Chapter 25: Chapter 25
The silence between them was deafening, but Nya didn’t want to be the first to speak. She wanted Slate to say something first, to tell her that she was right to be upset, that she was right to feel tricked into coming there, not realizing that he intended to keep her in his mountain kingdom until he was able to get the Heart of Magic back from the king who had stolen it from him. But Slate wasn’t talking either, so the two of them sat there, awkwardly, not looking at one another, until Nya could hardly stand it anymore.
She turned her head and looked at him, studying him for a moment. He was probably the most attractive man she’d ever laid eyes on, but she couldn’t let that affect her. After all, he wasn’t really a man, was he? He was a shifter. Part dragon, part man, all deceitful. How could someone who could conceal such a huge beast within himself not be deceptive in one way or another?
His dark eyes flashed to her face and then dropped again before he let out a loud sigh. His hands shifted, rubbing against one another. HIs palms were powerful. Nya’s eyes focused on his fingers. What would it be like to feel those hands on her body? Slate would certainly command anyone he touched.
She thought he was going to speak. After all, why would the ruler of this place bother to come and chase her down if he didn’t have something he wanted to say. Still, the exhale he’d let loose settled without him opening his mouth more, and she came to realize he was waiting for her to say something. It made her mad. Why should she have to be the one to start the conversation?
“I want to go home,” Nya finally blurted, her eyes narrowing in on his rugged face. “I didn’t sign up to work with you. I never said I wanted to be your donation or your sacrifice, or anything else. I just want to go back to Frindom!” The emotions she’d felt earlier began to well up inside of her again. “I’m supposed to be the ruler there, you know? I’m next in line for the throne.” She had never actually wanted that role, but it was hers, nevertheless.
When he finally spoke, his voice was smooth and soft. “I understand that you don’t want to be here, Princess Nya. Believe me, I don’t want you to be here.” She raised her eyebrows at him. He shrugged. “I don’t want any of you to have to be here. But you are here. They all are. I need more time to train them. I don’t have an army yet. When I do, we will move in. I will attack Beelzanborg, get back what rightfully belongs to me, and all of you will be free to return to your homes. But that will take more time.”
Nya stared at him for a long moment before asking, “Haven’t you been cultivating this army for a couple of hundred years?” Slate nodded. “How are those first donations still alive?”
“I have some magic left,” he said with a shrug, as if it was no big deal that he was able to keep hundreds of humans from aging at all because they were here in his mountain home.
“How old are you?” Nya asked, once again words blurting from her mouth with little control.
Slate grinned at her, and Nya felt her blood heat up. His eyes were smoldering, and his smile made her breath catch in her throat. “Old enough to know these things take time.”
He had to be three or four hundred years old, she imagined. Yet, he looked like he was only five or six years older than her. Nya shook her head to clear her thoughts. “How much longer do you think it will take?”
He ran his hand along his chin in thought before saying, “Ten or twenty more years.”
Nya’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t be serious! Ten or twenty more years? There’s no way I can stay here that long. You do realize many of these people will return to villages where they know no one, right?”
He looked at the ground for a moment, a brief hint of sadness passing across his face. “It’s regrettable. They can always stay with my people if they want to.”
“Let’s go now,” Nya blurted again. “I can help you scout out the location of the gem. I can help you determine what needs to be done, where to attack, how to get it back.”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “You think the two of us can sneak into that evil kingdom and find the Heart of Magic without getting ourselves killed?”
A flash of images from the future shot before her eyes. Nya saw herself riding into Beelzanborg on the dragon’s back, landing in the dark, and infiltrating the castle. She saw the gem in her hand, the dragon in chains, a choice to be made. “Yes,” she said. “I know we can do it.”
He studied her face for a moment, as if he could somehow tell that she knew more than what she was saying. Without a word, he stood and offered her his hand. Nya grasped it, and he pulled her to her feet, the scorch of his palm against hers leaving her without breath. “I’ll think about it,” he said.
Nya stared into his dark eyes for a long moment, his fingers still wrapped around her hand, wondering what in the world she was going to do if he didn’t decide to go now. She couldn't stay there, yet she didn’t think she could survive getting out on her own. She had to convince Slate to go to Beelzanborg now--but how?
