Govam’s smile was tight. “I know dragons. I know how they operate. I can anticipate them. Finley is a lot more mysterious than most, but I’ve been watching intently. The only reason she left the golden dragon was to save his kingdom—her kingdom. I knew she’d try to escape. I’d thought she’d hit a standstill because she couldn’t connect with the other shifters. I was trying to come up with a way to force the issue, but then…her friends showed up.” He looked at Hadriel. “And they worked miracles to open the lines of communication. I still wasn’t sure how you could bypass the officers, but I saw the look on your face”—his gaze shifted to me—“when I came to get you earlier. Between that and the vibe of the other dragons, I knew you had to have worked something out. I still didn’t know how—”
“How did you poison all the officers?” Denski said. “And how did you get everyone across this bridge? And how did you activate the faeries’ magic?”
He sounded absolutely mystified.
“It doesn’t matter,” Govam said, his eyes boring into mine. “We can hopefully discuss that when we are in the boat. You need someone to run it, Finley. You need a certain type of demon. I am that type of demon, and so are those behind me.”
“Except for me.” Sonassa raised her hand. “I lead the demons of my kind, who are stationed in a few kingdoms Dolion wishes to bring to ruin. They are trapped there, much like you were trapped, Finley. I want to free them as you are trying to free your people. They are not all in line with my way of thinking, but a great many are. If you take me on, I can give you allies on the inside. We both know I can’t affect you. I have proven this theory. You are safe from me. You know that I am not trying to get close in order to turn you to my plans.”
“Well…you are,” Hadriel said. “You’re just being up front about it.”
Her smile was sultry. “I like you.”
“I know. You said. Before you threatened me. Remember?”
“Not especially. I threaten a lot of people.”
“We have people on the inside, too,” Govam said. He glanced at the lava. “And we just killed several who weren’t in line with our thinking. It’ll thin the numbers a little, at least.”
“So…” I moved my weight from my right foot to my left. “You’re basically asking me, a prisoner, to help you, a guard, escape your own kingdom?”
“And then tear out the current regime and replace it with a more balanced faction of demons, yes,” Govam said.
I just stared for a long moment, not knowing what to say, struggling to process this turn of events and expectations.
Hadriel broke the silence. “I say we take them. There are, what, fewer than a dozen? We can kill them if they do something we don’t like.”
“If the patrolling guards can’t work the boats, we’ll need at least one of these demons to get out of here,” Hannon said, ever practical. “My plan depended on taking someone from the patrol.”
“I agree with the others,” Micah said. “But they will need to be guarded. They will trade their current supposed cell for one of a different kind.”
“I’ve seen how Finley responds to those who meet her halfway,” Govam replied. “You will treat us better than you have been treated. Probably better than we are currently treated. Until you develop trust in us, if you ever do, then I will take your deal.”
“It’s not a deal. I’m done making deals with demons.” I motioned them onward. “You have a key for the final door?”
“Ah. Is that what you came running back for?” Govam asked. “You caught me by surprise. One of many I’ve experienced when dealing with you.”
“The tools ended up in the lava.”
“Yes, I have a key.”
“Let’s go, then. Space yourself out between the dragons and the wolves. We need to move fast to get a head start on Dolion.”
I still didn’t totally trust them, but we needed them. So we hurried through the tunnels, not even second-guessing the turns at this point.
“How’d you get the map of the tunnels?” Denski asked as he easily kept pace.
No one answered him as we met the others, waiting by the door with anxious expressions. When they saw me running toward them, relief bled through their faces, followed quickly by confusion when they spied the guards.
“Long story,” I said as the way cleared and I stepped aside for Govam at the door. I gave him plenty of space, just in case he planned to turn toward me and stick me with a knife.
“What’s happening?” someone whispered.
At least I wasn’t the only one struggling to get my head around things.
“I knew it. We’re all gonna die,” Elex whined.
“We’re not, but you might if you don’t shut your hole,” Hadriel grumbled.
“It would be best for you all to pretend to be in our charge,” Govam said as he swung open the door and waited for me to go through. “As I said, we were planning to meet you at the boats. The patrol would’ve assumed we were pursuing you. That would’ve given you time to kill most of the demons, capture one of them, and realize he or she was useless. It would’ve given me a better bartering chip.”
“We could’ve just captured you then,” I replied, quickly walking forward with him at my side—though still more than an arm’s reach away.
“I had considered that. Worst case, at least one of us would be able to leave and try to bring about change.”
I shook my head as we reached the stairs leading to the side entrance, mulling that over. I glanced back at Hadriel, who nodded. If the demons pretended they were escorting us outside, it would inspire curiosity, but it wouldn’t bring people closer to investigate. It would ensure we didn’t have to fight our way to the boats, which would hopefully buy us more time before we were discovered.
One thing was infinitely clear—Govam and his crew really were dooming themselves. Dolion would be furious if he found out they’d failed to capture us. He’d kill them on the spot.
We’d become their lifeline.
“Fine. Hurry.” I let him lead us up the stairs, his guards fanning out around us. Except Sonassa, who changed her appearance to look like one of us, beautiful but still bedraggled, malnourished and beaten down. I wondered why she’d bothered with a red dress.
“There won’t be anyone out on this side of the castle,” Govam said as we reached the magical lock at the top. He stopped and put up his hand, twitching his fingers before pulling the spell away and continuing on. “We can run. When we reach the corner, though, we’ll need to walk. It would help if you all hunched a bit.”
“What about the wolves?”
He glanced down the stairs. “They should shift. They’ll be naked, but that’ll be less interesting than being wolves.”
I relayed that back to Weston, confident he would take care of it.
Govam’s voice dropped, almost like he was talking to himself. “I have no idea what Dolion was thinking, taking away your suppression. I’m obviously glad he did, but it was a shortsighted move. Did he misjudge your power?” He shook his head. “I’ve been studying him and his strategies for years, and his reasoning completely eludes me.”