch up with her. He tried not to pay attention to the unconscious guards right outside the door and just kept running until he closed the distance between him and Elaya.

She must have found Kaz if she was so eager to get going, but Rhen felt like there was something she wasn't telling him. Nevertheless, he knew they could talk about that later, once Kaz was free and they were far away from here.

Together they ran toward the forest next to the town, made their way past it, and continued down a field, and through all of it, Elaya said nothing. Rhenor understood why—he wanted nothing more than to get Kaz away from here as soon as possible—but she was acting strangely. He had been about to ask her what else was going on when they finally reached the place Kaz was being kept.

The sight of the dark dome in front of them made Rhen grit his teeth and push himself to run even faster, in spite of the burning pain in his muscles, only stopping once they reached the large, metal door at the foot of the hill the structure was built into.

He clenched his fists, readying himself for a fight as Elaya grabbed the door with both her hands, wrenching it open, its hinges creaking too loudly in the stillness of the night.

Rhenor resisted the urge to cover his ears as he tensed up even more, still breathing heavily, waiting for someone to come rushing at them. But that didn't happen.

Eager to find Kaz, Rhen couldn't make himself wait more than a few seconds before walking inside, cautiously looking around the room in case someone was waiting inside. However, that concern left his mind immediately as soon he spotted the massive cage at the opposite end of the chamber. And the large, dark shape within it.