Chapter 21: Chapter 21

The giant wings of the dragon beat steadily as Nya glided through the air on his back, gripping tightly to his neck with her knees and her hands, though the further up the mountain range they flew, the more daring she became. Looking up at the stars from this angle, admiring the landscape far below her, on either side of the wicked mountain, illuminated by the silver moonbeams, she couldn’t believe just how beautiful it all was.

When the dragon touched down near the top of the mountain, a chill passed over Nya’s body. It was cold up here. Just above her head, a snowcap balanced on the highest point of the mountain. Around her, little drifts of snow dotted the dark, jagged landscape. There wasn’t much room for her to stand next to the dragon here, the ground was so narrow and uneven. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stay warm. Now might be a good time for a burst of flames from the dragon’s mouth. Not that she’d dare bring it up. Visions of him melting the snow enough that it buried her alive came to mind, and she kept her mouth closed, shaking slightly as she tried to keep warm.

A second later, she realized it didn’t even matter if she wanted the dragon to heat her up because he was gone. Slate was back, in his human form, standing next to her. “Sorry it’s so cold,” he told her.

“That’s all right.” Nya was shivering so much, her words were difficult to distinguish, even to her own ear. “Just show me your pile of bones or whatever it is you wanted me to see so that I can go home.”

He made that face at her again, the one he made when he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Slate shook his head, and then stepped a bit closer to the mountain. “You’ll have to come through here.”

It was a small hole near the ground, not much more than one meter by one meter in diameter. “Go in there?” she asked. “Are you crazy? Is this how you trick people into becoming your dinner?”

He rolled his eyes. “No. It’s an entrance into the cave,” he explained. “It’s warm in there. Just trust me, all right?”

“I trusted you when you brought me here!” Nya exclaimed, flailing her arm for a moment before she realized it was too cold for that. “I’m done trusting you.”

“Listen, Nya, do you want to see what’s become of the so-called sacrifices or not?”

An image of Gavin’s smiling face came to mind, one from before the Dragon Moon where he was claimed by this monster. She narrowed her eyes at him. Nya Gould wasn’t easily frightened. While it crossed her mind she might be crossing into a lair filled with angry, hungry dragons, something about Slate’s mannerisms made her trust him. Of course, that could just be how he tricked his prey into becoming his dinner.

“Fine!” Nya said, hoping her shield wasn’t too big to fit through the opening. She wasn’t planning on taking it off. Dropping to the ground, she slid through, relieved when her shield made it, but then, the ground beneath her sloped down so sharply, Nya wasn’t crouching any more. She was sliding on her bottom, downward, at a quick pace. “Holy shit!” she shouted, reaching her hands out along the cave walls, trying to keep herself from slamming into anything at the bottom of whatever this was, attempting to at least slow her descent. Nothing she did made any difference, and as she fell, she picked up speed until she suddenly rocketed onto the ground with a hard thunk, onto what she had to assume was the cave floor.

The tunnel had been dark, but the chamber she’d broken into was illuminated by a soft orange glow, like a fireplace only much, much larger, as the room itself was ginormous. Rubbing her bottom, she stood, just as Slate joined her, his final descent propelling him up onto his feet in a graceful pose. She turned and glared at him but then returned her attention to her location.

They’d landed on a ledge, surrounded by a low railing, which she assumed was there to keep people from shooting off into whatever was located below. As she approached the railing, she gasped in awe and wonder. About thirty feet beneath them, a large city stretched out, filling the entire expansive cavern with houses and other buildings, as well as open spaces where rows of people, dressed in similar garb to what Slate was wearing, were practicing some sort of combat technique Nya had never seen before. Everywhere she looked, she saw people, some rushing about from one building to another, others strolling. And then there were those troops. Dozens of them--hundreds of them--in perfect formation, following the commands of a few officers at the front of the lines.

“Wh-who are they?” she asked, not wanting to get her hopes up that these were the people she thought they might be.

“Mostly… they are my dragon shifters, unable to shift because we no longer have the Heart of Magic,” he said.

Nya felt her insides melt a little as she let go of that remaining hope. But then, Slate added.

“And… your sacrifices.”

She looked up at him, a question mark in her eyes as she dared wonder if it could be true. “All of them?” she asked him.

“Yes. All of them.”

***

“All of them?” Nya repeated her question, even though she had heard Slate loud and clear. He said that all of the sacrifices were here, inside of this cave. She didn’t know how that could be possible, but if it were true, then that meant that Gavin was here somewhere.

