Page 12

CHAPTER 12

O h scales, why was he making this so difficult?

If only I could think of Griffin as my next target or as a pampered royal in need of a lesson. In the time it took me to get bathed and changed then get down to the chess table in the gardens, Griffin had shaved and changed into a clean uniform. His gaze was fixed on the board between us, but from time to time, our eyes would briefly meet, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to remain focused on the board.

In contrast to our last match, we were relatively secluded, and other than the occasional passing gardener, we were left entirely alone. No crowd gathered to watch us play and rather surprisingly, no one came to check on me.

“I told them you would want some peace and quiet,” Griffin admitted when I voiced my observation, then looked stricken. “But I’m glad to get you anything you want, or?—”

“No, I’m fine here.” More than fine , I added in my mind.

This time, Griffin delivered checkmate without hesitation.

“Good game,” I told him, automatically reaching my hand out to shake his. He took it, not flinching at all from my cold fingers, and didn’t let go. The seconds stretched longer and longer, but neither of us broke contact. Normally, it was easy to think of things to say when it came to conversing with men, but with Griffin, I found myself tongue-tied.

His gaze dropped to study my hands, and he shifted his grip so he was able to examine my hands, then swallowed so hard that I saw his throat convulse. “Your…your nails are very nice,” he told me, tracing his finger along the manicured edges. “They’re very strong. That must come in very handy when you need to…to pick out a wrong stitch or…or scratch an itch or something.”

Oh, the sweet man. He had absolutely no idea how to woo women, but I left my hand in his grasp all the same.

“I’m glad you didn’t let me win this time,” I said quietly. The only sounds were of the fountain’s trickling water and birds chirping merrily to each other as they fluttered about in the gardens.

“I always appreciate a worthy opponent. I’m sure you’ll get me next time.”

Next time. He wanted to see me again. What if I told Father that Griffin was responsible for my rescue? By Father’s own decree, if Griffin was a nobleman, he would have been given my hand in marriage. What would happen if someone who wasn’t of noble birth rescued me? Unease knotted behind my sternum. I found Griffin attractive and I admired his prowess in chess, and I’d allowed myself a few harmless daydreams, but that didn’t mean I actually wanted to marry him. I barely knew him. If Father’s decree was to be followed, Griffin would have to kill Pollox, and I didn’t want that to happen either. If Father had me marry anyone, it would probably be the obnoxious knight who’d rescued me.

Guilt nudged me. I hadn’t really thought about the knight once since seeing Griffin, and he was still captured. Quite selfishly, after how I’d been treated, I didn’t care if the knight was comfortable at all. Let him fret. Pollox would be coming back soon, demanding a ransom. How long did I have with Griffin before that happened?

A gardener walked past, and Griffin hastily released my hand. “I need to ask you if the dragon has any weaknesses I should know about,” he said.

“No,” I answered quickly. I didn’t want anyone to hurt Pollox. I didn’t even know if he could be hurt. “There’s nothing.”

“In the village you escaped to the day after you were taken, you told them that he had an injured wing.”

“It got better.”

Griffin chewed on his lip and thought before brightening again. “What about something he really likes? If there were a way to lure him into a trap…”

“He likes treasure, but everyone already knows that. His hoard is massive and he’s very clever. I don’t think he would fall for a trap.”

“Every dragon has a weakness. It doesn’t have to be an item, it could even be a…” His voice tailed away.

“A what?”

He drew a deep breath. “It could be a person. Does the dragon ever act possessive of you?”

Ice flooded my veins. “I’m not sure,” I lied. “I don’t…I don’t talk to him much.”

“He’s never tried to claim you for his hoard or anything? It would be unusual dragon behavior if he didn’t. If he’s keeping you locked up…”

“What if a dragon did claim a person for their hoard?” I asked. “Hypothetically, of course.”

Griffin looked very serious. “Then I would recommend that the person get away as far and as fast as they can. Dragons cannot be trusted, no matter how friendly they sometimes seem.” He took my hand. “I want you to be safe.”

Another gardener passed, and Griffin released me once more. If only Pollox had captured Griffin so he and I could be alone together to talk.

“The pigeon should be delivering the message to your father about now,” Griffin breathed. “You’ll be back home before you know it.”

