Empire of Flame and Thorns (Flame and Thorns #1)

Chapter 34

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

P ain shoots through my body as I slam back first into another set of hollow trunks. And then another. And another. Each one gives way as soon as we hit it, making us plummet too fast for us to even have a chance at grabbing on to something. I grunt in pain at each rapid hit.

Draven wraps his arms around me and throws his weight sideways. It makes us spin in the air so that he’s below and I’m above instead.

Hollow wood shatters and splinters fly around us as we tumble downwards in the gloomy darkness.

Suddenly, the layers of trunks end and we’re falling through the open air for a few seconds. But before Draven can even shift and summon his wings, we slam into the ground.

Air explodes from Draven’s lungs as he crashes back first into the ground with me on top of him. My back still aches from the first couple of layers that I smacked into when we fell, but because Draven flipped us around and took the brunt of the fall, I’m mostly unharmed.

He grunts and drags in a strained breath.

I suddenly realize that I’m still lying on top of him, my entire body pressed against his. It probably isn’t helping him get air back into his lungs. I try to scramble off him, but his arms are still wrapped tightly around me. So instead, I brace my palms on his firm chest and just raise my head to meet his gaze.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

He drags in another breath and then presses out, “Yeah.” His eyes find mine. “You?”

“You’re the one who took most of the hits,” I point out.

His gaze flits down to his arms, which are still wrapped around me. He blinks, looking startled, and then quickly releases me. I climb off him immediately and get to my feet. My heart suddenly pounds in my chest for some reason.

Another groan comes from Draven’s throat as he sits up. Raising his hands, he rakes them through his now messy hair and heaves a deep sigh. Then he pushes to his feet as well.

For a little while, we just stand there side by side, staring up at the spot where we fell through.

It’s hard to make out all the details in the murky darkness, but we appear to be inside an underground forest. The ground beneath my feet is made up entirely of thick and lush grass, which is now flattened by our landing. Trees spread out around us, but it’s not the same kind of trees that can be found in the thorn forest above. These have a slightly surreal and almost magical look to them. But most importantly, there is no sky above our heads.

Instead of a setting sun and a sky painted in dark red and purple, there is a solid ceiling made of those strange thin trunks above us. It spans the whole area around us as far as I can see. And right above us is a narrow hole. Through it, we can see layer upon layer of those thin tree trunks, creating a thick barrier between the world above and whatever place we have ended up in.

“Well… fuck,” Draven mutters.

Cocking my head, I study the broken edges of the trunks. “You must have weakened the structural integrity of the wood with your lightning strikes.”

I can feel Draven slowly turning his head and looking down to stare at me. Tearing my gaze from the narrow hole above, I meet his gaze. His expression is full of disbelief.

“Weakened the structural integrity of the wood?” he echoes.

“It means you broke it.”

A scowl pulls at his brows as he huffs, “I know what it means.”

“Uh-huh.”

He mutters something under his breath.

Tilting my head back, I glance up at the hole again. But right before I can ask if he can fly us back up, a sudden burst of uncertainty pulses through me. I flick a quick look at Draven instead. Because the real question is: if he can fly up, would he take me with him?

My gaze drifts down to the pouch where he put the ring that he forced me to hand over, and his previous words echo through my mind again. Now, I’m going to fly away from here and drop the ring somewhere else. And you’re going to go back to the city and accept that you have lost.

He was planning to leave me up there. And he desperately wants to make sure that I lose this trial. So what’s to stop him from just flying out of here on his own and leaving me to search for another way out? It would solve both of his problems.

However, before I can decide whether or not to ask him and to put the idea in his head that he can fly away and leave me, he volunteers the answer himself.

“I can’t fly us back up through that hole,” he says.

My heart flips, and a ridiculous burst of giddiness sweeps through me. Us . Fly us back up. That’s what he said. I have to suppress a very untimely grin, since the news in itself, that he can’t fly through the hole, isn’t very good.

“It’s too narrow,” he explains, scowling up at the hole. “I won’t even be able to extend my wings halfway.”

And because of the realization that he never planned to leave me trapped down here alone, I’m suddenly filled with energy. So I flash him a teasing grin and reply, “Really? You’re bragging about your wingspan?”

He starts in surprise and snaps his gaze back down to me. There is an absolutely adorable flustered look on his face for a few seconds before he manages to compose himself again. Narrowing his eyes, he takes a step closer and fixes me with a pointed stare.

“You really are making up for lost time, aren’t you?”

I blink. “What do you mean?”

“All of those snarky remarks that you’ve been swallowing down over the years, you’re taking them all out on me now.” Raising his hand, he draws his fingers along my jaw and then brushes his thumb over my bottom lip. “Such a sharp little tongue hidden behind a polite smile all this time.”

My breath hitches. A shiver courses through my spine as he slides his thumb back over my bottom lip again. I can barely concentrate on anything except the soft brush of his fingers.

Then he lets out a low chuckle and drops his hand while taking a step back. “And to answer your question, I was simply stating a fact. That the hole is too narrow for me to extend my wings.” A sly smile blows across his mouth as he gives me a look. “But yes, I do also have a very impressive wingspan.”

The memory of when I was on my knees right in front of his crotch, and the huge bulge I saw in his pants, flashes through my mind. And before I even know what I’m saying, I find myself replying, “I can imagine.”

“Imagine?” He arches an eyebrow at me. “You’ve seen my wings several times now.” A devilish glint shines in his eyes. “Unless you were referring to something else?”

