Page 17 of Dragon Mine (Dragon Kings 2)
“Like?” Rhi pressed.
“The man who raised me said that we created the barrier that kept the dragons out. Yet, when I asked when that’d happened and who had done it—since none of us have magic—he couldn’t answer.”
Varek nodded. “Then she was told I wouldna be executed as she had thought. They wanted to use me. Planned to marry me off so they could get more land.”
“You must be joking,” Con said in disbelief. “They actually believed that would get more land?”
Varek snorted. “Just like with Earth, the humans will do anything for more land.”
“The thing is, they don’t need it,” Jeyra told them. “There’s plenty. As long as the rich stop hoarding it.”
Vaughn could only shake his head.
“Eventually, Jeyra and I came up with a plan for my escape. It was tricky, and we nearly didna make it. The only reason we did was thanks to one of the councilwomen. It wasna until we exited the gates of the city that I heard the screams.”
Vaughn watched as Varek closed his eyes, as if the mere memory had brought him pain. “What screams?” he pressed.
“Dragons.” Varek opened his eyes and looked between Vaughn and Con. “There were dragons in the city, and they were being tortured.”
Con jumped to his feet, fury emanating from him. “Still?”
“We released them,” Jeyra told him.
“With Erith’s and Cael’s help,” Varek added.
Rhi reached up and tugged on Con’s hand to get him to sit back down. Then Rhi said, “It seems Erith leaves out quite a lot about what she does for dragons.”
“I told her to let you know everything,” Varek said.
Con rolled his eyes. “This is Erith we’re talking about.”
“Get back to the dragons,” Vaughn said.
Varek issued a single nod. “Right. As we were setting up a plan to rescue them, Jeyra’s people started chasing both Jeyra and I. We crossed onto dragon land, and I thought they might want to help me free the dragons.”
“They didn’t?” Rhi asked with a concerned frown.
Jeyra shook her head sadly. “It was left up to Varek, Erith, Cael, and me.”
“The three of them got into the city. I couldna use my magic within its borders, but Erith—as a goddess—and Cael—as a god—had no problems.”
Jeyra set her mug on the ground. “Turned out it was the lead councilman was torturing the dragons and using their magic so no one could use magic within the city. The dragon that killed my family had escaped somehow. That’s when I learned that my family had been hunting and capturing dragons. That’s why it’d killed my family and not me. I was raised to fear and hate dragons and any being with magic. But…when I saw the state of the red and pink dragons—”
“Pink?” Vaughn and Con said in unison.
Varek’s smile was wide. “Aye. They’re no’ extinct like we thought. We rescued one.”
“Just one?” Con asked. “Are there more?”
Varek’s smile lost some of its luster. “I’ve no’ seen more. I hoped to, or at least to learn how there was another Pink.”
“That’s amazing news,” Vaughn said.
Varek made a face. “It was. Is. I’ll admit that. But knowing what had been done to those dragons for decades left a sour taste in my mouth. I doona want to think about how many dragons the humans have killed.”
“What about the head councilman?” Rhi asked, fire in her eyes.
Jeyra grinned. “You don’t need to worry about him. Erith killed him.”
“While Jeyra rescued the Pink,” Varek said.
“I knew I liked you,” Rhi told Jeyra.
“Erith and Cael teleported the dragons here because they were weak,” Varek continued. “That’s when I met Brandr. He wasna exactly welcoming, but he didna force me to leave. He thanked us for rescuing the dragons.”
Con scratched his eyebrow. “What of your people, Jeyra? How did they come to be here?”
“That’s something I was hoping one of you could help decipher,” she answered.
Varek exchanged a look with Jeyra. “Every human here was brought as an infant. No one knows who brings them or why.”
“Did you ask Erith?” Rhi questioned.
Jeyra nodded. “We did. She didn’t have an answer.”
“How is the population?” Con asked.
Varek linked his hand with Jeyra’s. “No one can bear children here. We know that isna affecting the dragons. It could be because of the barrier the twins erected to keep the humans on their land, or it could have something to do with how and why they’re brought here.”
Con was silent for several moments. Then he said, “I know you wanted some time alone, but I’d like for you to return to Earth. Varek, let Sophie check Jeyra out to see if something in her blood can explain what’s going on.”
“I get to see Dreagan?” Jeyra asked happily.
