Chapter 5

MADELINE

I’ve reached the point of exhaustion, too tired to keep trudging through the darkness. Lochness, my rogue, scoops me up, and I fall asleep in his arms, the tranquil sounds of the night lulling me into a deep slumber.

I am in desperate need of rest and too worn out to stay awake or even argue with him. I dream so deeply that I lose track of our journey. Lochness takes me somewhere special.

When I wake up, I am tucked into soft gray sheets, in a room filled with pristine white furniture and glossy floors. The morning sun is filtering through a thick fog outside. The place is extravagant, more like a castle than an inn, and eerily quiet—there are none of the usual sounds of life.

The bed is empty beside me. I pull the sheets up to my bare chest, clutching them tightly. My long red hair feels clean and soft, and my skin is smooth, as if I’ve been bathed while I was unconscious.

I wonder if Lochness has done that, or if it is the work of hired help? Just as I am thinking about my unpredictable dragon lord, the room shakes violently with a loud thud. An antique lamp falls from its perch on the wall and shatters on the glossy floor.

Peering out a large window, I see the massive head of a dragon looking in, a green eye watching me. His fangs, as long as swords, are stained with red blood.

~You slept like the dead~, Lochness’s voice echoes in my mind.

~Where are we?~ I ask him.

~An ancient, cursed tower, long abandoned…guarded by a rogue I just killed.~

~Your fight probably woke me up.~ I try to joke, forcing a smile.

~I kill silently, mouse,~ Lochness replies, his form misting around the window and moving towards an open ledge where the window has been removed.

The room is magically sealed against the fog, preserving the furniture. I wonder about the history of this tower and its location. Lochness materializes before my bed, a long black claw in his hand.

He is naked, splattered with blood, and seemingly unconcerned about it. He tosses the claw to me casually, and it pierces the pillow next to me, sticking out of the mattress as feathers float around it.

What else is he going to destroy needlessly? I pick up the talon. “For me?” I ask, turning to look at Lochness, but he is gone.

Suspicious much?

~Clang.~ I hear him in the next room, the sound of…ceramics? I get out of bed, still naked, and walk into the next room, talon in hand.

Lochness is there, preparing breakfast. He’s gathered eggs, boiled them, peeled them, and is now adding wild herbs.

He doesn’t have a plate for himself. His belly is full. But he’s made my breakfast look and smell delicious. My stomach growls.

Keep it together, Maddie. I walk over, pull out a chair, and sit down without a word. I pick up a fork and begin to eat, mixing in the herbs he’s gathered.

Lochness watches me, standing uncomfortably close. He doesn’t sit. I take a bite and chew, and he seems satisfied.

I hold the talon in my left hand, the fork in my right. “Do you like it?” he asks quietly, almost sounding unsure.

“Mm.” I nod. “Thank you, Lochness. So, uh, care to explain what all this is about?”

Despite the absurdity of the situation, I am surprisingly calm. He’s lost his mind, kidnapped me, and is now rampaging across the landscape to provide for me. Couldn’t we have just stayed at an inn on our journey out of Requiem?

Why all this unnecessary chaos?

“I stole you,” Lochness says, his voice dark. “I’m done fitting in. No more sharing… I played Hael’s game of Lord to ~Requiem~…”

He begins to sneer, but then tries to control his anger. “Being alone…keeping you close…that’s all I need. And all my brother needs is your heart still beating.

"Don’t you think Hael will be grateful to breathe without you stealing and breaking his things… breaking his rules, night and day? Unbreakable brat.”

I tighten my grip on the fork, my knuckles turning white.

“It’s the truth. You’re wild like me, crazy like me, Maddie.”

Lochness kneels down, resting an arm on the table as he smiles, a wicked grin. “Are you already plotting an escape, rat?”

“Nooo, of course not, let’s live isolated from the world and I’ll do exactly what you want.” I relax my hand and give him a sweet smile. “Maybe I’ll surprise you with how obedient I can be.”

Then I say softly and sweetly, “I love you,” and I mean it, but I can’t help the sass in my voice.

Lochness leans back, his playful spark gone. He stands up and exhales through his nostrils.

“I love you too, rat,” Nessy murmurs, his voice quiet and far too calm for my liking. I nearly drop my fork.

He’s surprised me with that—and you know what? I have more to say.

I can’t handle this side of him, it is freaking me out. There is no way Lochness is being this nice just because he wants to be.