“Like what? Your ego?”

“You already knew that that’s massive too.”

“At least you’re self-aware.”

“And once again, you sound surprised by that.”

“Can we just focus on the problem at hand?” I huff, suddenly feeling embarrassed about that flicker of pleasure I felt when he caressed my bottom lip. Holding his gaze, I wave a frustrated hand at the world in general. “We fell through the ground into another forest below the real forest. We don’t know where we are. We have no food and no water. And we don’t know how to get back up again.” I shoot him an expectant look. “Did I miss anything?”

He shrugs. “We’re also losing the light.”

I heave a sigh. “Yeah. That too.” Looking up at the ceiling again, I wave a hand at the thick layers of tree trunks. “Can’t you just shift into a dragon and break through it?”

“God, why didn’t I think of that?” he replies in an overly dramatic voice before leveling a flat stare at me. “Maybe because I’m a huge fucking dragon, and if I shift in here, this whole bloody ceiling is going to shatter and crash down right on top of us.”

Drawing my eyebrows down, I shoot him a scowl. “Could’ve done without the sass.”

“ You are trying to lecture me on sass?”

“Alright. Fine. I get it. No shifting into a dragon.”

Silence falls over our gloomy underground forest. Then Draven blows out a breath and nods.

“Alright then,” he says. “We’ll make camp here tonight and wait for the light to return in the morning. Then we can start looking for another way out.”

“Agreed.”

Reaching into one of the pouches on his belt, he pulls out something that clinks metallically. “Here, take this.”

And like an absolute idiot, I trust the bastard and reach out my hand.

He snaps one side of a pair of handcuffs shut around my wrist. I jerk back, but it’s already too late. Another click sounds as Draven locks the other manacle around his own wrist, handcuffing us together.

Drawing my eyebrows down, I hold up my now shackled wrist and glower up at him. “Seriously?”

He smirks. “In case you get any ideas about trying to steal back the ring and run off in the middle of the night.”

I roll my eyes at him. But I had actually considered doing exactly that, so I suppose I can’t be too outraged about it.

Without warning, he turns around and strides towards the closest tree. And since we’re now stuck together, I stumble after him. Because he’s both bigger and stronger than me, I can’t do anything except follow him. And mutter under my breath.

“What was that?” he asks over his shoulder.

“Nothing.”

“That’s right.”

I scoff, but it’s interrupted when he abruptly sits down on the ground. He drags me with him, and I practically fall on top of him. Heat sears through me as I end up straddling his lap.

He flashes me a smile full of wicked mischief. “Trying to mount me again, are you?”

My cheeks flush, and I push against his shoulders, trying to scramble off his lap. “Mount you?” I huff. “When have I ever tried to mount you? You’re the one who flipped us around in the air.” Drawing my eyebrows down, I scowl at him. “And how did you even find me in the first place?”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Most people just say thank you when someone saves their life.”

Suspicion curls around my spine as I study his face, which now bears a nonchalant expression. “How did you know that I was in danger? You said that you weren’t watching me.”

“I’ve already told you that as well. You’re very loud.” He raises his eyebrows and gives me a pointed look. “I mean, seriously. Have you ever heard yourself scream?”

Embarrassment sears my cheeks.

Giving him one final shove, I untangle my limbs from his and instead sit down on the ground next to him. I would have preferred to move farther away, but I can’t because of the handcuffs. So I just try to ignore him and lie down on my back.

Thick grass envelops my body, feeling almost like a soft mattress.

Draven lies down as well.

Silence once more falls over us. No winds rustle the trees down here, but we’re still halfway through fall, and without the sun’s warmth, the nights are cold.

Rolling over on my side, I pull my legs up closer to my chest, trying to conserve my body heat. But I have to keep my right arm draped behind me since it’s locked to Draven’s left wrist.

I’m not sure if it’s a dragon shifter thing, but I swear that I can almost feel the heat radiating from his body. It barely reaches my back, which just makes the rest of my body feel even colder.

A shiver courses through me.

“You’re cold,” Draven says.

It’s a statement and not a question, so I don’t bother replying.

He heaves a deep sigh behind my back.

I suck in a surprised breath as he rolls over on his side and lifts my upper body from the ground. Moving his hand over my head, he positions my arm so that its draped down over my stomach instead while he slides his own arm, the one shackled to mine, underneath my body. Then he pulls me towards him.

My heart stutters as my back connects with his chest.

Before I can even ask what he’s doing, he wraps his free arm around my body as well and then summons his wings. Black smoke drifts into the cold evening air. Then a massive black wing spreads out over us like a tent.

Lightning flickers through my veins and my heart slams against my ribs.

Draven lets out a sigh and adjusts his position. Every tiny movement makes his body shift against mine. Once he’s satisfied, he stops moving. And at that point, I’m flush against his chest. I swear I can even feel his heartbeat thump against my back.

My pulse thrums in my ears.

But Draven says nothing. As if this is the most natural thing in the world.

I lie there in his arms, feeling his comforting warmth envelop me, and stare at the black wing around us until I’m sure that he has drifted off to sleep. Then, I finally breathe the words that I was too proud to say earlier.

“Thank you,” I whisper softly into the silent night. “And thank you for saving me from the wolfbear.”

His chest rises and falls against my back as he continues sleeping.

But then, right when I’m about to close my eyes as well, he replies . And his voice is the gentlest I’ve ever heard.

“You’re welcome, little rebel.”