Chosen By The Dragon Kings novel Chapter 29

“Shit,” I hear Dragus murmur, and I can hear him moving around. “I need to call Silas down here,” he says, and I know he was going to do their weird mind talking.

“No, not Silas,” I gasp between trying to breathe through the pain. My entire body spasming as heat rushes through my veins and the familiar burning starts consuming me. It was the sort of pain you could never forget, and I felt like I was boiling, I could almost feel my blood bubbling in my veins, making me scream as wave after wave washed over me.

“I have to, he has the key,” Dragus says, and I can hear the worry in his voice as he watches me writhe in pain on the floor.

“No, no,” I scream breathlessly as I feel it rolling from my toes, wildfire consuming every inch of me. I claw at my skin, trying to stop it.

“Stop Lora, Matitus is on his way. You’re making yourself bleed,” Dragus’s voice sounds strangled but I am in too much pain to care as I crawl toward where I think the pile of snow is, reaching out my fingertips brushing the snow. I force myself to move before slumping on top of the pile like a lizard sunbathing on a rock. The snow melts almost instantly when I scream as searing pain consumes me. I can hear the blood in my body pumping through me, pulsating as I try to find relief. The pain becomes too much and all I can focus on. Bright light suddenly comes on and I squint, trying to adjust to the light's brightness when I see Matitus run down the stairs, keys clutched in his hand.

Silas walking down the stairs behind him, a worried look on his face. Matitus fiddles with the keys with shaky hands, trying and fumbling to get them in the lock. Silas takes the keys from him opening the door and Matitus rushes in while Silas unlocks Dragus’s cell door. I fight against Matitus when he picks me up. The heat from his body makes it worse, I was thrashing so much he dropped me with a thud.

“Just grab her, Matitus,” Silas growled.

“She won’t stop thrashing; I will hurt her” he spits back at him. But I am too far gone, the pain all consuming, and it would have been nicer to just kill me, at least the pain would be gone. Never in my life have I prayed for death to come as much as I did now.

I hear Silas growl before walking in and grabbing me. I scream as his heat seeps into me, and I am sure I was going to combust. Air rushes around me before a rapid temperature change and I can tell I am outside.

“Break the ice” Silas yells and I hear the sound of ice cracking before I feel icy water around me, easing some pain but not enough for me to stop screaming.

“Let me mark you” I shake my head, words failing me besides the agonised screams escaping my lips. Silas growls.

“Hold your breath then” I don’t even know how to do that, my brain refusing to function even for the most basic survival instincts when I am suddenly under water. My temperature drops and I gasp before choking on water. Silas pulls me back above the water surface and I choke, coughing on the water that rushed into my mouth.

The heat easing before slumping against him, my head on his shoulder and I open my eyes and see we are in the frozen lake that runs behind the castle. I try to catch my breath before I feel the heat start growing hotter and I try to slip back under the water.

“Let me mark you, it will stop. Lora”

“No, kill me. Just kill me please” I beg before screaming after another wave washes over me making my entire body tense.

“If one of us marks you, it will ease and the third wave won’t be as bad” he says, but I shake my head. Marking me would mean I am stuck with them forever, and I didn’t want to be stuck with Silas forever.

“Let Matitus then” he says. Matitus walks into the icy water towards me before stopping next to me, a worried look on his face. Shaking my head I try to get away from them, but Silas holds me tighter before he moves my wet hair, revealing my shoulder and neck.