She stepped up to the railing, her eyes frantically searching the faces below her. It was far enough away that she couldn’t quite make out the details, but she knew she’d recognize Gavin’s gait anywhere if she saw him walking around below her. She didn’t see him anywhere.

“Yes, they’re all here,” Slate was saying as Nya continued to scan the crowd. “It was never my intention to eat any of them.” He said the word “eat” like it was a horrible insult. Considering he wasn’t quite the savage Nya had taken him for, perhaps it was. “We made a deal with the villages to give us troops, people to help us fight against the evil kingdom that had taken the Heart of Magic from us. That was why we asked for sacrifices.”

“But… you’ve been doing it for so long. Aren’t some of them old now?” She looked back over her shoulder at the shifter for a moment and then back to the faces below her.

“No. People do not age the same way here, in our lair, as they do on the outside. I did ask for youths when possible, that’s true, though I am happy with the others some kingdoms give me— their prisoners. They are strong but need to learn discipline whereas youths must learn everything. I knew it would be quite some time before I was ready to attack, and even with our delayed aging, the younger they were to begin with, the better it would be for our armies.”

She was listening and attempting to process what he was saying, but Nya’s mind was preoccupied with other concerns. Namely, Gavin.

Whirling around, she took a few quick steps toward Slate. “How do I get down there?” she demanded.

“Down there?” he repeated, either as a delay tactic just to toy with her or because he was unable to understand her since she was speaking so quickly. “There are steps….”

She saw the steep steps cut into the side of the platform where they were standing as he finished answering her and headed over to them, Slate on her heels.

“Princess, what are you doing?” he called after her.

The steps were narrow and steep, and Nya was flying down them, one hand on the railing as she kept her eyes down, trying not to fall and tumble down the mountainside. “I’m looking for someone,” she said.

“Who?” He was right behind her, practically on her heels.

Nya didn’t dare speak his name aloud for fear she’d be told that there had been a mistake and somehow Gavin had been the only sacrifice who had accidentally been eaten, or otherwise killed, by the dragon. Still, she felt the need to be honest. “The sacrifice you took from Frindom last year. His name is Gavin. Do you know him?” She didn’t turn to look over her shoulder at Slate for fear she’d fall. She’d almost reached the bottom now, and her heart was pounding in her chest as she rushed to get down to the level where all of the people were.

“Do I know him?” Slate repeated, as if he wasn’t sure what she’d said. “Yes, of course I do.”

“Great. Where can I find him?” She hopped past the final step and landed on the ground, turning to look at him.

“I’m not sure,” Slate said, his expression thoughtful.

Nya rolled her eyes. “You’re a lot of help,” she said, spinning back around. She took off toward the location where she’d seen the drills going on, thinking perhaps Gavin was training with those people. She didn’t shout out his name for fear of starting some sort of a kerfuffle, but she could definitely see more people down here than she could from up above.

Her eyes did fall on a familiar face. Alsys, the little girl who’d been taken from her family the last time it had been Frindom’s turn to make a sacrifice, was in the line of troops, going through the motions of the training, which was currently hand-to-hand combat practice. The child looked bigger, her face less pale, but Nya couldn’t help but think of the crying parents who’d seen their only child snatched away from them.

Once again, she found herself wheeling around to face Slate. “It isn’t fair!” she shouted at him, her hands in fists at her sides.

“What isn’t fair?” he questioned, tipping his head to the side to study her.

“This!” she said. “These parents who think that their children are gone, that they’ve been eaten by a dragon, when they’re really here, alive and well!”

Slate sighed and folded his arms across his muscular chest. “Listen, Nya, I have no control over what kingdom leaders tell their subjects. No one has ever said that the sacrifices would be eaten. We don’t even call them sacrifices! They’re donations.”

“Donations?” she repeated, thinking that sounded ridiculous.

“Yes! From each kingdom. Maybe your father’s ancestors decided it would be best if a donation’s parents and family thought they were dead so that they wouldn’t come looking for them. All I know is that your father likely knows the truth, or at least his father before him.”

Nya couldn’t accept that. It simply didn’t make any sense. Why would her father let her suffer, knowing that Gavin was alive, but not telling her? When she became queen, she’d learn the truth anyway, wouldn’t she? If what Slate was saying was true? So… why torture her?

There was no more time for her to contemplate the possibilities or further question Slate because, across the training space behind her, Nya heard her name being shouted by a familiar voice. Her eyes widened as she turned slowly, Not able to believe it until she saw him for herself, she searched out for the source of the voice. Her eyes landed on his face, and Nya took off running as fast as she could.