Page 269 of The Queen’s Shadow

“Conrad!” She leapt to her feet, but stumbled, clearly still shaken and adjusting to her new found freedom. She rushed to me, dropping to my side, dark eyes filled with concern.

“Are you alright?” She asked and I coughed as I struggled to sit up.

“Yeah, mi ‘aight. You ‘aight?” I asked, reaching out to gently touch the side of her armor where I had cut her. She winced slightly and I frowned, not liking that she was injured, and liking even less that the cause of the injury had come from my hand.

“Yes,” she breathed, looking at me with something akin to awe on her face. “Better than I have been in a long time.” She glanced down at her hands, flexing them before her, as if marvelling at the fact that she was in control of her own body. “It’s… gone.” She looked up at me, her mouth parted slightly. “You freed me, Conrad Brown.”

I grinned at her and shrugged, brushing off her thanks.

“Conrad! What the hell is going on down there!” Jeremy called from where he was still trapped upstairs. Nytara flinched at his tone.

“I guess I better release him.” She said getting up, and pulling me with her. She jumped when I wrapped my hand around hers, looking at me in shock. She glanced down at our joined hands with wide eyes.

“Thank you.” She breathed, and I frowned, shrugging again.

“No need tuh thank mi, Nytara. Yuh deserve tuh be free. Mi would have freed yuh sooner, but ya nah let me, remember?” I chided her as we made our way up the stairs.

“I was trying to protect you.” She admitted, her voice quiet. “I was afraid of what she would do to you, if you freed me.”

I tutted my tongue and shook my head. “Shi gonna try and kill me anyway. Mi might as well do something tuh deserve it.” I winked at her and she smiled.

“Yuh look good when yuh smile gyaal.” I laughed, only to find she had immediately wiped the grin right off her face.

She huffed at me. “You shouldn’t tell females to smile, it’s rude.”

“Mi nah tell yuh tuh smile, mi just say yuh look good when ya do.”

“Conrad! Get me out of here!” Jeremy bellowed again and I chuckled, before jogging up the stairs to free the poor man.

Conrad

“Rhatid…” I let out a low whistle at the massive sea drake that crouched in the shallows of the beach before me. “Mi neva see one up close before.” I murmured.

Jeremy was clutching his gun so hard his knuckles were white and he looked pale. Sea drakes were not as big as dragons were said to be, but they weren’t exactly small either. The animal’s long, snake-like white body was equipped with two large, leathery blue and white wings that doubled as fins and sails. Its two hind legs were powerful and tipped with long curled black talons protruding from webbed toes.

“This is Tidewalker.” Nytara explained, looking up at the massive, dragon-like creature with something close to fondness. “He’s old and grumpy, but he will be your best bet at getting to The Court of Pride quickly.”

The painted drake that had perched on her shoulder when she had entered the cove chattered excitedly, and it seemed as if Nytara could understand what the creature was saying. She smiled at the small bird-like drake before turning to us.

“Sea drakes travel to Aurora’s cove in The Court of Pride annually, and my brother Niko once told me that Tidewalker took him on a migration. He learned that the sea drakes use natural portals to migrate. It allows them to magickally travel through courts without worrying about the wards that monarchs place around their borders.”

I eyed the very unimpressed sea drake that stood before us. Tidewalker did not look happy about the idea of an Obeah Man and a human riding him, and I wasn’t sure I was willing to try if it meant potentially being eaten.

“Tidewalker doesn’t look thrilled about this.” Jeremy pointed out, echoing my thoughts. Nytara walked right up to the beast and patted him on the toe. The drake looked at her with quite a bit more warmth that it had offered us.

“He wouldn’t have come if he wasn’t willing to help.” Nytara said. “He will bring the rest of his pod, and you must return with as many soldiers as you can manage on such short notice. The colosseum will be filled with members of Gluttony’s army, not to mention the magick folk that Kieran and Trenton have recruited. Even if I am able to get back in there, once I am in, I will not be able to do much on my own.”

We had agreed that while we were gone, Nytara would try to get back into the colosseum undetected, so she could open the underground gates to the sea caves from the inside upon our return. I didn’t like the idea of Nytara going in alone. An irrational swell of panic welled within me at the idea of her being injured.

“Come back with us.” I said. “We come back and invade di colosseum togetha.”

Nytara shook her head. “If I can find a way in now, before the event happens, it will be much easier for me to ensure you and your reinforcements have a way through the sea caves. Besides, if I can find where she is keeping Raven and free her now, we may be able to avoid a full out battle all together.”

I grit my teeth. I didn’t like it, but it did seem like our best bet.

“You must hurry,” Nytara said, looking up to check the sun’s position in the sky. “You’re cutting it close as it is.”

Tidewalker lowered himself to the ground, and my stomach flipped at the thought of getting on the great beast’s back. But Nytara had said it was safe, and I couldn’t explain it, but I trusted her. I looked down at Bond Breaker, realizing that if she found Raven before we returned and Ash Nevra had managed to enslave her, she would need a way to not just free her from her cell, but also the slavery bond.