A hand held mine firmly. It was warm, and I squeezed it. The hand responded, and I let my eyes open. Slowly, I reached with my other hand to my side to find it bandaged. The lights were dim, but I was in a room somewhere. Not in the woods. Where was I?
I tried to sit up but cursed as my side burst into pain. A chair scooted across a hard floor. The hand in mine moved, not letting go, but the grip changed.
“Emry?”
My head rolled to the side, and a pair of vibrant yellow-green eyes looked back at me from a kind face.
“You,” I whispered, words not easy to form. “I know you.” I sat up with his help when his name came to me. “Mason. You—are you really here this time? Or is this all inside my head still?”
“I’m starting to think I wasn’t just inside your head,” he replied gently. “How do you feel?”
I glanced down at the fresh clothes and felt heat rush to my cheeks. “Uh, I’m good. My wound, did you…” I licked my lips nervously, and he rubbed the back of his neck, his face turning red too.
“No. Amelie’s a healer. She took care of you, got you in clean clothes that weren’t covered in blood. You don’t remember anything about how you got here?”
I shut my eyes, thinking back. “I was in the woods,” I told him quietly. “I was trying to get to you when the dragons came after me. They attacked, and you… you shifted into a dragon.” My mind was beyond fuzzy. Something else happened while I was in those woods. It was there, right at the edge of my memory. My left arm burned, and I removed my hand from his so I could scratch it. What was it? I glanced over to see Mason watching me worriedly. “Maybe I haven’t left the cage. I think I’m still there.”
Fear that Radnak had gotten his goons to bring me back had me inching away from Mason.
He shook his head and stopped me from scratching my arm. “I’m here with you. We’re together. You found me somehow.”
“You told me to, remember?”
“I do, but honestly, until that fight by the portal, I had no idea this was real.” He hung his head.
I tilted mine, studying him through narrowed eyes.
“I thought you were just inside my head.”
“And I thought you were a hallucination. Jury’s still out on that one.”
He held my hand tighter. “Emry look at me,” he urged, and I did. “I’m real. We both are. I have no idea what happened between us, but you’re safe now. They can’t get to you, not here. Not while I’m finally with you.”
“You don’t know that,” I whispered.
Fear raced down my spine like a cold touch. Like a cold skeletal touch. Radnak. He’d been in the woods. I heard him out there, saw his eyes watching me. I sat up suddenly and started to climb off the bed, but Mason stopped me. He easily shoved me back and tried to keep a firm hold of my hand.
“You’re not going anywhere, not right now. You were stabbed and banged up pretty bad.”
The way his brow wrinkled in worry made me reach up to smooth away the lines. As soon as I did, dark, evil laughter resounded in my ears.
I froze. “He’s here,” I breathed, wanting to curl up in a ball to hide away again.
“He? Emry, there’s no one here. It’s just you and me.”
I nodded slowly, wanting to believe him, but the laughter came again and with it, a chilling touch at my shoulders. Radnak was going to get to me, and he’d kill whoever got in the way. I had to leave this place. Finding Mason was a terrible idea. I shook my head frantically and tried to shove around him for the door, but he didn’t let me get far.
“You can’t go anywhere, not in your condition. Just sit back down and rest.”
“There’s no time. You don’t understand,” I said in a rush as Radnak’s laughter grew louder. I stilled, mumbling to myself that it wasn’t real, but voices came through the door, and my eyes widened. “They found me. They’re here.”
“No one out there is going to hurt you,” Mason said firmly, gently turning my face so his eyes could look into mine. “Look at me. There’s a lot I don’t understand right now which is why you need to take a deep breath, slow down, and help me understand.” He held both my hands in his.
I should’ve pulled away, smacked him upside the head for thinking he stood a chance against my father. Why had I thought he would be able to stop that monster? Mad laughter rose within me, and there was no holding it back.
Emry.
“No,” I whispered, yanking my hands free of Mason’s to clap them over my ears. “Go away!”
“Emry?”
I turned my back on Mason as my sanity frayed around the edges. I had to get out of here, get away. That cold touch was back at my shoulder. I flinched, rushing across the small room to try and hide. But there was nowhere to hide.
“Emry, talk to me. What’s wrong?”
I looked at the dragon across the room. His face. I knew his face, didn’t I?
No one can help you, my daughter. They will never see you as one of their own. Come back to me before it’s too late.
“Never,” I snarled. “I’ll never go back.”
“You don’t have to,” the dragon said slowly, holding out his hand toward me.
I lowered my hands from my ears. “You. I know you.”
His eyes widened in surprise, but then he was nodding. “You do. We’ve met, remember? I’m here to help you.”
You can’t trust him, Radnak whispered inside my mind. You can’t trust any of them.
The dragon was only a couple feet away now, and I froze. Whatever he saw on my face had him stopping, but his hand remained outstretched. “Take my hand, Emry. We’re just going to sit in here and talk. That’s all.”
