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“Triss?” Arabella asked. “I thought you said your sister was named Aurora.”
“Not her.” Ember pouted. “Our dragon.”
“You have a dragon with you?” The roars she heard earlier sounded too weak to be a monster that big. The dragon could help them escape, if it didn’t eat Arabella first. Then again, she’d prefer death by dragon to living out eternity in a demon shell.
No! Empusa cried. I won’t let you.
Ember batted her lashes, her mouth set in a serious line. “Believe in yourself,” she said, sounding far too mature for a child so small. “Think of something happy. That will strengthen your magic.”
Arabella closed her eyes and recalled Helian’s smiling face the day he’d saved her from the frog that had crawled between her skirts. It was her favorite memory of Helian, the moment she realized she wanted to be his bride. She recalled the feel of his warm, calloused hand encompassing hers. His touch had electrified her in a way her uncle’s never had, as did his soothing voice and kind smile as he placed the frog outside. She’d never known a Fae to be so handsome, brave, and kind all at once. The thought of her hand in his warmed her veins and expanded her chest with a surge of power that she hadn’t felt since her wedding day when she’d almost defeated Tarianya Avias.
She slowly straightened, tugging against her chains as that power rose up in her throat and thickened her voice. “Empusa!” she bellowed. “Release me from these chains!”
A witch’s cackling cry, and then strength surged through her as she ripped her chains from the walls. Heaving a groan, she dug into her cuffs and felt like a giant crumbling clay as she ripped them from her wrists and ankles.
The hooded mage chained up beside her mumbled a cry and rattled his chains, but no way was she freeing him. Not only would he slow them down, but he got what he deserved for serving that evil demon.
She crossed over to Aurora lying in the hay, blinking up at her with wide, frightened eyes. The collar was wrapped so tightly around the child’s throat, Arabella wondered how she could breathe. Careful not to snap Aurora’s neck, Arabella unsheathed a claw from one of her bloated fingers and sliced open the leather band.
The child gasped and scrambled away, tumbling into her twin’s arms.
Arabella’s feet felt as heavy as blocks of concrete as she stomped up to the children. “Okay, now teleport us out of here.”
Ember shook her head. “We have to save Triss before the bad demon eats her!” She jutted a finger toward the iron bars of their cell. “Use Empusa. Please!”
Arabella didn’t see the need to free the dragon when she had a child with teleporting powers, but then the dragon wailed again, and a crack formed in the iron casing around Arabella’s heart.
The child clasped her hands in a prayer pose. “Please, please save Triss!”
Arabella blew out a deep breath, knowing she’d regret this decision later, and then she grasped the bars of their cell, stretching them open until she and the girls could easily fit through.
The girls cast pitying looks at the moaning mage chained to the wall behind them.
“Don’t pity him.” Arabella urged them forward. “He’s a cruel demon, too.” Arabella failed to mention that she had been a cruel bitch up until a few moments ago.
The girls stoically nodded.
Ember surged ahead while holding onto Aurora’s hand. “This way!”
Aurora stumbled after her sister, and Arabella worried the child was ill after wearing that suffocating collar.
“How do you know where to go?” Arabella whispered at their backs.
“My friends are leading me,” Ember whispered back over her shoulder.
Friends? Arabella wasn’t sure if she wanted to know who these friends were, though she suspected the child must be a spirit talker.
Dread pumped through Arabella’s veins as they crept down one dark, barren tunnel and into another. Triss was hunched over in a cramped cell, her snout and legs bound in chains, while guarded by two demon fire mages. There were a bunch of long, sharp cutting tools on a nearby table along with several spears and the biggest cauldron Arabella had ever seen. Obviously, they were preparing to butcher and stew the dragon. She was a baby, as far as Arabella could tell, and not much bigger than a horse. Arabella had the feeling there was an angry dragon mama out there somewhere ready to tear down the cavern walls to get to her baby, and she certainly didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.
The mages gave a start when they saw them, fire sprouting from their palms. Arabella hit the mages with a blast, and they flew against the bars of the dragon’s cage, their heads making audible cracks before they slumped to the ground. Triss jerked back with a whimper, then let out a muffled howl when she saw the twins.
The twins fell against the bars of the dragon’s cage, rubbing her horned snout while whispering soothing words into her ear.
Ember turned a pleading gaze on Arabella. “Triss is scared. Please help her.”
Arabella used Empusa to stretch open the bars and climbed inside. She frowned at the chains binding the dragon’s snout and paws. Though her bloated fingers were stronger than before, digging into the bindings was agony, and she feared her fingers would pop. Biting on her lip, she grunted and cursed while breaking open chains that were at least ten times thicker than the last ones. Sweat pooled on her brow and dripped down her crepey skin as she groaned and heaved while stretching the chains wider. Finally, the snout and one paw were free, but she still had three more to go. She put all her energy into breaking open the remaining bindings and was almost finished stretching the last one when an angry cackle sounded outside the cell.
Arabella spun around, but not fast enough. She saw black raven wings and red, glowing eyes before she was hit with a blast of heat that fried her skin. She cried out in agony before throwing out her arms, encapsulating them in a curse chamber. She fell to her knees, struggling for breath as her arms and flesh felt like they were being boiled alive. Her only consolation was the children had hidden behind their dragon’s wing and appeared unharmed.
