Page 77 of Dragon Eternal (Dragon Kings 4)
“Something has changed. And I think it shifted everything.”
Nia rubbed her temple as she began pacing. “Part of me wants to just get this over with. I can’t handle the waiting.”
“Then let’s go.”
She jerked to a stop and looked at him. “I was joking.”
“I wasna. If we go, we get to set the tone. I’ve no doubt they’ve begun planning, but we’ll put them on the defensive. I’ve been thinking it all day, but I wasna sure you were ready.”
She wasn’t. Not by a long shot, but what Shaw said made sense. If going now gave them a slight advantage, why not take it? “Okay.”
“Really?” Shaw asked, his brows raised in question.
Nia nodded.
“Do you need to send a message to the citadel?”
Her mind raced as she shrugged. “Probably, but wouldn’t that let them know what we have planned?”
“Yes,” he said with a grin.
She had no idea what was going on in his head, but she didn’t question it. Instead, she went to the door and called for Sadie. When the servant arrived, she gave her the message. Sadie hurried away to have it delivered to the citadel.
Nia closed the door and faced Shaw. “Now what?”
“We get ready while you continue practicing what I showed you earlier.”
Did he really expect her to remember those self-defense moves, as he called them? Now? Nia could barely recall how to walk. This would test everything she had ever learned. She had never doubted herself before, but she had never had so much to lose, either.
At least, she wasn’t going alone.
Her eyes moved to Shaw. The past few days had been a lovely dream, but she was waking from it and being thrown into a nightmare. Whether she came out of it alive or not was yet to be seen. She didn’t like her chances, but she had one with Shaw.
Her legs were wobbly as she walked to her wardrobe. The last time she had been this terrified was when she’d stolen the bread for herself and her siblings. That day had ended in her slavery. One way or another, this one would end in her freedom.
Whether by death or not was up to Fate.