***
A bowl of steaming stew sat before Nya, a goblet of some sort of wine within reach. The dining room was crude, lit by a candelabra in the middle of the ruggedly hewn table. She poked around in the bowl with her spoon for a few seconds, contemplating whether or not she should eat it. Slate was sitting at the far end of the table, a good ten yards away from her, already nearly finished with his own portion, which had to be twice what she’d been served. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that it had been a while since she’d eaten a meal, but since she had no idea what kind of meat this was, where it had come from, or where the vegetables that floated around as she stirred the brown broth might’ve come from, she was leery of putting any of it into her mouth.
“It’s beef,” he assured her. “The vegetables come from the farm fields of our old territory. There are humans there that tend it, raise the livestock, see that we are fed. When we return to our previous condition, we will repay them kindly.”
Nya had no doubt that would be the case. Slate seemed to be appreciative of all of the people who were coming together to help the dragons regain their former strength. Deciding he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, Nya took a bite. The stew tasted good, though it was a bit salty. Still, it was thick and rich, and the beef was quite tasty. Losing her hesitancy, she dug in and focused on eating, rather than the man at the end of the table, which was difficult considering who it was she was sharing the table with.
When Nya was done, she looked up and saw him staring at her, sitting back in his chair, his arms folded across his massive chest. She arched an eyebrow, not sure if she should’ve finished sooner or if she was eating too fast. A smirk crossed Slate’s face, which she assumed was meant to make her feel more at ease, but it didn’t. “What are you looking at?” Nya asked, taking a sip from her wine. It was much more sour than what she was used to, but she choked it down.
He shrugged. “Nothing. I’m just not used to sharing my table with anyone.” A servant came in and took their bowls away. “Did you get enough to eat.”
Despite the small bowl, the stew was quite filling. Nya nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
His smile brightened slightly as if to show he was glad she was pleased. Slate leaned forward, his elbows on the table, an offense Queen Shu would’ve called him out for if Nya’s mother had been present. “Tell me about this power of yours.”
Nya raised an eyebrow, not exactly sure what he wanted to know. He had sensed that she was capable of seeing the future, she assumed. She hadn’t mentioned it to him, but he’d known it just the same. “Well… I’ve only noticed it recently. Within the last year or so.” Hadn’t her first premonition been Gavin being taken away from her?
“How does it work?” he asked.
She shrugged, wishing he wasn’t so far away. “I can often see important matters before they transpire.”
“How far in advance?”
“Usually not far. It depends on the significance, I suppose.”
“And when you’re fighting, you can see the actions your opponent will take?”
She nodded. It had been the only way she’d managed to get on the dragon’s back. Even when she wasn’t paying close attention to the power itself, it still influenced her decision making.
“Do you think… if we go to Beelzanborg, you will be able to use this power to keep us from getting captured?”
Nya didn’t like being dishonest, but she knew, if she didn’t hide what she’d seen, at least to a degree, she’d never convince Slate to go with her. Nya nodded. “I believe we can find the Heart of Magic by ourselves, but if you want to prepare your army to strike if needed, then I am fairly confident we can be successful.”
“Already?” he asked. “Even at their present skill level?”
“Yes,” she said. It did seem that the army was strong enough as it was presently. Since she intended to have the Heart of Magic in her possession before Slate’s troops moved in, she believed they would be able to overpower Beelzanborg, weakened by the loss of the gem.
Slate dragged his fingers down the sides of his face, meeting in the center of his chin, and sat back in his chair. “Give me the night to consider your proposition,” he said.
Nya nodded. It was the best she could hope for. “What about my family?” she asked. “They don’t know where I am.” She also thought about the horse she’d left in Goodhorn. She hoped it had somehow made it back home safely.
“I will handle it,” Slate said, scooting his chair back from the table.
Unsure what that might mean, Nya stared after him until he beckoned her to follow him.
She exited the dining hall, following him down a hallway where he stopped in front of a doorway. “This room is the most comfortable I have,” he said. “I have asked the servants to find you a change of clothing. There’s a bathing chamber within. If you care to use it, I’ll have the servants prepare it for you.”
“That would be wonderful. Thank you,” Nya said, her muscles weary from the long journey.
Slate nodded, giving her that smile that was becoming too familiar. He placed a large hand on her shoulder, shooting electric pulses through her body. “Have a good night, Nya,” he said, his eyes lingering on her face.
“You, too,” she said, her voice just a whisper as he removed his hand and headed down the hallway. She couldn’t help but turn to follow him with her eyes, wondering where his bed chamber might be and what it might be like to share a bed with a man like that.