Draygon Inferno | Book 2 | ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Three

Massive black curtains remained open, hanging to the side of the window with brass hooks keeping them in place. Elias dashed to the window and peered out. Like most staff of the royal family, his room was on the first floor, but unlike the rest of the staff he had a beautiful view of the queens garden at the center of the palace. Or at least it used to be beautiful. Now weeds and dead vines covered much of his view into the garden, but it also kept people from seeing into his room.

He grabbed two fresh robes, stuffing one into his bag to put on after his escape from the palace. They smelled musky from years of sitting untouched within his wooden wardrobe and the robe he put on was tighter to his body then he would've liked. Not that Elias was surprised. Though life on the run meant food could often be scarce, he'd still filled out some over the years. His bed squeaked when he sat on it to put on his fresh boots. Unfortunately his satchel wasn't big enough to carry another pair, so he'd have to make do with those boots.

Elias sighed, brushing a hand over his satin sheets. It seemed a silly thing to be sentimental of, but he actually missed his bed. Many times he found Siobhan or Cion hiding under it in hopes of scaring him one night. Cion in particular enjoyed hiding under beds. Kaylis made sure the youngest heir didn't get as close to Elias as Siobhan had, but he still held fond memories of the child. There hadn't been time to mourn his loss, there hadn't been time to mourn anything from the start. Even Marcus' passing met with a whirlwind of fear over sorrow. Fear for Siobhan's safety, for Draygon, for anything.

He sighed and forced himself from the bed. Scrolls of parchment still sat half rolled, half open, toward the head of the bed. More scrolls rested in a bucket in the corner of the room. If he opened his second wardrobe he'd find even more scrolls tucked inside. He went to the bucket and fingered through them, looking for the one with the Draygon infinity dragons decorating the top edge. When he found it, he pulled it out and unrolled it on his bed.

Much of his memory of the palace remained intact, but some was hazy. He always kept a floor plan of the palace in his room. Siobhan used to joke it was so that Elias could someday overthrow the royal family. Elias had to chuckled at how close to reality that joke was now that he was looking at the floor plan to study where Emilia might be held.

The top floor of the palace was always reserved for the queen and king. It was Marcus' room and surly Kaylis' now. Elias knew they wouldn't hold Emilia there. Kaylis wouldn't want her room sullied with Ardornian blood. The first floor was a viable option, Elias wasn't sure how many servants still remained in their rooms when they were all probably branded with the bracelet. However, he suspected the light Vanguard watch meant there was nothing of value to be had on the first floor. The second is where the heirs slept and where the guest rooms were. Elias tapped a hand against a room directly above his.

On Emilia and Eloy's last visit to Draygon, that was their room. It seemed the best place to look first. Instead of re-rolling the map, he folded it to fit in his satchel. If she wasn't in that room he'd need to consult it again to decide the next room to check. He shuffled to the door and peeked outside, still no sign of any guards. It was as if they'd vanished. Elias took one last look at his old room. When Siobhan won her place back among Draygon he was sure he'd see it again, but it still hurt to know he was once again leaving behind the few possessions he owned. Most were scrolls of history he used to educate the Draygon children, but they were still his scrolls, his things. It was a life he hadn't lived in years, but he missed it dreadfully.

He closed the door and jogged toward the stairs. This time he didn't stop to check the doors, he already knew what they held. His footsteps stayed light, his boots hardly making a sound against the stone floors of the palace. When he reached the top of the stairs, he knelt down to peer around the corner. There were still no guards, but the doors in his immediate line of sight all had light flickering from the narrow gap between the floor and door. Elias sucked in a breath and walked slow down the hall.