There has to be a catch. This is a trap. He is setting me up, isn’t he?

I find the words spilling out of me. “I can see it now, a different future. I won’t be a burden, I’ll do ~everything~ you ask, make the bed, share meals with you.

I’ll be your perfect companion. I was just a worthless, dirty, unattractive rat ~a few months ago~—but I’ll do everything in my power to make ~you~ happy, because I’m completely captivated by your handsome looks, right?

I’m just a lowly rat—infatuated and so grateful for your attention. I owe you everything. ~Did that speech impress you, ~Nessy…?” I taunt, standing up and brandishing the fork and talon.

“Do you want me to ~please~ you, to be your entertaining sex slave? You only have to silence me if I say something wrong, poor pitiful me.” I hold up the fork between us and he’s eating up every word.

“You will not have sex with me, in the middle of nowhere, in some deserted tower, just because you feel like it. Just because you’re ~selfish~. I’m pregnant, you idiot.

Take me home. To my friends. To Hael. Now.” I toss my fork at Lochness and storm back into the bedroom to find my clothes.

I can’t find them but I do discover a drawer full of old, dusty items. I put on an oversized shirt and pants. I find large boots with holes but they’ll suffice.

Lochness appears, now reclining on the bed, arms crossed as he blinks slowly, relaxed. “Sweetheart. What do you think you’re doing?” Nessy now holds the fork I threw at him and he bites on it, looking at me like he wants to devour me.

I blush with embarrassment and also added heat. “You sexy, infuriating jerk…holding a tiny fork, pah,” I mutter to myself as I think of his sword-like fangs. I tie up the laces on my pants, keeping them around my small bump.

I twirl my hair around my hands and throw the red curls over my back, hanging down to my waist. “I’m human. I crave company, not just a large cock. So I’m leaving, I’m going home to the Horde. I’ll be walking all the way home, my dear dragon,” I explain with a softer, sweeter voice.

“Goodbye, my love.” I turn and take a step toward the broken window. There are no stairs leading up to this room. So I’m guessing the stairs wind up from the outside.

The silence behind me is unsettling. I turn to see Lochness just eerily smiling to himself. Far too smug.

I move to the edge of the window and look into the forest, searching for a path. The fog is so thick I…and endless…it…no… I look left and right, but then I look down…the fog wafts by, revealing tiny ant-like trees. We’re in the clouds.

“Good luck getting down, Madeline.”

Lochness has appeared right behind me, speaking over my head, not touching me—just taunting me. I look over my shoulder, up to his tilted head and green emerald eyes, burning with triumph.

There are no stairs up here. None at all. The only way up is by the wing of a dragon. “Oh, you’re so clever. You got me. What do you want to do to me up here?” I ask him, narrowing my eyes.

“You had me in Requiem territory—now you have me, exactly the same as before, there’s no difference between you and I…” I trail off when I realize one of the reasons he isn’t touching me is one arm is hidden behind his back and bent, hiding something. Gifts. First a talon.

Breakfast. The endless sky. And now? Something behind his back.

I’ve moved around, feeling my heart race as I realize too late that Lochness is giving me gifts. Like…he’s…~being romantic.~ I blanch, paling as I now fall silent, feeling almost guilty for yelling at him.

I’m fucking speechless now.

“Are you done complaining, rat?” Lochness drawls, his brow twitching up and down as irritation finally starts to show.

“Am I going crazy or are you holding a bouquet of flowers behind your back?” I whisper, breathing in through my nose and detecting floral scents.

“Not anymore,” Lochness brings his hand forward and I see nothing, but he’s subtly pissed, looking grumpy and dissatisfied with how ungrateful and unimpressed I’ve been all morning.

He steps past me and disappears, flying off as his Dragon into the fog—ah, the clouds. At his feet, where he just stood, is an ash pile as one remaining stem curls up and burns in the fire. I’ll never know what those flowers looked like.

My hand flies to my chest. I wanted to know what flowers they were. I jumped to conclusions.

Missed the nice things he was doing. A rare feeling pushes through me. I’m usually angry at them.

But right now, I’m plagued by heavy thoughts, as I stumble back inside, thinking…how could I have been so blind? How can I make it up to my rogue?

~Where have you gone?~ I tentatively reach out to Nessy, curious where he flew off to. ~Come back.~

He doesn’t answer.

I try again, saying, ~I’m sorry.~ And once more his silence is deafening. No answer.

~I hope I didn’t break his heart.~