Occultus Draconem

The Gathering Storm

"What about the Dragon Prince? Where is he? What good is all of this going to do if he's not here?"

"How can we even trust the information Soren gives? What if he's leading us into a trap?"

"Enough!" Kenric's voice boomed through the room, and everyone fell silent once again. He sighed, rubbing his brow. "Can we please just get through one meeting without everyone arguing for once? Cadmus could be on our doorstep by sunrise—we need to prepare."

"Hold on." Soren stepped forward, pushing Kenric aside. He looked over the group, and let out a long breath. "Look, I'm sorry, all right? I've already told Kenric, I'm fully prepared to be executed when this is all over. The position I'm currently in is no one's fault but my own."

Soren's voice started to shake, and tears welled up in his eyes while he spoke.

"I was young, and stupid, and addicted to Draíocht. I ended up in the bedchamber of an officer of the Cadmian Army, and he tortured me half to death, dangling Draíocht in front of me in exchange for whatever he wanted, and I gave it all to him."

"Soren," Kenric said, "you don't have to—"

"Yes, I do," he said, and tears ran freely down his face. "He was going to kill me. He was using Draíocht to torture me, and then when he was finished with me, he was going to let me die. King Agni was the one who found me there, and pulled me out of that situation. He made sure I owed my life to him, and he forced me to work against Draconia in exchange for letting me live and giving me Draíocht."

The room was painfully silent. Some people lowered their gaze, others listened on with looks of horror. The only sound in the room was Soren's sobbing as he covered his face with his hand.

"I can't take back all the terrible things the led me to this point," he said, struggling to catch his breath. "I can't give you back all the lives that I've taken from you, or change the fact that I betrayed all of you for some stupid healing magic. There's nothing that I can do or say, and I don't expect anyone to forgive me or trust me, but I am truly sorry, and I'll do whatever I can to make things right."

There were a few sniffles from the crowd, a couple people here and there crying along with Soren. Others didn't look convinced... Riordan certainly didn't, but he didn't look as angry anymore either. Soren wiped his face with his sleeve and turned away from them.

"Put me back in my cell," he said, keeping his gaze lowered as he approached Kenric. "Please. I can't do this. I'll tell you everything I know about Agni and Cadmus, just get me out of this room."

***

Theron and Blaise were quiet as they packed up, getting ready to travel back to Draconia. It was a long trip, and at that point, they had no idea what was going on in the kingdom.

"It's too early for this shit," Theron complained with a yawn, then went to the sink to wash his face. His movements were slow and stiff, and he tried to hide it, but Blaise could tell he was in a lot of pain.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "It's my fault you got hurt like that. I shoulda been the one fightin' Orion, not you."

"Ah, this ain't nothin'," Theron told him, rubbing his shoulder. "It'll heal quick enough. Besides, you ain't gotta take no lives if you ain't ready, 'kay? I know we're in a war, but there ain't no reason for ya to be havin' blood on yer hands when you got us 'round."

They had to walk through the slums again to get to the outskirts of Oorlog, where they were going to pay a carriage to take them to the border of Draconia. Blaise stuck close to Theron, keeping his gaze down.