Get away!
Fly!
Please get away.
I slump down. I can scent blood. I think it’s mine. Then I am pulled under. I try, but I can’t fight it. My injuries are too severe.
14
Raven
“What do you want with me?” I shout, trying to pull free from the ropes tying my arms together. My heart is thumping hard in my chest. All I can think about is Stephan. My throat clogs as a sob threatens to break free.
Stephan.
Where is he? What happened to him? I heard him screech a warning. I saw him crash to the ground in a heap of broken limbs. I saw him lying there. My first instinct was to fly to him. That’s when they surrounded me. I tried to flee, but it was too late. I was captured. “Why am I here? Let me go!” I struggle once again against my bonds. At least they didn’t tie my feet. That’s something, I guess. At least I am able to stand and look this bastard in the eyes.
“That’s insolence child,” Tarek says. “You should not speak to an elder in that fashion. To your leader. I am a man. You are a woman. You need to learn respect. It has always been your downfall, Raven.”
I half expect him to beat his chest or to hit me over the head and drag me into a cave. I roll my eyes. “You kidnapped me. I’m here against my will. I do not have to adhere to your rules.”
“You are a child of this weyr.” Tarek is at least seventy…maybe older. He looks to be in his thirties. One of the perks of being a dragon shifter – we age much slower. He has dark, short-cropped hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He is a pompous asshole. Although, that’s putting it mildly. He’s been leader of this weyr for as long as I can remember. It was his father before that. Another pompous asshole, if the stories are to be believed.
“I left,” I say. “I made the choice to no longer be a part of this weyr and your crazy rules and regulations. I want to leave right now. Untie me.”
He smiles. “You can’t just leave. It doesn’t work that way. You are joined to us by blood.”
“I don’t want to be here.” I feel tears well but tamp them down. I won’t let him see me cry.
“You will learn to accept your new life here. You will be happy, my child.”
“What new life?” I throw at him.
He looks at me for a long while. “There is someone who wants to take you as a mate, even though you are well over the age of taking. Even though you are afflicted.”
“What?” I can’t believe what I am hearing. “Take me as a mate?” I whisper to myself.
“Yes, child. You will be mated, but I’m afraid that I can’t condone any children.”
“I don’t want to get married…” I frown. “Who wants to mate with me?” I wrack my brain, but can’t think of a single person in this weyr. My ability to see the future is considered an affliction. Like I’m tainted…and I guess I am, in a way. I’m seen as damaged goods. Dragon shifter men from this weyr stay far away from me. I dated one or two when we were teenagers, but dating and mating are two very different things. No one would have wanted me before I left. What’s changed?
“You will find out in good time. You will be happy. You don’t need children to have a happy union.”
No children. That makes even less sense. Our weyr is small. Children are encouraged. Not only that, dragon men are instinctually drawn to procreate. No man from this weyr will want a woman he can’t have kids with. Who would be so desperate?
“We can’t have you passing on your affliction to an innocent babe. That’s why,” he goes on. “It will be of the utmost importance that you follow this rule, or there will be dire consequences.”
Why is he still talking? “I don’t want to mate anyone from this weyr. No! That’s my answer. You can untie me now, and let me go.”
“It doesn’t work like that, Raven. You will mate, and you will be happy.”
“Just like that? You can’t tell me how I will feel about something.”
“Yes, just like that.” He nods. “I know what’s best.” There’s madness beneath his calm exterior.
“What about what I want?” I’m sure it’s a question countless others have asked. I ask it anyway.
“What any single person wants is not important. It’s all about the greater good of the weyr.” He really is clueless.
“Happy people who make their own decisions would be a good start.” My voice is shrill. I’m not getting through to him. Did I really expect to get that right?
“I can see that I am not getting through to you while you’re in this mood. I will leave you to think things through. Don’t let your weyr down again. Your mother and father were greatly disappointed when they found out about your disappearance. I won’t have you causing trouble, Raven. I need to be clear about that.”
“Where are my parents? Do they know I’m here?” I was sorry to leave my mom. I love her, but she’s brainwashed…just like almost everyone else. My dad is another story. I can’t see him changing any time soon.
“Rest well,” he says. Then I watch him leave. The door shuts, and I hear a key turn in the lock. I’m stuck between these four walls. I’m sure he will have posted a guard or two at the door. No windows. No help coming. I’m well and truly screwed.
I left a note in the kitchen earlier to say that we had gone flying. I’m sure Maddox will know what’s happened. It might take him a while to realize it, though. I hope they don’t try to launch a rescue. It would be futile. They’d be captured. Our weyr might not be big, but it’s large enough to pose a threat against four dragon demigods. I’m not worried about myself, though. I’m freaking out over Stephan. Out of my mind with worry.
Stephan.
I’m sure he is dead. The weyr will have had no reason to let him live. They will consider him to be an abomination, like Maddox and the others. Like me! My only hope is that they didn’t bother with taking the time to finish him off. That he is alive out there somewhere. Then again, the fall was potentially bad enough to have caused his death. I should have listened to Maddox. We wouldn’t be in this situation if I had. This is all my fault. I slide down the wall and curl into a fetal position. That’s when the tears come. I can’t stop them. I’ll let myself have this meltdown, and then I’ll suck it up and try to come up with a plan. I have to.
Raven
I must have fallen asleep during my pity party because I wake up with a start. The room is still pitch black. It takes me a few seconds for my eyes to adjust before I can see in the dark. I see feet and long legs in front of me.
I smile and suck in a breath.
Star shakes her head and puts a finger over her lips. I mustn’t make a sound. Just as I suspected, there must be someone posted outside the door. They will hear if I say even one word. Star smiles at me. She grips my wrist tightly with her hand.
I feel the floor fall out from under me. Nausea rolls through me. We’re moving but stationary. It’s the weirdest sensation. I haven’t teleported with Star in years. Seconds later, the ground is back beneath my body. I’m grateful I’m lying down, or I would have fallen. My head is spinning. My stomach is still rolling. Saliva fills my mouth, and I swallow it down, breathing hard. It takes ten more seconds for things to stop spinning.