Page 33 of Dragon Revealed (Dragon Kings 1)
“Yes.”
“Then when is the best time to make a break?”
“The sooner, the better.”
Varek lifted the bag. “Then I should change.”
Jeyra wanted to watch him, but she averted her eyes. “You can’t use magic to break open the door. That’s our hardest metal.”
“I thought it rather nice they left the manacles behind. Maybe it was to remind me that I was at someone’s mercy, though it doesna matter, really.”
Her gaze moved to the shackles. “What about them?”
“They shouldna have left them.”
Jeyra took a closer look. That’s when she noticed a link missing from the chain. Her eyes lifted to Varek in time to see him fastening his pants. “How did you get the link off?”
“It wasna easy.”
The chains were supposed to suppress his magic and make it impossible for him to use his strength. She had since learned that was a lie. Something else was being used to hinder his magic. Regardless, he shouldn’t have been able to take off a link seeing as it required more strength than someone could muster without the use of tools.
Jeyra inwardly shook her head. Why did it matter? He had gotten it off, and he planned to use it somehow to open the door. That’s all that mattered at this point.
“How do I look?” Varek asked from his position on the stool.
She looked him over, admitting that he would fit in well with her people. Except for the tattoo that stood out. “Very good.”
He grinned, but it didn’t last. “The armbands… Will my no’ having any make me stand out?”
“I’m more worried about the dragon on your arm.”
“Your bag will work great,” he said as he lifted it with his left arm and swung the bag over his shoulder. If he held it just right, it covered a lot of the tattoo. “Ready?”
Her eyes widened. “Now? You want to do this now?”
“You did say the sooner, the better.”
So she had. But she hadn’t expected it to be in the next few moments. Though, she wasn’t sure why it mattered. She wanted to leave, and she wanted to do it today.
Varek’s gaze caught hers as he watched her intently. “Lass, if you’d rather no’ come with me, I understand. This is your home, all you’ve known.”
“And it’s been a lie.”
“You doona know that.”
“Oh, I do,” she said with a nod. “I don’t belong here. But I’m not sure where I do belong.”
He grasped her hands through the bars and smiled. “You belong wherever you want to be.”
“You make it sound easy.”
“It’ll be as easy as you want it to be. But first, we need to get out. If you still want to come but are having second thoughts about helping me escape, then leave the city now. I’ll meet up with you later.”
She shook her head before he finished speaking. “We do this together.”
“And those following you?”
Jeyra squared her shoulders. “I’ll have to make sure they don’t.”
“We’ll make sure they doona,” he corrected.
She blew out a breath. “All right.”
Varek shot her a wink before he dropped the bag and moved to his knees. He pulled something out of the pocket of his old pants. It looked like one of the links had been broken in two. He reached around the door and inserted the pieces into the lock and began to jiggle them around. Jeyra helped him since he couldn’t see what he was doing. Together, they unlocked the door.
She barely got out of the way of the door swinging open. In a blink, Varek stood before her with the bag in one hand. He helped her to her feet. He was so tall she had to crane her neck to see him. Desire smoldered in his eyes before he pulled her against him and claimed her mouth in a long, simmering kiss.
Her hands flattened on his chest, his hard muscles warm beneath her hands. She smoothed her palms to his shoulders then looped her arms around his neck as she sank into the kiss. But just as suddenly as he had started it, Varek ended the embrace.
“I’ll give you a proper kiss once we’re safe,” he told her.
She blinked, wondering what proper meant since she was still reeling from the most recent one. He took her hand and pulled her after him to the entrance. As they reached it, he paused and looked first one way and then the other.
“Where does this lead?” he asked about the tunnel that continued deeper into the earth.
Jeyra glanced down the darkened hall, barely suppressing a shudder. “I didn’t even realize there was another tunnel. I’ve never been this deep in the dungeons before. I didn’t know there was anything deeper.”
“Go shut my cell door,” he whispered, his gaze still down the corridor.
She hurried to do as he asked. When she returned to him, he seemed more perplexed than before. “What is it?”
“I’m no’ sure.”
“We don’t have time for this. We need to leave before someone comes.”
He nodded but still didn’t move.
“Varek,” she urged.
He swung his head to her. “My gut is telling me we should check it out.”
“That’s insane. There’s nothing down there.”
“You said yourself you’ve never been this deep. You’ve no idea what’s down there.”
She shrugged, not liking that he was right. “If we go down there, we could end up trapped. We’ll never get out if that happens.”
“I’m getting out one way or another, and I willna let anything happen to you.”
“You can’t promise that,” she snapped.
He jerked his head toward the main entrance of the dungeon. “Go. I’ll meet you once I get out.”
Jeyra sighed, shaking her head. She wasn’t sure why she was agreeing…actually, that wasn’t true. She was doing it because she felt safer with Varek than anywhere else in the city. “If you’re sure.”
