Shadowborn Queen - G. Bailey Page 0,21
own."
"She's got a point," Axel says, and the guys all glare at him. He holds up his hands. "Hey, I don't like the idea either, but Gold's big ass dragon is hardly inconspicuous, now is it?"
"Inconspicuous?" Scott frowns at him. "Since when did you start using fancy words?"
Axel flips him off while keeping his gaze on me. "We can meet her in the caves, or fly over once we figure out what the hell is stopping us. Now, if anything goes wrong—"
"I'll fly out," I finish for him, giving them a reassuring smile. "I'll take Ozy, too, so I won't be completely alone."
For a long moment, neither of my guys say anything. Only the sound of Ozy sniffing the air can be heard. Well, that and my thrashing heart.
"Fine," Gold says, though by his tone and expression, it's not fine. "But if anything happens to you"—he glares at Axel—“I'm holding him responsible."
"You'll hold no one responsible," I tell him, my voice equally firm and cold. "This is my choice."
Gold cuts his eyes to me, but they soften as he lets out a sigh. "Okay. Just please... be careful."
My heart jumps at the way his voice breaks. I have no intention of getting killed in the treasure caves. My only intention is walking out of them with another key.
Once I hug my guys, I pick up Ozy and take to the sky. The smell is even worse as I fly over the marshlands and I pinch my nose, my stomach heaving. Why in the name of Selena the Draugars want to live here, I'll never know.
Before long, I am landing on the ground in front of the middle cave. Its towering shadow swallows me up and I hug Ozy, more to reassure myself than anything.
"You think we'll be okay?" I ask him, rubbing his head.
He sniffs the air before giving a little oink.
"I'll take that as a yes," I whisper as I set him on the ground. After letting him sniff the key around my neck, I stand. "Okay, Ozy. Let's go treasure hunting."
The horrible smell is strangely absent the moment I enter the cave. They must use the marshlands to ward off enemies. I might not have liked the smell, but I can't really deny their logic; it made me want to drag my ass away from here.
My footsteps are light, but my breathing sounds deafening due to the heavy silence. I hold my breath as I follow Ozy through the cave. The lit sconces flicker and send eerie shadows stretching around me. At first, I don't see any treasure. It's not until I follow the snoring do I see the mountains of treasure piled up on each other. Nestled around the heaps are groups of soldiers clad in dark fabric. Their skin is dark green and they have tufts of either white or black hair on their heads.
Ozy doesn't go inside this part of the cave, so I tiptoe on by. My heart hammers against my ribs with each step. I remind myself that my guys aren't far behind and I do have my wings. If I'm caught and the Draugars attack, at least they can't fly after me. I'll grab Ozy and get the fuck out of here. It will make coming back harder since my presence will have been detected, but I'll worry about that when I come to it.
I'm not sure how long passes before we reach the main part of the treasure cave. Every second feels like an eternity when you're trying not to wake the dead. When Ozy does stop, I peer into the cave, and my mouth hangs open at all the endless treasure littered around. There's at least ten separate piles of them, each one crowned with a silver chest covered in jewels that reflect the light.
Ozy gives the quietest of oinks and then he shapeshifts into a robin. Of course. Magic might be forbidden, but since the Draugars created the Shades, it doesn't apply to them. Stunned, I watch him fly over to the sleeping bodies and land on one of the chests.
He found the key!
I fly over to him, my pulse racing at the sight of all the Draugars sleeping on the floor. How do they protect their treasure when they sleep around all day? Shaking my head, I hover beside the chest, and then I tentatively reach out for it.
The instant I touch the cool silver, a ticking noise echoes around the cave.
A ticking noise that sounds like a