Nine

Chapter 9

Elena pov

I snuck through the corridors, feeling my heart pounding in my chest, leaving me breathless. I didn't want to take the wrong step and be caught. I didn't want to make a wrong move and be seen.

I wanted to get in, see what was happening and get out.

The closer I got, the more I started to worry about what exactly was going on, what exactly all this meant.

What was happening in this kingdom, in this land?

Like it or not, I was a part of it now, I had something to gain by knowing more about my surroundings. It was a benefit, after all.

So why did I feel like I was making the wrong choice? Why did I feel like I wasn't going to like what I saw?

I got my answer pretty quickly. I poked my head around the corner and froze.

The scene in front of me was like something out of my nightmare.

Zane was laying on the ground, bleeding out from a gaping of his neck. His eyes were open and glassy and I had a sickening knowledge, right then and there, that he was dead.

And my eyes drifted upward and I saw Dracul. He was wearing a coat over his clothes, but that wasn't what I was looking at.

He was standing over Zane and there was blood dripping onto the floor. I knew in that instant, that Dracul had killed Zane.

The wound was brutal, a danger to Dracul's stance, that understood straight away. The banging must have been their fight.

And Zane had lost.

I didn't know why they were fighting, and I didn't care. I didn't need to know why they were fighting to understand what happened.

I turned and ran.

I didn't care where I was running to, I just ran. I clutched the touch in my hand to light the way and I fled, I tan until I was out of breath, ducking into corridors and running up flight the stairs.

I just needed to get out of there. I had to hope that Dracul had been too focused on Zane to notice me. I had to hope that I hadn't been seen, that I wouldn't be caught. I had to hope that the impossible was possible.

I had to hope that I had a chance of getting away.

But right now, I wasn't thinking about the grand scheme of things. I wasn't thinking about my people, of the right choices.

I wasn't thinking about the fact that I was stuck here, no matter where I ran.

All I was thinking about was the sight of Zane laying on the floor and the realization that I could be the next hit me.

I thought I was ready for this. I thought I was ready for the brutality of the Dragons, for my death, for the horror that surrounded me.

But I wasn't. Not really.

I ducked into a room and shut the door quickly, putting the torch up the basket and finding the nearest piece of furniture, a desk I pushed in all my strength, inching it across the door and barring the exit.

I had become so ready to believe in what Delaney had told me. I had been so ready to hope, beyond all reason, they things wouldn't be so bad.

I had been so damn ready to believe that there was hope left, that I had completely lost my resolve.

And now death was staring at me in the face and I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready at all.

And then I heard it, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, Elena?

I cowered, feeling the panic rise inside me.

Maybe he won't hear me.

But he would find me. This was his castle and he must know every inch of it. With shaking hands, I pushed myself away from the wall and stood up straight.

I was terrified. But I wasn't going to die scared and cowering. I was a princess and I had more honor than that.

I swallowed the panicked lump in my throat.

"Open up." His voice was right outside the door.

I said nothing.

"Fine." he snarled a low sound.

And the door began to move. He pushed it open, sliding the desk away from the door like it was nothing at all. I had struggled to move the desk, and I had put all my body weight into it.

But he pushed it and the door open like it was nothing.

It had been hopeless from the start.

But I wasn't going to cower. I'd face him, even though my knees were trembling. I'd face him.

What choice did I have?

He stepped into the room and in the dim light, I could see the hardness to his features. The smooth, easy smile was gone, replaced with something else. Something darker, something older.

This was the Dragon Lord.

He looked at me like he was sizing me up, checking me over. I didn't know why, but for a second, I thought there was a hint of concern in his eyes.?

Then it was gone and I knew that I had imagined it. He wouldn't be concerned, not about me. Not after I saw what I saw. It was the end of the road and we both knew it.

"Elena, what are you doing running around the castle at night?"

There was an anger in his eyes that I hadn't seen the first time I'd spoken to him. Part of me wanted to cower, part of me wanted to beg for forgiveness.

But I wasn't going to lower myself. Not for him. Not for a killer.

"Why? Why is it not safe? Because of you?" I spat, the anger rising inside of me as I spoke.

"You were the one who brought me here in the first place." My heart was pounding, racing in my chest. Just earlier I had been too scared to speak out of turn.

Now, after seeing him kill and running away for my life. I was arguing with him.

Well, he'd found me. He'd had caught me and he was angry. Maybe I had nothing left to lose anyway. Maybe it didn't matter if I got angry.

Maybe I deserve to get angry after everything that he'd put me through already.

"What?" He looked surprised for a second taking aback, "I'm not here to hurt you."

"Oh, sure." I said, feeling almost hysterical now. "So you kill your own man, but not me?"

He bristled and I could see that I have to touch his nerve, "You knew nothing of what happened with Zane."

"Does it matter?" I said.

"Of course, it matters." He was so close now, close enough to reach out to touch.

I could see the fire burning in his eyes, the passion and fury of a dragon. I hated him but I didn't want to look away from those eyes.

"You know nothing." He said, his voice dropping and low.

He was radiating heat and I did my best to straighten my shoulders against the tirade, "You are right. I know nothing of why you brought me here."

"I brought you here for a reason." He snapped. There was a wildness to his eyes and it was impossible to look away.

"Oh, why? You won't even tell me."I stepped forward, and there was nothing but an inch of hair between us, less, "Why am I here?"

Everything seems to slow down. In an instant, everything came into hyper-focus I could smell the scent of blood and smoke and something sweet masculine in the air.

I could see the fleck in his gold eyes, feeling his breath as he exhaled. I have never been this close to a man before, other than my father. There was something about him that was intoxicating.

And infuriating, all at the same time.

"You're here to help me. That what you need to know." He said. His words were slow and deliberate and I wanted to grab him and shake him until he answered me.

For a second it didn't matter that he was the most powerful dragon, the ruler of the strongest kingdom.

"I won't help you until you help me." I answered, stubbornly and proud.

He step forward and the space between us was evaporated into nothing. He knocked me off balance and I grabbed his coat, gripping the lapels to stop myself from moving backward.

I wasn't giving another inch to this man. Not without a fight...

He smirked and it was dark and hungry all at the same time. The man was a killer. This man was too dangerous. I hated him for everything he stood for. I hated his kingdom and I hated his lies.

I hated the scent of smoke on his clothes and his gleaming, golden eyes. I hated the warmth of his body radiating onto me.

He leaned forward.

T.B.C