Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Lord Azar has a plan for us. He just won’t tell us what it is.
It has something to do with dragons, though. That much is obvious. I’m afraid to find out the truth of things.
What if we really are bait? What if those dragons that sit up on the walls got there because there’s a bunch of girls that they used as bait? I don’t know how that would possibly work, but I’m terrified of what it might mean.
I can’t go out tomorrow. I just can’t.
I’m determined to cry-off because of my period, but when I go to turn in my panties in the morning, Daniels isn’t interested in them. “You keep them on, remember,” he tells us. “Everyone’s going out in the same clothes, just like Azar said.”
“I got my period,” I say, moving to the front of the line. “I can’t go out.”
“You can and you will.” He checks his clipboard. “And you’re going back out with Brady. South quadrant.”
Brady slaps a big hand on my shoulder, making me jump. “Shall we head out, then? Partner?” The way he says the word makes a chill go down my spine.
He knows.
He knows my secret. He knows I don’t have my period, and that I somehow ran into that dragon. Fuck.
I keep my expression carefully blank as we head out to the bikes. My stomach is growling something awful, and I’m so hungry that I’m dizzy, but I ignore it. There’s nothing to do about it. I know I can’t stay in, and I know that if Brady has food, he’s not going to share it. Being hungry is just something I’ll have to ignore until food’s handed out again. I grab my assigned bicycle and start pedaling, and Brady rides up to my side and we head out.
To Brady’s credit, he’s just as silent as I am as we head out of the city. I’m half-terrified he’s going to pop off in hearing of someone else, but he doesn’t. He probably doesn’t want anyone to know that the reason he was unaware of my meeting a dragon was because he wasn’t watching me properly. He’s saving his hide, too.
I’m acutely aware of Brady’s presence at my side as we bike out. I keep waiting for him to bring it up, but he doesn’t. He’s utterly silent, and I know from experience that a quiet Brady is not a good thing. It puts me on edge. I keep waiting for the moment he’s going to explode. I know he will; it’s just a matter of when.
I don’t feel well, either. I haven’t eaten since noon yesterday, and I’m acutely aware of it. I haven’t been starving in a while, so I feel the lack of the meal acutely. I’m trembling and weak, and if I move too quickly, my head gets dizzy. I need to eat something, but I can only hope they’ll feed us when I get back.
It’s going to be a hell of a long day.
On top of all that, I’m also aware that the dragon might still be lurking around the movie theater. It seems crazy stupid to head in that direction, to just ride out there and hope for the best…but what choice do I have? No matter what I say or do, I’m completely fucked. I know I should just turn around and point out that it was me that the dragon came after, that I stumbled upon him and woke him up.
But something tells me that’s not a safe option. Confessing that feels like sealing my fate, in just a completely different way. I don’t like how Lord Azar reacted. I don’t like any of this…but I knew there’d be some sort of payment for free food, didn’t I? I just closed my eyes to all the potentially bad things that could happen. Of course Azar wants something from us. No one does anything out of the goodness of their hearts.
But…dragon bait?
The more I roll the idea over in my head, the more it sounds likely…and the more it terrifies me. There’s rumors—always rumors—that women that disappear are fed to dragons. Rumors of human sacrifices to the dragons in exchange for the fort’s safety. Of dark magic of some kind, because Azar looks creepy and isn’t a very cuddly-seeming leader. Then again, neither was the mayor before him. No one can be trusted in the After anyhow. No one—
A hand grabs my braid and nearly yanks me off of my bike. I careen to the side, letting out a cry of pain, and I crash into the nearest parked car. I slam against the dusty hood, knocking the breath out of me, and when I straighten, wheezing, my bicycle is at my feet. Brady flings his bike away and stalks toward me, his temper finally bubbling over.