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“Stop!” I yelp when his boot connects even harder with my shin.
“Lean,” he growls.
Then I figure out what he’s trying to do. The cart is about to tilt over and he’s trying to shift our weight to force it back down onto its wheels. I grab onto his waist and pull myself up against him. Rani gets it too and does the same to me. He throws his weight but now we’re working together and the cart crashes down.
We’re bounced harder than ever. I crack my head again. The creaking of the cart, the screeching of the beasts, the cursing of the drivers and the moans and grunts of my fellow passengers fill my head becoming a jumbled, incomprehensible mess.
I don’t know how much more of this I can take. We bounce and toss a while longer then the cracking of the whip stops. I don’t know when it stops, but I do eventually recognize its absence when the cart begins to slow.
The drivers are cursing less, the beasts are no longer screeching, then we come to a stop. Silence falls like a weighted blanket. My heart is loud in my ears, drowning out the subtler sounds. I hear creaking followed by the protest of abused springs and then someone taps on the side of the cart.
“Open it,” a voice growls.
A moment later there is a click and the hidden door drops open. Torchlight blasts our darkness away, searing my eyes. Someone grabs my foot and pulls. I kick with my free leg as hard as I can and there is a satisfying grunt of pain and they let go of my foot.
If this is it I’m not going down without a fight. That is what my Dilacs would do and I can do no less. Maybe I can buy time for Rani to get away. I shimmy myself towards the opening and drop out of the back of the cart into a crouch. The first shape that comes close I rise off the ground bringing my fist from the ground with me.
“Woah,” Dilacs exclaims, leaning out of the path of my fist at the last possible instant.
“Dilacs?” I ask in surprise my eyes only now adjusting to the torch light.
He doesn’t answer with words, pulling me tight against his hard body and claiming my lips. The only really proper greeting I could ever want anyway.
40
GWENETH
Dilacs and I hold hands as we walk in the lead. The men shifted the cart then turned it over to block the tunnel before we left it behind to travel on foot. I have so many questions but there hasn’t been time to ask them or to hear the story of how he escaped. Right now all I can do is be grateful and try my best to not worry about what’s next.
Dilacs is leading us to the Zmaj compound. I have no idea how this is going to go. The Zmaj and the Urr’ki hate each other. Or the Cavern Zmaj do and they’ll be the first ones we meet as none of the other Zmaj, the ones we humans came here with, will be on guard duty. At least not that I’ve ever seen.
My shoulders are so tight that they’re causing a tension headache. All of this depends on me. I have to keep the two sides from killing each other on sight. Dilacs I feel sure of, but Khiara has a temper and the General, well him I don’t know at all.
“We are in their territory,” Dilacs whispers.
I nod understanding though I have no idea how he knows. The tunnels all look the same to me. Well, not the same, but no differentiation that clearly delineates this is Zmaj territory versus something else. I try to swallow but my mouth and throat are too dry. I cough into my elbow, clear my throat, and swallow at last.
“Okay,” I say. “You should, uhm, stand back maybe?”
“No,” he growls.
Everyone is huddling close around, looking at me. I glance at each of them in turn before putting all my attention back on Dilacs.
“Dilacs,” I say, still whispering as I place my hand over his forearm. His eyes drop to my hand and the fire in them is an inferno. His skin warms to my touch and I know that both of us are dreaming of being alone, but now is not the time. “I’ll be fine. The Zmaj will not hurt me.”
“Lizards,” he spits the word.
“Zmaj,” I correct him. “Let’s not start off with insults, okay?”
A low growly grumbling is his only response. Exasperation rises, he’s not listening. How do I get him to see past his prejudice and old hatreds? I’ve pondered this so many times since I came to live in Khiara’s home. The hard truth is that the Urr’ki grievances are not without justification. They have been killed, stolen from, driven down and down. But if the future is to be different then someone has to be willing to forgive the past and start anew. All of which is easy to say and think, but much, much harder to do.
“Dilacs,” Rani says, inserting herself into the conversation. “Trust your dragoste. This is her world, she knows it and them in ways we do not.”
His lips tremble with unexpressed anger that is almost rage, but he looks to his Queen and bows his head.
“As you command,” he says.
Rani nods then gives me a smile. I smile back as I take a deep breath. I grip Dilacs arm then rise up onto my toes leaning in for a kiss. He comes down and gives me the kiss I need for strength.
