Draygon Inferno | Book 2 | ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Two

         The council caved so fast it made Elias laugh. Within minutes of his threat, he was escorted back to the Draygon current, practically pushed inside, and was to the Draygon shores within three days. The second he exited the current it shut off completely, making Elias laugh again. As if he couldn't get back to Aquantis easily to carry out his threat. It was a fact that became more of a possibility when Dayson's apprentice mouthed her thanks. When Garrith was dealt with, Elias would give strong consideration to liberating his people. Siobhan wouldn't need him once she sat on the throne, she'd form her own Draygon council of advisors.

However, that was a long way off. He shook his head and stood up when his legs finally dried enough to lose the scales and return to their human state. His robes were only mildly damp after traveling in his water proof satchel, even water proof he still marveled how water always found a way into his bag. It's why he often had Siobhan carry his robes when he needed to travel the rivers of the lowlands.

He sighed at the cold touch of damp cloth against his skin and turned his eyes to the rocky bluffs of Draygon. While he knew little of what went on in the city above the bluffs, he suspected enough to know a direct approach wouldn't be wise. Surly Kaylis would have guards monitoring all the gates. Even the Aquantian waterways built beneath the cobblestone streets would probably be watched. As he pulled his hair into a top not, he scanned the jagged rocks moist with the sea air.

Climbing them would be impossible. While Elias was fit, he simply wasn't strong enough to climb one hundred feet of jagged, wet, black stone. Draygon was built at a perfect vantage point. Attacks from the sea were impossible with the ocean keeping the rough stone at a constant dampness. And it was high enough to obtain a clear view of the ocean and the land. If Elias hadn't waited until nightfall to leave the water, he was sure he'd have been spotted. The cover of darkness was his only asset, and it's a cover that wouldn't last long if the clouds parted to free the moons gaze from the heavens.

He turned to the right and started walking along the beach, keeping his eyes on the rocks. Siobhan had a way she used to sneak in and out of the city unnoticed, it was an annoyance that would irritate Kaylis to no end when Siobhan was younger.

"Proper ladies don't spend time with commoners," Kaylis would say every time Siobhan returned covered in mud. Cion tried to tag along several times, but Kaylis eventually was able to keep the younger Draygon heir at her side.

Elias had no idea where she'd find the means to escape Draygon without being seen. For all he knew she simply bribed a guard at the gates. When the two of them escaped Draygon for the final time after Siobhan's fathers murder, they'd been smuggled out in a cart full of hay. That was a method Elias was sure wouldn't be as simple this time. He stopped walking when he came upon some fading paw prints pressed into the sand. One hand touched the indentation.

"Lioness." He followed the paw prints until they came to the jagged crevice of an opening in the wall. The gap was narrow, almost impossible to fit into, with rocks sharp enough to cut flesh if one wasn't careful. He sucked in his gut and arched his back, sliding his body between the rock hanging down and one jutting up from the ground. At every change in angle, he moved his body accordingly, contorting it to fit through the slim path. It took him a half hour of vigilant moving before the gap widened to the width of a normal cave.

Inside there wasn't any light to see by. He waited for his eyes to adjust as much as he could before he used his hands and feet to guide him. He kept his right hand extended in front of him, using the left to feel the side of the cave. Before stepping forward, he touched the ground with his foot, checking for any sudden drops or holes. It was slow moving, but it was the best he could do. For once he hadn't been fully prepared and had nothing to light his way. He longed for one of Siobhan's fire totems, both to warm him in the frigid cave but also to illuminate his path. All he could rely on was his sense.