TAKEN BY THE DRAGON KING

Chapter 14 Dangerous choice

Elena pov.

I stood in silence in the dark hallway as Ryder and Delan disappeared down the hall. They had dragged me into the main part of the castle and dumped me there with a few more threats.

I didn’t need any more threats, though. I knew they were serious. My skin scraped up and I felt dazed as they walked away. For a second, I had seriously thought they were going to go back on their word and kill me anyway.

My hands were shaking, and I could feel the stress twisting in my chest. I thought I was going to be sick. I didn’t know what to do.

Should I go to Dracul?

The thought was fleeting and terrifying all at the same time. If I went to Dracul, I knew Ryder and Delan would be furious. They had made it perfectly clear that they would kill me if I talked.

But Dracul was the Dragon Lord and for some reason, he seemed to want me alive. Maybe, just maybe, he had enough protection to keep me safe from them?

And what was the alternative? Cower in fear and wait for Ryder and Delan to decide that I was too much of a liability?

What happened when they decided that I couldn’t be trusted? What happened when they decided that I was posing too much of a risk? What will stop them from killing me anyway?

My whole body ached, my wrist throbbing as I pushed myself to my feet. I was shaking, trembling, but those brutes.

Now that they were out of sight, my heart was starting to come down, the panicked racing easing to a dull roar in my chest…

I no longer felt acute, primal fear that I felt two Dragons were threatening my life. I wasn’t exactly feeling rational, but I could at least think past the fog, at least a little.

I wanted to think, I wasn’t thinking clearly, but I probably wasn’t. In fact, maybe I just wasn’t processing properly.

But I wanted to see Dracul. Part of my brain was starting to think of him as a good guy. Well, not the good guy, but the best out of a bad lot.

Maybe it was my fear. Maybe it was the memory of how he kissed me. But either way, I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to tell him what I heard. I took a few shaky steps down the corridor. I knew, from the brief time in the castle, that Dracul’s office was in one of the most centralized towers. At least, centralized to the part of the castle that was in use.

It didn’t take me long to spot the staircase. I was almost there when I heard the blooming of someone knocking at the door.

I froze. What if it was Dracul’s door? What if it was Ryder and I wasn’t walking straight into the trap? What if, if I went to see Dracul right now. There will be waiting at the top of the stairs to take me away?

What if I was wasting my only chance?

I took a step back.

And I turned. I ran to my room, searching in the darkness for a room that looked like mine.

Eventually, I noticed a room with a dim light coming from inside. I glanced in and saw the familiar sign of my things.

Relief flooded through me and I felt like crying. I had found my room, the last illusion of safety that I had left.

I didn’t know who had lit another torch for me and I didn’t care. The room was empty, and I? could be alone.

I shut the heavy door behind me, my hands shaking as I leaned against the heavy metal. It was cold and smooth, and I could feel the stress and shock starting to take hold of my body.

Suddenly, I didn’t know if I could stay calm. Suddenly, I realized that I didn’t have a grip on this at all.

What have I gotten myself into?.

Between kissing Dracul and overhearing a secret plot, I felt like I was in way over my head. I was in some sick novel and I wanted outside. I didn’t want to live like this.

I didn’t want to live like this, but I didn’t want to die either. Not now. Not now that I finally had hope. Not now, with all of these unanswered questions swirling around in my head and leaving me breathless.

I leaned forward and scrubbed my face, mindful of my aching wrist that throbbed with every moment.

My skin stung from where I had been dragged on the floor. Everything was foggy, hazy. My mind was working slowly again, struggling in the process with all of the emotions and events that had just happened.

I should clean up.

The thought filtered through the madness and I slowly stood up. I couldn’t have a bath not this late, but I could at least wash at the basin.

I could clean my wounds, and maybe wrap my wrists, as best as I could. Then, I could change, and get some sleep.

I didn’t even know how I was supposed to sleep, with the thought of Ryder hanging over my head, but I had to try.

Feeling like I was still in a daze, I made my way to the small room at the side of my bedchamber. There was a basin full of water, for which I was grateful.

I found some of the clothes that were laid out and, painfully, I slid out of my clothes and put them to one side. Hissing with pain, I dabbed my sore skin with the clothes, gently cleaning myself up.

My wrist was swollen, but nothing looked broken. Not that I had much experience with that, but I had seen some servant with breaks, back home. This didn’t look so bad.

It still ached, and I felt the sting of my own defeat.

Dracul didn’t hurt me like that, sure he was intimidating, but he had never hurt me. This was different, this was dark, and this was frightening.

This was the kind of brutality I had expected when I came here. This was the kind of dark rage had expected from Dracul. This was the kind of painful hardship I had expected.

I shuddered and gently cleansed my skin. I had dirt and debris all over me, and once I had washed it away, I felt a little more human again.

I walked to my cupboard, the room still only dimly lit, and opened up the doors. I rummaged through my things and found the nightgown that u had set out before when I had still been unpacking my things.

I got dressed, sliding into the soft robe, relishing the cool comfort of it against my skin. I wanted to forget. I wanted to forget about everything and disappear into the land of sleep, where things made sense.

I pulled out of my brush on instinct, smoothing out my hair with the brush before putting it away. The rituals were burnt into my brain and I couldn’t help but follow them.

Because I didn’t want to think right now. I didn’t want to figure out my next course of action when everything seemed so unclear in front of me.

I didn’t know what to have really passed between Dracul and me. I didn’t know what Ryder and the others were plotting. I didn’t know what the right choice was, and whose side I was supposed to be on.

These were not my affair, but how I reacted would impact deeply. They had made that perfectly clear.

I left the torch burning in the bracket on the wall as I curled into the bed. The sheet was surprisingly soft, and? I buried my face into the pillow.

I just wanted to sleep.

I didn’t want to think anymore. My life had turned upside down and I still didn’t feel like I had a handle on things. Everything was happening fast, and I was caught in a whirlwind of confusion.

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I wanted to tell Dracul what I had heard, but he was the reason I was stuck here in the first place. I wanted to do the right thing, but I felt like every turn I made was the wrong one.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I pulled the covers over my head and tried to pretend that everything was alright and okay.

I shut my eyes and prayed that I would be able to fall asleep, that no one would come and try and kill me in my sleep.

I was so far from home, from the comforts of my kingdom, my family, and my friends.

I was alone, far from home, and nothing seems to make sense.

I had no idea how I was going to get through this madness.?

I just had to hold on and hope I could make the right choice.