Page 10 of Shadows of Light
Cole tucked it under his arm. He still had work to do.
CHAPTERNINE
“She’s down there,”Alina stated.
Lexi gazed down at the river a thousand feet below. She looked back to the swiftly running water from the bridge she stood on with Alina, Orin, her dad, and Brokk. Then, over her shoulder where two other dragons stood at the end of the bridge.
Each of them flanked where Gibborim stood, waiting for them just off the end of the bridge. More dragons circled overhead, but she had no idea how to react to this revelation or what it meant.
Is the queen beneath the river?
“What do you mean she’s ‘down there’?” Orin inquired of Alina. “Do you mean she’sbelowthe water?”
“I do.”
“Shit,” her dad muttered. “How is that possible?”
“The river runs deep.”
Lexi lifted an eyebrow at this obvious statement. If it was hiding a giant, then it definitely ran deep, but Alina thought they should all understand how the Lord could bury a giantinariverin the first place.
“How was she restrained?” Lexi asked. “How did he manage to get her under the water?”
“He poisoned her husband’s drink and food and cut off his head. He drugged her drink and food with a potion that put her to sleep. The Lord’s men encased her in chains afterward, and the Lord ordered the dragons to place her in the water. It was not a command we enjoyed.”
Lexi rested her hand on Alina’s neck and rubbed her scales as she remained focused on the water. “I’m sorry for that.”
“We will not be ordered to do such heinous things again… I hope.”
“You won’t,” Lexi vowed.
“What if the current has already carried her away?” Brokk asked. “It’s pretty rough down there.”
“The Lord’s men weighed her down before placing her there,” Alina answered. “As far as I know, she remains. The Lord enjoyed the reminder he got of her presence below whenever he crossed this bridge.”
“How do you know that?” Orin asked.
“He said so.”
Lexi shuddered. “He was a monster.”
“Yes,” Alina agreed.
“How do we get down there?”
“What is it?” Gibborim called to them. “Why are we stopped here?”
“She’s in the water,” Lexi shouted back.
Gibborim swore vehemently, and Lexi cringed a little. She would prefer not to go to war with the giants again, but would they blame her and the dragons if they couldn’t rescue their queen? And if they saved their queen, would shestillblame them? The dragons did aid in her imprisonment; she could be determined to exact revenge on them.
It was a catch-22 either way, but Lexi couldn’t leave anyone to suffer such a hideous fate, even if she might have to kill that someone in the future. No matter how much she understood why the giants sided with the Lord, she would destroy them to keep control of Dragonia and safeguard the tentative peace they’d established.
“There’s a pathway under the bridge, but the giant won’t be able to traverse it. He’ll have to follow the walkway down the mountain to the valley below. Then he’ll walk beside the river until it becomes too narrow. From there, he’ll have to traverse through the waters.”
“Sounds simple enough,” Brokk replied.
Apparently, Alina didn’t get sarcasm as she replied, “Yes.”