“Talk about what?”
“About what you’ve been through, what I saw when I helped rescue you.”
I blinked. Rescued me? I looked around the room. This wasn’t a cage, but it was small like one. And the voices outside the door didn’t sound friendly. Radnak wanted me to be confused. He wanted me broken down and weak so he could take what he needed from me. He’d start a war to end all wars. There’d be no stopping him this time. The dragon in front of me didn’t save me. The cage, I had to still be in the cage.
I backed away. “I don’t want to talk.”
“That’s fine. We don’t have to. Can you just tell me one thing? Just one?”
Radnak’s voice whispered past my ear, but I looked at the dragon in front of me and bobbed my head. “One thing.”
“The cage where they kept you, where was it?”
How did he not know? He’d saved me, that’s what he’d said. If he saved me, then he would know. This was a trick. Warren was behind it; he had to be.
“Fell Gates,” I spat. “Where I’ve been held for the last, I can’t remember how long, of my life. But you already knew that, didn’t you, because you’re with them.”
The dragon shook his head slowly. “I’m not, and that can’t be possible.”
“Calling me a liar?”
“Emry, the Fell Gates were destroyed when Slade and the others killed Radnak. There’s nothing left. You’re sure that’s where you were?”
“I think I’d know where I was being held captive. And you should too, since you claim to have saved me.”
There were more voices just outside the door. I had to get out of here, get away from whatever dark magic this was. The dragon in front of me wasn’t real. They were giving me false hope, letting me believe I was free. The burning in my left arm had me cringing as I clawed at it again. Radnak’s continuous laughter drowned out everything else and the need to break out of this place was too strong to ignore.
With a shout, I charged for the door, but the dragon got in the way, and I ended up slamming him into it. Shouts sounded from the other side as someone tried to come in.
“I’m fine,” the dragon in my grasp called to them, but they kept trying to push open the door anyway. I slammed him back harder, but he made no move to defend himself.
“Do you have any idea what I’ve been through?” I whispered furiously. “Any idea the pain I’ve endured?”
“I saw the rituals,” he told me. “I don’t know what they did to you, but I saw it.”
“Did you now? Did you enjoy it, huh? Watching me being torn apart by that monster?”
“No, which is why I stepped in to stop it. Look at me, Emry, look at me and remember who I am.”
“The dragon who saved me,” I mocked and dug my claws into his shirt, ripping the fabric. He winced when I caught skin but still didn’t fight against me. “The Fell Gates were never truly destroyed. Radnak lives.” Another loud cackle pierced my ears, and I let go of the dragon. “He’s here. He’s everywhere. I have to get away, I have to!”
As soon as the dragon stepped away from the door, it opened, and another dragon was there. At least I thought it was a dragon. It shifted and morphed before my eyes as the rest of the room spun around me. Black smoke rose from the ground, and the dragon turned into the wraith with blood-red eyes. Skeletal hands reached for me. That face—that half face with lips were curled into a leer.
He was here. He was here, and I was dead. I screamed as hands grabbed hold of my arm. The wraith entered the room, but it was too much. He was going to rip my soul to pieces. I lashed out, my fist connecting with the other dragon’s face and somehow, I slipped out the door. More dragons waited outside, but I darted around them. The dragon inside me begged for release. I didn’t think I was strong enough, but I’d do whatever necessary to get away from him.
“After her,” one of the dragons shouted as I bolted for another set of double doors and found myself stumbling along a paved road. The sky was overcast, but there was a sun hiding behind those clouds. There were no dead trees around me, just buildings. Dragons were everywhere. They looked happy. Normal.
I shook my head hard. What was happening to me?
“Emry, stop!”
I sank to my knees, clutching at my head.
“Stay back!”
I knew that voice, but I couldn’t see straight. Couldn’t feel anything but a burning heat that had to go somewhere. I threw my head back with a roar and shifted into my dragon form. My tail slammed into the street as I spread my wings wide. The dragon from the room rushed toward me as others tried to hold him back. He shoved their hands away and came toward me, holding his hands up. I growled, fire dripping from my jaws.
I searched behind him for any sign of the wraith, but he wasn’t here. I blinked, considered taking to the skies.
He called out my name again. “Emry, look at me. Just look at me, alright?”
I growled louder, my gaze focusing on his.
“You are safe here. No one is going to hurt you. I need you to look around and remember where you are now. This isn’t the Fell Gates.”
“Wait, what?” the dragon behind him snapped.
I snarled at him.
“Back off.” The dragon behind him took a couple of steps back. “Emry, do as I say, okay? Look around you.”
I turned my head to the right, eyeing the charming shops and houses lining the roads. Everywhere I looked were dragons, but none of them were Black Diamonds. None of them were men in red robes chanting as they tried to steal a piece of my soul from my body. None of them were Warren. And there was certainly no sign of Radnak.
