Page 48 of Dragon Eternal (Dragon Kings 4)
“When they first took me as a slave, I worked in the citadel. I was a small child and was given the dirtiest jobs. It was the first time I had three meals a day, though. I was thankful for that.”
“Did you no’ have parents?”
She shrugged, her mind drifting back. She tried not to think about those days much. She was so far removed from it now, it seemed as if it had happened to another person. “I never knew my father. Mum did what she could to feed my siblings and me. I was the oldest.”
“She must have leaned on you a lot.”
Nia swallowed and smiled as she remembered how her mother had praised her for taking care of her brother and sister. “She did. I was happy to help. It gave me something to do.”
“You were a child. You should’ve been playing. Having fun.”
Her gaze slid to him. “Do you see many children playing in Stonemore? The ones on the lower levels are barely surviving. They steal because they have no other choice. Otherwise, they starve.”
“Did you starve?”
She looked away at the compassion in his eyes and his soft voice. Damn him for showing her kindness. “We weren’t any different than anyone else.”
“I didna ask about everyone else. I asked about you.”
Nia closed her eyes. The sound of Chanler’s shrill cries filled her head. She hadn’t understood then that it was hunger that made her brother scream. Myria had shed silent tears, and those had been even harder to bear. “Sometimes, Mum came home with food. I never saw her eat. She gave it to me and my younger sister. Chanler was still nursing, but it wasn’t long after that Mum’s milk dried up. That night, she cried and cried. Even at my young age, I knew things weren’t just bad, they were the worst. To make matters worse, it was winter.”
She blinked open her eyes. Tears clouded her vision and spilled onto her cheeks. “She would go out and leave me in charge of my siblings, but she always returned. Then, one day, she didn’t. We waited anxiously. Two days passed, and I knew I had to do something. I was so hungry. I got us water, but Chanler didn’t want it. He kept shoving it away. Myria wouldn’t get out of bed. She kept telling me how hungry she was. I got so angry with her. I was just as hungry, but they looked to me to solve things.” Nia turned her head to him. “Mum told me to never leave our rooms. By the third day, I had no choice. Our water was gone, and we had to get something in our stomachs.
“I debated for hours what to do. I kept hoping and praying that Mum would return. Finally, Chanler stopped crying. I thought he was asleep. Myria was curled beside him, so I knew they would keep each other warm. I took the opportunity to sneak out. I remember how cold the stones were on my bare feet. The smell of food hit me. I wanted all of it, but I settled for the bread vendor. He was the closest to our home. I was so terrified, but I promised Mum that I would keep my siblings safe.
“Miraculously, I was able to steal a loaf of bread without being seen. I was on my way back to my siblings when some soldiers grabbed and hauled me up. Stonemore’s leader was there, though I never saw a face or heard a voice. The Divine had seen me and wanted me as a slave, so the soldiers took me. When I said something about my brother and sister, they went up to our rooms and brought them out. The sight of their lifeless bodies sucked all the fight out of me.” Nia tried to recall her brother’s and sister’s faces, but they had long since faded. “They brought me to the citadel, cleaned me from head to toe, gave me warm clothes and the first meal I’d had in days. It didn’t matter that I was a slave, not when I knew I would have food.”
Shaw caught her gaze. “And your mum?”
“I never saw her again. I don’t know if she returned to find us gone or not.”
“You never went looking for her?”
Nia lifted her chin. “I used to walk past our old place, but I’ve never gone inside. Sometimes, it’s better to leave the past where it is and move on.”
“Aye, lass. That is certainly true.”
She couldn’t handle his sympathy right now. Not when reliving the second-worst day of her life. The worst had happened years later. “That’s how I became a slave. Some might think it a horrible fate, but I’m alive. Not many who came from my poor beginnings can say that.”
“You’re a fighter.”
She had been called many things, but never that. “I’ve done what I have to do to survive.”
“Like I said, a fighter. You take whatever life gives you and you use it to claw your way out of whatever situation you find yourself in and want out of.”
The smile that accompanied his words made her reevaluate his statement. Was that how he saw her? She had never thought of herself as such, but perhaps she should give it a try.
“Every decision you made, every action you took led you right here,” Shaw said. “Never be embarrassed or ashamed about anything. Look at where you started. Then look where you are now. That’s bloody impressive.”
“Even though I use my body?”
He shrugged. “You chose a way to take another step to freedom. What’s wrong with that?”
“I didn’t choose it.”
She noted that he was careful to keep his expression neutral, but she had begun to learn to read Shaw. She saw the slight tightening of his lips, and the way he stilled. She wasn’t sure why she had made that statement. Maybe because she didn’t want him to think less of her.
“You were forced?” he asked carefully.
Nia almost laughed at how he was handling her like some broken thing. But that was because she was broken. And right now, it felt as if the only thing holding her together was sheer will. No one knew her story. No one had asked. And even if they had, she never would’ve told them.
So, why Shaw?
It had to be his magic breaking down the barriers she always kept to ensure she never got close to anyone. Never trusted. Because to trust anyone in the citadel was tantamount to signing your own death warrant.
Yet, she wanted to tell Shaw. The old hurts that she’d believed were tucked so far down they could never harm her again broke open as if they were freshly made. She wanted that wound healed. She didn’t know if telling him would begin the process, but the urge was there—and she followed it.
