Page 100 of The Broken Prince

Her eyes watered before she gave a nod.

I moved to Aurelias next.

He was the only one who possessed no emotion. With a steely gaze, he met my look, tall and proud, young in appearance but wise in the eyes. He extended his hand to take mine. “Godspeed, King Rolfe.”

I took his hand. “Huntley.”

His hand stilled in mine before he pulled away. Then he gave a slight nod, his eyes harder than they were a moment before.

I turned to Nightshade, choosing to take him and leave Pyre and Storm behind for Ivory and Harlow. “Let’s get Ian back, Nightshade.” I climbed up his side and entered the saddle, and I strapped my legs into place.

Nightshade released a mighty roar, the kind that shook the earth and rattled the mountains. Then he pushed off the ground and launched into the air, the riders below following suit to join me on our journey across the sky.

TWENTY-FIVE

IAN

I’d never run this fast, this long in my life.

The pipe bent in around us, the metal denting loudly, just feet behind. If I slowed down at all, I would be crushed by the metal.

The woman ahead kept up her pace. “Almost there!”

“Thank the fucking gods…”

Then by a miracle, the pipe went still, the outside forces no longer present.

But we continued to run like our lives depended on it.

She reached a hatch, a large circular door with a wheel in the center. She turned it quickly, going as fast as she could, but it still took several seconds to unlock. I came to her side and helped, spinning the wheel as we both gasped for breath, still afraid that the earthquake would return.

We finally got it unlocked, and she pulled the heavy door open.

I jumped in, stepping into an underground cave with lights strapped to the ceiling by wires fused with hide. I took a few steps forward before I bent at the waist, breathing hard as my hands pressed against the top of my thighs.

The woman shut the door behind her then came to my side. “You alright?”

I nodded, still out of breath. “You?”

“I’m fine.”

I righted myself to my full height. “Alright…so who the fuck are you?”

She released a laugh through her deep breaths. “I was about to ask you the same.”

Others entered the small cave, jogging through the open door and joining us. It was two men and another woman, and they all looked at me like I was a goat with three heads. They looked at my armor, looked at my weapons, studied my expression like they didn’t know what to make of me.

“I’m Ian.” They were all tanned, like they spent all their time outdoors, which seemed strange since they were hiding underground. Other than that, they looked as human as I did. “I’m from the west, over the mountains—”

“You have dragons.” One of the men stepped forward, and I assumed he was the leader. He didn’t wear armor, and neither did the others. Their clothing was simple and unremarkable, like they didn’t have the resources to make elaborate clothing.

“Yes.”

“Many dragons.” His eyes were wide with fascination. “We saw you from the skies.”

I guess we weren’t as hidden as I thought.

“We rescued you,” the man said. “Now you owe us.”