Page 21 of Dragon Unbound (Dragon Kings 3)
Cullen imagined that to be about a quarter of a mile. Not a great distance, but not close, either. “I gather the city is gated?”
“Oh, yes. The wall surrounding the city is very thick,” she said and started walking again.
He glanced inside other rooms as they passed, discovering they were as empty as the one she had shown him. “How many levels?”
“Eight. They hold the children in the temple on the far-left side of the fourth level. It’s where the priests prepare themselves for the executions.”
Cullen curled his lip in agitation. “Priests? What kind of priests?”
“The kind you want to stay away from.”
“They murder children. How scary can they be?”
Tamlyn halted and turned to him. “Do you have priests?”
“The humans on my realm follow many religions. Too many to go through and explain. We do have priests, but they can go by many names depending on the culture and denomination.”
“Do your priests go into battle?”
Cullen quirked a brow thinking of the Templars. “Battle? There was once such a sect, but no’ anymore.”
“Ours do. They are soldiers before they are chosen by the Divine, the ruler of Stonemore, to be a priest. They give up any family they have and devote the rest of their lives to the defense and order of Stonemore. Once chosen, they either accept their new position, or they’re killed.”
“They doona have a choice in the matter?”
Tamlyn shook her head, her curls moving with her.
“And how does the Divine choose?”
“No one knows. He’s had an iron rule over Stonemore for decades.”
Cullen would like to have a few words with the priests and ruler, but if he were to keep his promise of not starting a war, he would have to steer clear of them. That might prove harder than expected, especially the more he learned about Stonemore.
Tamlyn glanced at him. “I have a favor.”
“What is it?”
“I’d like to tell Jenefer and Sian about you being here and why before they see you.”
He chuckled. “In other words, you want me to stay out of the way.”
“To be blunt, yes.”
“Consider it done. Should I remain on this side?”
“That would be perfect.”
After she gave him specifics about the places to stay away from, Cullen watched her walk away. His gaze lingered on the sway of her hips. She had an allure that he found both tempting and terrifying. Others at Dreagan had yearned to find mates. Not him. He had been content just as he was. Not that he didn’t have an entanglement every now and again. A man had needs, after all. But more than that? Never. He didn’t allow himself to ever get close enough to a female.
He pivoted and turned his gaze—and his mind—from Tamlyn. While he walked through the corridors, he inspected every room. Some were small, some large, and some in between. Some had stone benches along the outer edges, but most were as barren as the one Tamlyn had shown him.
As he came to a junction in the hallway, he decided to go left. It would keep him further from Tamlyn and the others. His thoughts moved from the unknown evil attacking the dragons and the reason he and the other Dragon Kings were on Zora, to the plight of the children with magic, to the ruins he found himself in. The more he learned about Zora, the more he fell in love with the realm.
Light caught his attention. He halted and turned his head to the left. His lips parted in awe as he walked through a tall archway and into a vast courtyard with smooth walls. In the middle stood four towers about fifteen feet high with a center tower that soared over them.
Cullen craned his head back to follow the center tower. Light from above shone down on the courtyard, the luminescent stones beneath his feet bouncing the light back up. Curious, Cullen walked to the center tower. The flawless cut of the stones, the way they had been meticulously laid with such skill and reverence, was difficult to miss or deny.
The carvings on the outside of the towers were stunning—human figures framed with decorative archways, phases of the moon, and various animals. Inside the tower was nothing but a staircase. Cullen followed it up to the top to seek out the source of the light. When he reached the summit, he was shocked to discover the same stones cut into smaller octagonal shapes, surrounding a single three-foot crystal pillar. The crystal reflected off the stones, flooding everything with light. It was ingenious.
Cullen returned to the courtyard, but he wasn’t ready to leave. He walked around until he spotted a couple of circles cut out of the stone walls, big enough for him to stand in. He sat in the depression of one sphere and laced his fingers behind his head while stretching his legs out to rest on the upward curve. He barely paid attention to the hallway the opening showed him. Instead, he kept his focus on the towers and light. The longer he was there, the more he could imagine he was outside, the light was so bright.
He had no idea how long he lay there, lost in thought before he heard footsteps approaching. Then Tamlyn stood before him.
“There you are. I’ve been searching for you.”
He eyed her. “Do you know what makes the light at the top?”
“A crystal. It’s been here since we arrived.”
“Aye,” he replied with a smile. “Did you talk to your friends?”
She couldn’t hold his gaze. “Sian was with the kids, and I couldn’t find Jenefer.”
“I told you I wouldna leave this area.”
“I know. It’s just...well, I want to know why we’re separate from the dragons.”
Cullen had promised her. It didn’t matter how long ago it was or that the dragons had been found safe. It still hurt to speak about it. He lowered his arms, swung his legs to the side, and pushed himself to his feet.
“It isna a good tale.”