“That’s wonderful,” I said, unable to inject much enthusiasm into my voice. If I stayed, I would be rushed back to where I was a mere pawn to my father, back to being one of the royals that my subjects all hated. The prospect held no joy for me. Life with Pollox was so much simpler and enjoyable—swindle the rich who refused to help others and avoid having rotten tomatoes thrown at me. All I needed to do now was find a way to redistribute what I’d taken without being recognized.

“It’s getting late,” Griffin said, glancing up at the setting sun. “The dinner bell will ring soon and I’m expected in a council meeting. It’s about the dragon situation, so they may call you to give testimony and to debrief you.”

“Oh.”

“We’ll find a way to kill the dragon so it never troubles you again,” Griffin told me, smiling reassuringly. “And we can do so much good with the dragon parts. Did you know a dragon heart will make someone invincible? And a dragon’s blood, when applied to a wound?—”

I lost track of what he was saying as my loyalty to Pollox reared its head, but what was I to do? I couldn’t very well beg them to not go forward with the plan, but if Griffin was right and Pollox was dangerous and possessive, I had to do something. What if he had claimed a different girl who wasn’t able to handle a dragon the way I could? Should I talk to Pollox about it? I certainly didn’t want to think about him being killed and picked apart for anyone’s personal gain.

The evening meal flashed by. Just as Griffin had predicted, I was quickly whisked off to a debriefing meeting right after eating.

“My apologies if this seems calloused to ask so soon after you got here, Princess,” the captain of the guard said, “but we must know everything you can tell us about the dragon. Based on previous experience, I assume he’ll be back tomorrow to demand a ransom for Drake, and we need to be prepared. Anything you can tell us will help.”

My declaration that Pollox belonged to my hoard floated back to me, echoing in the back of my mind. A dragon protects their hoard. Pollox was part of my hoard.

“His cave is almost impossible to get to for humans,” I told them, “but he keeps his prisoners in the forest tower, where I was held hostage. The knight who came for me?—”

“Drake,” the captain supplied.

“Drake, then, will probably be held there. He was the only one able to find a successful escape. He smuggled rope under his armor and carried me down.”

“Good idea, Griffin,” the captain said, nodding at the squire to commend him. “Your plan worked. Well done.”

Griffin shrugged modestly and didn’t say anything, but I lost track of what I’d planned to say next. Griffin was the one who’d come up with that plan? Why hadn’t he told me when we were playing chess? And why hadn’t he been the one to come for me if it was his plan? Drake’s comment about sacrifice rang in my ears. He had been merely parroting Griffin’s words.

“So…what defenses does the dragon have?” the captain asked me. “Traps? Terrain advantages? Enchantments?”

“He’s a dragon. He doesn’t need any defenses besides his hide, and I was being held prisoner most of the time, so it wasn’t like I could scope out the landscape.”

“How often does he leave his lair? Is there a specific time of day or night, or is there a pattern?”

I chewed my tongue, hoping that I looked as though I was trying to remember, rather than thinking how to phrase things so it was believable without endangering Pollox.

“I never picked up on a pattern. There were times when he would stay close for days, then he would disappear for hours, but it could have been any time of the day or night.”

One of the knights let out an oath, and Griffin elbowed him in the ribs and hissed, “Language! There’s a lady here,” under his breath.

“Describe the interior of the tower where you were held. Was there an exit? Trapdoors? Any structural weaknesses?”

The questioning lasted for what felt like hours as they had me list out everything I could about the tower turret inside and out, then grilled me about Pollox’s habits, personality, mannerisms, weaknesses, and strengths, as well as any information passed to me by past rescuers, and about a hundred other things. By the end of the interrogation, my brain felt like a wrung sponge. Any information I could divulge to appear helpful I did so, all while withholding the crucial details and still gleaning tidbits about their plans to pass to Pollox once I went back to him.

It was well after nightfall by the time we finished, and even after I was dismissed, the others stayed later to attend to the mundane matters of duty rotations and annual training.

“I’ll walk you to your quarters,” Griffin offered without hesitation. Another squire chuckled softly and shot him a not-so-discreet wink that made heat rise to my cheeks.

“Come back quickly,” the captain ordered, waving his hand to allow Griffin to leave.

“Sorry about all that,” Griffin said as he walked me along the dark corridors. “I told them you wouldn’t want to be interrogated.”

“It was necessary,” I told him, distracted by how Griffin’s arm felt beneath my fingers. “The dragon has been a problem for a few years and needs to be dealt with.”

“I’m just glad it hasn’t killed more people than it already has,” he answered dejectedly.

