True North by Laura Findley Evans

Author:Laura Findley Evans
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Laura Findley Evans
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Once inside, torchlight revealed the horrors that Margred had in store for them. Doryu saw the massive iron collar meant for Raiden and dank cells lining the left side of the cavern. From the dimness in the back of the cavern emerged many more soldiers, men and women. The tunics they wore were finely stitched, the same deep blue as Margred’s robes. The soldiers all looked well-fed and well-rested, as if they’d been on holiday. On each chest was sewn an emblem bearing a silver leaf.

Doryu watched, his stomach roiling, as Jade was thrown into one of the cells. The clang of the cell door echoed in his chest. Jade’s hands grasped the bars, and her eyes found his. She smiled—a small, sad smile—and Doryu remembered again how she used to hold onto his thumb. He couldn’t fathom why Margred had imprisoned her. Raiden had agreed to help, partially to ensure her safety. And even more baffling, how did Margred think Raiden could find anything if she managed to get the iron collar on him?

Margred’s soldiers started gathering the reins of the horses. The King’s men dismounted and gathered around Valo, eyes moving from their former Captain to the woman the King had put in charge. Valo stared at the ground.

As Doryu’s eyes adjusted to the dimness in the cavern, he could see it was gigantic, more than twice the size of the castle above. It must have been carved out long ago, and now Margred had turned it into what looked like a small city, with supplies stacked next to tables and cots, iron stoves with plenty of wood for cooking, and—off to the far right side of the cavern—stalls and piles of feed.

As Valo and his men led their horses to the stalls, Doryu thought he heard—faintly—someone calling his name from the left side of the cavern.

“Doryu.”

At first, he thought it might be Jade, but then he realized it was a man’s voice. There, in the cell to the right of Jade’s. Hands grasping the bars. Moving closer, Doryu could make out a shadowy form. Closer still and . . . Brogan! It was Brogan, shivering, with dark circles under his eyes.

“Doryu! You’ll join us over here now!” Margred called. “We have much to do before things can return to normal.”

One of her soldiers, eyes like black granite, came to escort him to the entrance of the cavern.

At that moment, the fear that had filled Doryu turned to a burning anger. Yes, Margred had manipulated him, had put him in a seemingly impossible position, but she needed him. The fact that he was standing here and not in a cell proved it. He would stop acting like a foolish old man. He would use her need of his ability to understand the speech of dragons to his advantage. He would figure out how to save Jade, Brogan, and Raiden if it were the last thing he did.

Doryu turned on his heel and walked back to where Margred waited, her usual half-smile on her face.

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