“That’s it,” the dragon was saying as I shook my head with a frustrated growl. “Remember who I am. Remember what happened, alright?”
I shut my eyes, his voice soothing the fire coursing through my body. I knew him, that’s what I told myself. I knew this dragon, and I trusted him. His face, I’d seen it plenty of times before. He was there the night they took my blood, and he stabbed Radnak. He got me out of the Fell Gates, risked his life for mine. My rage faded away, and I shuddered as I shifted back to my human form.
“Mason,” I breathed then fell forward into his waiting arms. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Tears burned in my eyes as I rested my head against his chest.
“It’s okay. No one’s hurt. You’re safe, you’re with me. No one’s going to hurt you.”
“Not true.” I licked my lips, struggling to stay conscious, but it was too much, and I let myself go limp in his arms. “Radnak is coming,” I told him. “Mason, he’s… he’s…”
The rest of the words faded away and the world went dark.
Quiet voices murmured around me, and a warm, familiar hand held mine. Mason. I found myself back in the clinic. My head hurt like someone smashed me in the forehead with a hammer and my side ached. I was still so damned tired, but I had to see what was going on.
“Shh, She’s waking up,” Mason said, and the voices quieted down as my vision cleared. “Emry? Can you hear me? You remember where you are?”
“Somewhere that is not the Fell Gates,” I replied as he helped me sit up. “Did I hurt anyone?”
“No, we’re all fine. Just worried about you.” Mason was smiling.
The dragons behind him all had varying looks of worry, annoyance, anger, and suspicion. Not that I blamed them. I held my breath, waiting to hear Radnak’s voice again, but there were no sounds except breathing and my heart thundering away. “You don’t have to say anything right now if you don’t want to. You’re still in rough shape.”
“We need answers, Mason,” the dragon right behind him said firmly.
Mason shook his head.
I nodded. “It’s okay. I’m feeling good right now. Head’s not so wibbly-wobbly. Ask away, and I’m sorry, who are you again? Did we already meet?”
“Briefly,” the dragon said and stepped forward. He held out his hand, and I shook it. “I’m Slade, leader of the Shadowguard clan. This is Everest, my wife,” he said, pointing to a woman with a resemblance to Mason.
“Your sister?”
Mason nodded. “She is. The others are Tank. And of course Amelie, who’s been checking on your wounds. Jared is—uh, he’s here to assist in any way he can.”
The dragon Mason pointed to last lowered his head slightly, but there was no smile on his face. I swallowed hard. Mason might say I was safe here, but these dragons weren’t about to trust me so soon. I was a Black Diamond. We had a bad history, and if they found out the truth of who I was—I didn’t even want to go there unless I had to.
“Sure, assist. That’s great,” I mumbled.
“Emry, you mentioned Radnak before you passed out,” Slade said. “Why?”
I licked my lips, knowing I had to choose my words carefully. “Because he’s there.”
“Where exactly?”
“The Fell Gates. The others were there first and they’ve been doing something to bring him back.” I picked at the blanket covering my legs, already tiring again. “They have men there in robes. I think they’re priests of some kind.”
“And did they bring him back?” Slade’s face was blank, but it was easy enough to see the anger growing in his eyes.
“Partially.”
“What does that mean?”
Mason shot Slade a look, but I took hold of his hand to tell him it was alright. They needed to know. It was why I escaped. “They started the ritual, but they didn’t get a chance to finish. He’s just a wraith right now. I don’t think he can leave that realm.”
I hoped he couldn’t leave that realm, but I kept that bit to myself.
“What’s the ritual? How do you know?” Slade went on.
“I saw him.” My hands shook, and Mason held them tighter. “I saw what he’s starting to come back as. We both did.”
Those red glowing eyes flickered to life before me, and I looked into Mason’s instead. His presence chased away the red eyes, and I was able to relax. My left arm started to itch, but I made no move to scratch it, biting the inside of my cheek instead.
“Both? You saw Radnak?” Slade asked, glancing at Mason.
“I wasn’t sure what I saw. All I cared about was getting Emry out of there. They were torturing her. Both times, they were torturing her. I didn’t exactly stop to ask what was happening.”
I hadn’t wanted to remember those moments. The cut on my left arm had healed quickly once the cuff was removed. I ran my fingers over the place where I could faintly see the mark left behind. They’d taken my blood, and it gave Radnak a form. If they managed to get a bit of my soul, what would that give him? I suddenly felt sick and shivered. A strange coldness closed around my chest.
“Emry?” Mason’s face hovered over mine.
When had I laid down? “I’m good, just, just tired,” I mumbled. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine. Get some sleep. I won’t be far.”
My eyes slipped closed, and I gave in to the exhaustion, hoping Mason’s presence would be enough to keep the fear at bay.