Once again, my heart froze. “What deaths? I hadn’t heard of any.” If I had, I never would have sought out Pollox in the first place.

Griffin appeared surprised. “Not in Rookwyn, but the dragon killed several villagers in Brookshire last year, that town on the other side of Coronis’s border. Did they not send word?”

“If they did, Father and his advisors didn’t inform me.” How could I have missed such crucial information?

“That’s why we’re so concerned. I worried that the dragon might have…I worried that you might not survive. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“He never tried to hurt me,” I said, slightly defensively. “And I never saw him hurt anyone else, not seriously, anyway.”

He was quiet as we walked past a few guards, all stationed near windows and staring out at the starry sky. “Princess Rapunzel?” Griffin began cautiously.

“Just Rapunzel is fine.”

He hesitated. “Rapunzel, may I ask you a question?”

“If I can ask you one in return.”

The corner of his mouth tugged upward. “That’s fair. I wanted to ask once more if you are sure the dragon has never tried to stake a claim on you. Dragons don’t harm their hoard, and if he considers you part of that, he wouldn’t have tried to injure you, but…”

“He…he may have said something at one point. It’s hard to remember,” I answered evasively. “But I’m here now, so it doesn’t matter if he did try to claim me, right?”

Griffin’s jaw locked.

“Right?” I probed.

“I wish I could say that was true. I don’t mean to alarm you, but dragons never relinquish their holds on what they have claimed as their own. He will come for you, and he may try to kill anyone who attempts to stop him from taking you.”

My and Pollox’s scheme to swindle riches from royalty suddenly felt much more dangerous than I was prepared to handle. What had I gotten myself into?

We reached the door to my chamber, but I didn’t release Griffin’s arm.

“You said you had a question for me, too?” Griffin asked, placing his hand over mine where I held onto his arm.

I pulled my thoughts away from the mental image of Pollox incinerating villages. I didn’t even know if that had been him. It might have been some other dragon. It took me a moment to remember what I’d intended to ask Griffin. “During the debrief, they said that you were the one who came up with the plan to have the rope underneath the armor. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn’t you come for me if you were the one who came up with the plan?”

He ducked his head and shuffled his feet. “I’d rather not say. It’s embarrassing.”

Did he not care for me the way I thought he did? Wasn’t he motivated by the reward of marrying me? But of course…he wasn’t nobility. Father wouldn’t allow such a marriage.

“I answered your question,” I reminded him.

A faint blush colored his cheeks. “Well, to tell you the truth…I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to carry you down, and I didn’t want the mission to fail because I was too weak. I didn’t know if you would be able to climb down yourself, and I wanted to send the person most likely to succeed. Drake is the strongest climber I know. I want you to be safe, even if I couldn’t be the one to rescue you. I would have liked to be, but I wouldn’t have been able to carry you for that long”—he slapped himself on the forehead—“I’m not trying to say that you’re heavy! Just in case you wondered I thought you’re….uh, this isn’t coming out the way I meant…I’m just…” He gestured at his arms. He wasn’t nearly as muscular as Drake was, but he was a far cry from a scholar’s spindly physique.

I placed a hand on his chest. “I understand what you meant. I would have liked for it to be you, but Drake barely managed to get me down as it was. We ended up falling into a bush.”

Griffin let out a soft chuckle.

“Then I swallowed a bug on the way here.”

His gaze fell to rest on my mouth. “That couldn’t have tasted good.”

“I’ll admit it wasn’t my favorite meal.”

“And it wasn’t my favorite idea to let some other man rescue you, either, but I couldn’t think of any other way.”

The seconds stretched longer and longer, but neither of us made any attempt to break the silence or look away. Was he going to kiss me? How long had it been since I’d kissed anyone? Not since I drugged Harold with my wyrmsleep-laced lipstick, and that had been an extraordinarily unsatisfactory kiss. But a kiss with Griffin wouldn’t just be some ploy or prank. It would mean something. It would be real.

“Griffin!” someone called from down the hall. Instantly, Griffin and I sprang apart. Another squire jogged up. “The captain wants you back in the meeting. He said it’s urgent.”

“I’m coming,” Griffin told him before he turned and bowed to me. “Have a good night, Princess.”

“Good night.” I watched him walk back down the hallway, listening to his friend chattering away about what he had missed in the meeting, saying he should have stayed because now Griffin got the worst shifts that no one else had claimed.

I would miss him when I went back to Pollox.