Page 81 of Dragon Eternal (Dragon Kings 4)
CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
Shaw kept hold of Nia’s hand as they rode in the cart to the citadel. She didn’t speak. While outwardly composed, he had come to know her well enough to see that she was holding herself together by the force of her will alone.
“Remember everything I told you,” he whispered over the clomping of the horse’s hooves on the stone.
She met his gaze and nodded.
Her breathing was rapid, as was the pulse at the base of her throat. Her hand shook slightly in his. For the last couple of hours, as they’d readied for the meeting, he had gone over and over some self-defense moves with her. He prayed it would be enough. Hopefully, no one would think her enough of a threat to put her in a room with multiple guards. Once she got free, she was to leave the citadel immediately and find Merrill. They would all meet up at the canyon.
It was a sound plan. One that would only work if everything went as it should. But that never happened.
“Doona wait for me,” he told her for the hundredth time.
She swallowed and blinked nervously. “What if I can’t find Merrill?”
“Get out of the city and make your way through the forest. Cullen will be waiting.” When she dropped her gaze, he squeezed her hand. “You can do this, lass. Look how far you’ve come. You can do anything.”
Her lips trembled as she tried to smile. “So much can go wrong.”
“No matter what happens to me, you’re going to get away. You promised.”
“It doesn’t feel right to leave you at the citadel.”
He winked at her. “I’m no’ the one you should worry about.”
This time, she did smile. It was fleeting, but it was there. “What if I never see you again?”
“You will.”
She leaned to the side to look ahead. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“You doona need to say anything.”
Nia put her finger to his lips to silence. “For someone who doesn’t talk, you’ve not shut up.”
He chuckled but didn’t say anything.
“Thank you.”
Shaw frowned.
Her hands framed his face. “Thank you for showing me the truth, for opening my eyes to the reality I’d chosen not to see. But most of all, thank you for believing in me. No one ever has.”
He took one of her hands and placed a kiss on her palm. Shaw searched her eyes. His chest tightened with an emotion he couldn’t describe. The closer they came to the citadel, the more he didn’t want her there. So many things could go wrong with Nia ending up dead. That simply couldn’t happen.
Words clogged his brain, but they were all jumbled. He didn’t know how to say them. It seemed the right moment, but he couldn’t get them past his lips. His throat was frozen, unable to move. The cart came to a halt then. Shaw glanced out and saw soldiers approaching. His gaze swung back to Nia.
Just before the soldiers reached them, she leaned forward and placed her mouth on his. She searched his gaze and parted her lips to speak when the cart door opened. He gave her hand another squeeze before she stepped to the ground. Shaw followed and straightened to find himself standing at the impressive entrance to the citadel.
The structure itself was several stories high, extending nearly to the very top of the mountain, with each level smaller and smaller to the very top. The tall columns and large entrances gave it a spacious feel. Shaw spotted a few balconies and imagined there were quite a few more for the incredible view. Armed soldiers were stationed every ten feet, wearing different armor than those in the city—no doubt to set them apart so everyone knew when they were dealing with someone from the citadel.
