Chapter34: The Prisoner

Kael Raw gems make the obsidian walls glitter all around the meek, pale, mentally exhausted young woman loosely chained to a bed in the normally empty infirmary. A dragon shifter–a female–in a tidy black uniform and creamy white cloak moves around her, swiping another layer of thick, scentless salve made of crushed diamonds on Annabel’s arms and legs, healing the injuries she sustained in battle against the vines. I hadn’t noticed her injuries before. Not her hands, which were so raw they’re now bright red as fresh, new skin develops. Not the lacerations and blisters along her calves that are healing in real time. She’d fought, but for what? Her own life? The life of her princess, which she hasn’t said a word about in the hour she’s spent in Ryker’s company? That’s what he just told me in the hallway, his normally stern, unfazed disposition wore thin, like he’d just been through battle. I pull up a chair beside the bed and stare at the girl who refuses to meet my eyes. Ryker leans in t