Dragonbound(26)

Embarrass him? What does he think I’m going to do?
I take his arm like he said. If I want to get Celeste back, that means trusting him. Even if walking into a dragon clan’s lair is just about the scariest thing I’ve ever done, and any one of them could rip me apart with the slightest twitch of their claw.
“You’re sure about this?” I ask him.
“As sure as I’m ever going to be.”
Which isn’t exactly the reassurance I was looking for. But he’s already leading me inside, and I didn’t come this far just to chicken out.
20
WHERE EXACTLY DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
It’s a big deal that Amelrik is here, in the tunnels of Elder clan. I can’t see very well, since there’s only the occasional torch on the wall for lighting, but I can hear just fine. All the dragons stop their conversations as we pass by and start muttering to each other. Only a few of them say anything in English—I know I hear the word “prince” a couple times—but even when I can’t understand what they’re saying, it’s not hard to guess they’re talking about him.
It’s so dark I can barely even see the purple of their scales—they all just look kind of black. Some of the dragons perch on rocky overhangs, staring down at us, while others lounge in caverns or make their way through the tunnels, scales and claws scraping against stone as they go about their business. Their eyes reflect the light with flashes of green. I don’t dare look at any of them for too long, and, despite what I said outside, I keep my arm tight around Amelrik’s.
I can’t believe I’m here. Underground. Surrounded by a whole clan of dragons.
I’m probably going to die today.
There’s the sound of feet slapping against the floor—not a dragon’s, but a human’s—as someone comes running up to us. For just a second, my heart leaps, thinking it’s Celeste. That nothing bad at all happened to her and she’s free to leave with me.
But it’s not her. Of course it’s not.
This girl—who must really be a dragon—has long dark hair and looks like she’s around Amelrik’s age, possibly a little older. She’s also completely naked.
She stops in front of Amelrik, staring at him with her hands in front of her mouth. “It’s you. But it can’t be. We thought . . .” Her voice breaks. She sounds like she’s going to cry. “I thought I was never going to see you again! It’s been so long, and they told us you were dead!” 
He pulls away from me and hugs her tight. “I know what they told you. It wasn’t true.”
What? I have no idea what’s going on. Oh, except that Amelrik’s embracing some naked girl, and neither of them seems to think that’s weird.
It’s like he’s forgotten I’m here, and I’m suddenly aware of how alone I am. If I looked away a little too long and he walked off without me, we might never find each other. If he even tried to look for me. He could easily decide not to, or some other dragon could find me first—which seems pretty likely—and then I’d just be gone.
When they’re done hugging, the two of them step back and look each other over. Then just when I think I can’t feel any more left out, they start talking excitedly in what I assume is their native language—what did he say it was? Vairlin?—and it’s like I don’t even exist.
I clear my throat. Loudly.
The naked girl glances over at me. She tilts her head in my direction and says something to Amelrik.
He laughs.
Great. What did she say about me that was so funny?
“Virginia, this is my cousin, Odilia.”
Oh. His cousin. Not his girlfriend or anything. Unless dragons don’t view cousins as off-limits. She could still be both. “Wait, what’s your cousin doing with Elder clan? Did she get traded, too?”
“Wow.” He blinks at me. “Where exactly do you think you are?”
“You know where I—”
“How many times do I have to tell you? This is Hawthorne clan. Haw. Thorne.” He shares a look with Odilia and rolls his eyes, like Can you believe how stupid she is?
“We’re where?!” I glance around at the tunnel walls, as if that’s going to tell me anything.
He forces a smile, his teeth clenched. “Remember what we talked about?”
“If this is Hawthorne clan, then what are we doing here? What about Celeste?!”
“I’ll explain it to you again later.” Then, to Odilia, he says, “You’ll have to excuse her. Humans get so confused once they lose sight of the sun.”
Odilia nods knowingly, like that’s actually a thing. Then she frowns and asks him something in Vairlin. They go off again, talking really fast, only this time they seem angry. I don’t have to speak the language to know they’re having an argument. Possibly about me. Odilia keeps waving her hands in my direction, and I think Amelrik might have said “St. George” once or twice, though it’s hard to know for sure. He folds his arms across his chest, and the two of them stare each other down, neither one apparently wanting to yield.
“It’s my choice,” Amelrik finally says. His voice is quiet, but also unwavering, not inviting any doubt.
Odilia clucks her tongue. “I hope you know what you’re doing, cousin.” Her tone implies that she’s pretty sure he has no idea what he’s doing. She moves away from us, and then there’s the sound of bones crunching and skin tearing as she changes forms, turning into a sleek black dragon with the same flashes of red under her wings as Amelrik.
Amelrik looks pissed. He takes my arm again and says, “Come on,” before storming off down the hall.
“What did she say?” Because whatever it was, it obviously got to him.
He hunches his shoulders—now who’s not standing up straight? “It was just . . . It was nothing.”
Yeah, right. “Where are we really right now?”
“Hawthorne. I thought I made that clear.”
He thinks he made that clear? Maybe he did, but only after he tricked me into coming here. “You lied to me.” My voice sounds so small, even as it echoes against the walls.“So did you.”
“But . . .” But my lie wasn’t as big as his. At least, not for me. “Is Celeste here?”
“It was Elder clan who captured her. You know that.”
“I also thought I knew where we were! That I knew where you were taking me! Is Celeste even still alive?” My insides cinch up, and I hold my breath while I wait for his answer.
“I wouldn’t lie about that.”
How am I supposed to know what he would or wouldn’t lie about? “We’re supposed to be rescuing Celeste, so what are we doing here?”
“Don’t worry. This is all part of the plan.”
If he doesn’t want me to worry, maybe he should stop giving me so many reasons to. “Why did you lie and say we were going to Elder clan? If this really is part of the plan, why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it’s a delay, and you wouldn’t have accepted that. You think we can just walk up to Elder clan and steal their St. George?”
“Their St. George? You make her sound like an object. She’s my sister.”
“They won’t want to let her go. You’re better off here. For now,” he adds, though it sounds like an afterthought. “I promise she’ll be all right. And I told you to play along. Causing a scene in front of Odilia is one thing—”
“Wait, you think I caused a scene?”
“—but we’re about to have an audience with my father. He might not be happy to see me. Whatever I say—whatever happens in there—it’s extremely important that you back me up.”
“So you just want me to go along with whatever you say, no matter what it is?”
“Our lives depend on it.”
“Your father wouldn’t kill you, would he?”
Amelrik looks away. “You don’t know the situation. It’s complicated. Odilia was right when she said I’m not supposed to be here.”
She must have said that while they were arguing. “So explain it to me.”
“There’s no time. He’ll have already heard about my return. Either we go talk to him now, or we run like hell. And we never get your sister back, and I . . .” A pained look crosses his face, and he stops himself from whatever he was about to say. “Please, Virginia. I need you to do this for me.”
He’s not telling me everything. But the dread in his voice when he talked about seeing his father was real. Then again, I believed him when he said this was Elder clan, so what do I know? “Answer one question for me, and I want the truth this time. What’s the real reason you saved my life that night of the party?”
“You won’t like it.” 
“I don’t care.” I just want to know if there’s any hope of trusting him.
“It was the way everyone was treating you. Like there was something wrong with you, like you’d never be good enough.”
“So you felt sorry for me.” He’s right—I don’t like that answer.
“I thought we had something in common. That’s why I told you to run.”
“And what’s wrong with that?”
“Don’t patronize me.”
“I’m not.”
He makes a hmph noise, like he doesn’t believe me. “You asked for the truth, and I gave it to you. Now come on—we’re keeping my father waiting, and I’d like to get this over with.”