Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 110079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
After close to two hours of wandering through the woods, they reached a break in the trees and spotted a building that was disturbingly familiar.
“Shit.” Adrian exhaled.
Drayce snorted. “Look familiar?”
“Yeah.”
“What? Have you been here before?” Tyche demanded, his head snapping from the building to stare at Drayce and Adrian.
“Yeah, when I got into trouble with my original clan, I was held prisoner here. The Takehashi clan is on much better terms with the Omari clan now, and they let Haru borrow this place.”
“I feel like there’s a lot more to that story that we’re sort of glossing over,” Tyche pointed out.
“We are, but you can catch up with Drayce’s exploits later. I’ve got a dragon who needs me.” Adrian jogged away from the trees and up to the entrance. He had no idea how he was going to get past the guards, but there was no way they were going to stop him. Maybe he’d get Drayce to flex some royal muscles or at least provide a distraction.
“Adrian! We’ve been expecting you.”
Adrian’s steps had slowed when he spotted an orange dragon curled in front of the doors to the building, but they’d stopped after that dragon shifted into human form to greet him with a wide smile and a wave of his hand above his head.
“Fucking Nori.” Drayce snorted. “That old dragon doesn’t miss a beat.”
“You mean he knew I wouldn’t listen to him?” Adrian said, resuming his march to the prison.
“Oh, yeah,” the dragon agreed. As Adrian got closer, he realized that the guard was actually Shou, the dragon who’d delivered the godstone shard to them in Bellcairn. “He told us to expect you late tonight and to let you go right in to see Haru.”
For a heartbeat, Adrian was pissed. All that talk about needing to rest and waiting until tomorrow was feeling like bullshit, except to Nori, it wasn’t. He probably believed it. But the dragon had also been smart enough to realize that Adrian wouldn’t wait a second longer than necessary.
Adrian charged in, his heart racing as he ran down the stairs lit by flickering torches. He spotted another couple of dragons in human form, wearing robes that showed they were also from the Omari Clan. He barely spared them a glance as he followed the low thrum of power that now beat in tandem with his heart. It was Haru. It had to be Haru.
At the end of the long, dark corridor that held a heavy mildew odor, he turned to see a large cell with black bars. Inside lay Haru in his dragon form, curled into a ball with his nose tucked under his long tail.
“Haru.” Adrian sighed, his name tripping out as it finally got past the blockage in his throat.
The dragon blinked slowly and lifted its head. He stared at Adrian, not seeming to react. Adrian had been about to race along the length of the hall to him, but Haru’s lack of reaction made him hesitate. What if Haru thought he was a hallucination? A nightmare sent to torment his mind?
“It’s okay, Haru. It’s really me,” Adrian coaxed. He ignored the way his voice trembled. He started forward, each step slow and cautious. Haru wouldn’t intentionally hurt him, but Adrian had no way of knowing how Yesuntei’s magic was affecting his mind at that moment.
The dragon blinked again, but this time his giant yellow eyes focused on him more sharply. His long body jolted, and Adrian froze.
“Haru?”
In a flash, Haru shifted into his human form. “My Adrian!” Those two words escaped him, hoarse and ragged, but there was so much relief in them. He took a step toward the bars, but his legs gave out and he sat down hard.
Adrian swallowed a cry and ran to him. He grabbed the bars of the door, preparing to rattle the fuckers until someone came to open them, but the door swung wildly open, nearly knocking Adrian on his ass at the first pull.
“I’m not a prisoner.” Haru huffed a laugh. “They only lock the cell when I ask them to.”
“Whatever,” Adrian muttered as he shoved the door out of the way and flew inside, throwing himself at Haru. Dropping to his knees, he wrapped his arms around Haru, pulling him close enough that the dragon was practically sitting in his lap. Immediately, he noticed that Haru felt thinner. His body had already been lithe and slender as a willow, but Adrian swore he was even thinner to an unhealthy degree.
“You haven’t been eating properly. Don’t tell me that Nori has been starving his favorite child,” Adrian growled against his throat. He nuzzled his face into the soft hollow between his neck and shoulder.
A low hum rumbled from deep in Haru’s chest, and it was almost as if he were purring. He held Adrian tightly, pulling him even closer. “No, Nori has admonished me plenty about my poor eating habits. So has my cousin. You’ve seen him?”