Page 24 of Exquisite Monster

Not that I was going to complain. It was generally uncomfortable for us to spend time in places that were so enclosed, but it wouldn’t drive us to madness. Whoever had told Andaros and his court that, I needed to thank them, if they were not already dead.

Blinking, I forced myself into more alertness. This was anopportunity I couldn’t waste. I was out of the cell. Andaros had implied a larger plan when he mentioned being finished with us entirely.

The man might not want to tell us his plans outright, but we could put together the clues.

They walked me down a blank-looking hallway of the same sandy, carved stone. The doors I saw were the same as the ones barricading my cell. Heavy, enchanted metal, ensuring—with what magics humans could produce—that whoever was inside couldn’t get out.

I hadn’t had a chance to touch mine, but I didn’t doubt it would be painful.

Stairs rose in front of us next to a set that plunged lower into the stone, echoing with the sounds of forges and smithing.

The faintest scent of fresh air reached me and my beastroaredin my head. Being without the sky might not drive us mad, but that didn’t mean we didn’t crave it with everything we had. I blinked against the brightness as they hauled me up into the open air, taking in what felt like my first breath in forever.

Like when I first touched Lena and everything changed. Like when we thought she would burn and the relief when she didn’t. Likeeverything.

But when I managed to open my eyes, the last thing I thought about was the air in my lungs.

Everything wasgreen. As green as the valley we’d rested in on the way to Doro Eche, and as green as any of the dragon lands. Green as Lena’s eyes.

Every report said the human lands were dying, and Craisos should be one of the kingdoms most affected being so close to a brokensheyten. Instead, it looked like a lush, verdant paradise.

Or partially.

Now I spotted the walls.

We were in some kind of enclosed space, though I didn’t see any kind of palace attached.

Can you still hear me?

Yes.

It’s green up here,I said.Like the world isn’t dying.

There were fruit trees and crops. Rich patches of ground with vegetables being harvested. Not only was everything growing, it seemed ripe and ready to be eaten. Crops that didn’t grow in the same season stood side by side.

I was no expert in the ways of growing food, but this was not entirely natural. It couldn’t be.

That doesn’t make sense, Sirrus said.

No, I agreed.It doesn’t.

Because Andaros was watching me without disguising it, I tried to keep my interest mild. He was the kind of man who looked for anything to exploit. As far as I was concerned, we would give him nothing more than was absolutely necessary.

“Enjoy this, dragon,” Andaros lowered his voice so those in the fields could not hear him. So it wasn’t common knowledge what we were. Interesting. “You won’t get it again. Not for a while.”

He stripped the covering away from my mouth, pretending like he wanted my answer. “I didn’t imagine you would be kind to us, King.”

“After you stole what was mine in every way possible? No. I will not be kind. But you are useful. And will be even more so when I fully break you.”

Slowly, I inhaled the scent of growing things and open air. Andaros was an ass, and the worst kind of man, but he also wasn’t wrong. I tried to savor these few moments while I could and add them to the things sustaining me until we could break free.

It wasn’t long enough.

“All right, let’s go.”

They hauled me back down beneath the earth, and when my eyes readjusted to the darkness, I realized they weren’t taking me back to the same cell. No, we were descending further, closer to the smiths.

“Where are we going?”