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I shivered violently.
“You need to drink, or you’ll get dehydrated,” the guard grumbled impatiently. “It’s not good for you to become dehydrated. It will lead to a lot of other problems, and you probably don’t need other problems.”
I shook my head again, this time with so much vehemence, a dark curl escaped the high bun atop my head. It was only then that I recognized I was in exactly the same state I’d been when I’d gone to bed.
I haven’t been violated—yet.
That didn’t mean it would not happen. Father had warned me about that. And now I was in the middle of the very scenarios he had prepared me against.
“Suit yourself,” the dragon shrugged, turning away to set the ceramic mug down on the end table next to the cot.
My eyes darted desperately toward it. Would it make a good weapon if I broke it?
The thought was almost laughable. Me, little Briar Madison, taking on a dragon shifter—or I assumed that’s what he was, based on his sheer size. Whatever he was, he was too big for me to overcome. But I wasn’t amused in the least. It wasn’t funny how under-prepared I was to take care of myself in a world like ours.
“Please!” I called out before he could exit and leave me alone. He slowed his steps and glanced over his massive shoulder to eye me curiously. “Can’t you at least tell me what I’m doing here?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
He grimaced, showing an actual facial expression for once. “That’s not my place.”
Biting on my lower lip, I tried again. “What did I do wrong?” I asked. “This is probably a case of mistaken identity! Aren’t you worried that you have the wrong girl?”
He continued to stare at me, his inky eyes boring a hole through my skull until I looked away.
“Not likely.”
“People make mistakes! Maybe there was a mix-up in the paperwork, or the guy was supposed to take someone who looked like me but was really someone else!”
He turned away again, apparently tired of my trite efforts to convince him.
“I would get used to the idea of being here for the foreseeable future,” he told me.
The response was surprisingly bittersweet, and I clung to the bright side of the statement. I wasn’t being moved. Which meant I likely wasn’t being sold—again, at least not yet.
I’d lived a sheltered life, but even a woman of my standing couldn’t ignore the fact that girls and women were often kidnapped and sold into the trafficking trade. Father had warned me about this. That’s why I had to stay close to home.
“Rabbit shifters are worth a pretty penny on the open market, Briar. With your breeding abilities, I shouldn’t have to tell you not to go around advertising what you are.”
Of course, being a woman of my standing, I never believed that it could happen to me. And somehow, that was not what this felt like, anyway. Not if I was being told to make myself comfortable. That was something. Nothing good, but something. At the same time, it also meant that I wasn’t being claimed by anyone.
“Who took me?” I whispered. “Can I at least know that?”
Abruptly, the dragon turned away and unlocked the door, allowing himself outside before I could even get a proper look at what sat in the corridor beyond. I had no idea if this room was part of a building or some underground bunker, the windowless square giving me no clues what part of the country or world I was in.
I remained in the half-fetal position for a minute longer, gaze darting over every area of the walls for some sign of what this was. The frozen terror began to dissipate when I realized no one was coming back, and I let the covers fall away, revealing the full-length nightgown in which I’d gone to bed.
But how many hours ago? Or was it days ago?
The fogginess in my mind cleared away, but the thick wool in my mouth did not. I eyed the cup of water suspiciously, rising from the bed to examine it closer.
Raising it to my hyper-sensitive nose, I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes as I tried to detect any poisons or toxins inside.
It was only water.
Reluctantly, I pressed the cup to my mouth and gulped back two big sips, the liquid washing down my parched throat. Tense, I waited for a wave of drowsiness or sickness to overwhelm me, but there was nothing.
