Dragon Magic

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Maeve

"You just had to say that!" I screamed as I fell to my knees. He had other plans. Almost a foot taller than me, Caspian tackled me down the hall. My arm slammed against the floor and I winced at the harsh contact on my bruise, my inhale causing dust to flutter up around us. 

"I didn't make it happen," He hissed back, not noticing the whirl in the air. We laid on the floor, his body next to mine and his arm wrapped around me. Gently, Caspian touched my bandage before lifting his head and searching the hall. I didn't think my shallowed, quick breathing was so loud but he turned his attention back to me and sighed, almost annoyed. "Calm down."

I nodded, taking deep breaths. He continued, "We're not within range, so we're going to stay here for a little bit. Breathe. My people will have heard your scream and they'll start securing the perimeter. You have your bag, so we're going straight to the carriage. It doesn't have any windows, and it's antimagic. You're safe."

His voice was deep and smooth, and apparently very distracting. My breathing slowed down to normal and my heartbeat was slower now. But I didn't trust myself to speak again.

Another arrow thudded against the wall, a few feet lower than it had before and still right above us. The loud splinter of the wood made me start to gasp. But impossibly quickly, Caspian had shoved his hand in front of my mouth and muffled most of my cry. He winced when fire tickled his skin and I looked at him sheepishly. "Remind me not to do that again."

We were on the second floor and the high window would make it impossible for an archer to curve his shot to hit us on the floor. That didn't stop the would-be assassin from trying again, and three more arrows landed on the wall.

With Caspian's arm around me, he manoeuvred the two of us so we could crawl down the hallway. I didn't understand why he held me close and crawled with one arm but now felt like the wrong time to say anything. When we reached the stairs- and a window right in front of them- Caspian hauled us up and we sprinted down to the back door.

Out the door stood a carriage, whose iron door and deadbolt made it look incredibly secure. Three men guarded the small pathway between the door and carriage. Three fae men, that is. They all had jarring turquoise eyes and ears that pointed past their long hair. Most telling, however, were their cold expressions. 

Caspian put his hand on the small of my back and pushed me along, though his unexpected strength caused me to stumble. I climbed into the carriage and fell onto the closest seat. The door slammed behind me, separating Caspian and me. Within seconds the carriage set off and I braced my foot against the floor to keep myself steady.

Caspian had been true this word and the carriage did indeed have no windows, light was provided only by a small fae light bobbing against the roof. I marvelled at the source of light for a moment before Galen cleared his throat, he was sitting directly across from me. Our eyes locked briefly before his gaze darted over to two people beside us. They sat deadly still and quiet.

"Guards?" I asked warily, inching away from the fae woman beside me.

"They're real talkative," Galen muttered with venom in his voice, his disdain for the fae obvious. He had a far more bitter history with their kind.

The woman fae, whose eyes were a deep purple and ears pointed far up, turned her eyes towards him. "You are of little importance, why should we waste words on you?" Her words must have stung even deeper knowing that they were the truth. But Galen remained silent. She continued, "You may call me Ethelia, I am Second Knight to the Cardinal."