I closed the door behind me, locking it with the key I'd been provided. Turning my gaze to the wall, I had to look for several moments to spot the peephole again. Now that I was a bit more relaxed, it was harder to focus on the way it had stood out against the plank the first time. It was unlikely anyone was watching at the moment—at least, that’s what I hoped.
The only way to really block its view would be to put something in front of it, as the place it was situated in the wall would still allow anyone looking through it to see me if I just moved the bed. Anything less would still leave me exposed to whoever looked through it.
I ran my fingers through my still-wet hair and looked around at what I had to work with, a slight chill passing through my body because of how cool the room was and how wet I still was.
I didn't have much to work with. Just the traveler’s clothes that I’d awakened in. I didn’t have a robe or anything, so I’d had to clamber back into my clothes after drying off with the coarse towel that Irinda had provided for me after my bath.
The towel had left much to be desired, and it hadn't even soaked up much of the water from my skin. Because of that, my body had still been fairly wet on the trek back up the stairs, which meant my shirt and pants had soaked up most of the excess water, leaving much of my upper body fairly exposed thanks to the thinner fabric that the shirt was made of. That part didn't particularly bother me, as dragons were naked by nature, but the idea of someone watching me while I slept sent a shiver down my spine.
An idea grew in my mind like a spark to a flame.
I stripped my shirt off, exposing my chest completely, and grabbed the small carving knife that I’d found on one of the thugs. Crossing the room to the wall where the peephole was, I jabbed the knife into the wall above the hole and tossed my shirt over the handle of the knife.
It hung limply against the planks, masking the hole's view of the room.
If anyone was stupid enough to try to spy on me now, they’d only be able to see the back of the shirt. I smirked, though anger still smoldered in my gut. I’d always been beautiful, even when wearing my human form years ago. But men had never openly gawked at me the way they did now. Something about the look in their eyes made my stomach turn over.
Was it because this form was prettier than my own had been? I didn't think so. Perhaps it was because they saw me as helpless? Claimable. That thought was dry wood to the smoldering embers of my anger. The only thing that kept me from stalking down to the common room, my chest hanging out, was the fact that I was simply too exhausted to try fighting right now. Doing something so reckless would only end up badly.
Tomorrow, I told myself. Once I was better rested, I would try to figure out a way into the other rooms and have a talk with the master of the inn. If this kind of hospitality was what The Slumbering Drake offered its customers, then it was no wonder the place seemed so empty.
For now, though, I yawned, the bed calling for me to embrace it. I couldn't fight the feeling any longer. Stripping the rest of my clothes off—they were just too wet to sleep in—I laid them out on the bed’s footboard to dry.
Then I climbed into the bed, pulling the blankets over my naked body, and let myself slip into my dreams.
*** *** ***
The world was covered in darkness.
Bright, flaring light erupted from the horizon. Rays of sunlight pierced at my eyes as I held my hand up to blot out the blinding light.
"You crawl around so blindly…" a voice whispered into my ear. I twisted, looking for its source.
Laughter cackled through the air around me.
"Who are you?" I questioned, my voice shaky, faltering. Fear enveloped me like my wings before I dove to the earth.
"I see what you are. What you wish to become. And I will make sure you fail."
The final word slammed into me like a hammer.
*** *** ***
My eyes snapped open, the darkness of the room settling over me.
Wood creaked somewhere in the room and I twisted my head, taking in the shapes in the blackness, my heart drumming within my chest.
Everything looked the same. Perhaps the dream had merely spooked me. Weariness tugged at me again and I started to close my eyes, to return to the welcome embrace of sleep, but another creak sent a spike of alert ripping through my body.
My muscles tightened as my eyes shot open once more, my eyes searching the shadows. One creak was a coincidence. Two, though? Someone had to be in here.
A golden window appeared in my vision, almost blinding me before it turned slightly translucent, bathing the room in golden light, a figure barely visible through the words.
New Quest Unlocked: Rest Interrupted
Quest Objective: Protect yourself from the intruder.
I swiped at the window with my hand, trying to get it to vanish.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
My drumming heartbeat became a stampede as fear spiked through me, my blood racing through my veins. I couldn’t see who was beyond it. I was open to—
The window disappeared, bathing the room in darkness once more, cutting off even the little view I had of the person in my room. I blinked several times, shaking my head to try to clear the spots in my vision. After a breath or two, they started to fade, and my eyes locked onto the thing that shouldn’t be there.
There, in the corner, near the sink, I could just make out the shape of a person crouched near the floor. They held something in their hands.
I reached for the thin dagger I’d taken off the thug leader, my fingers closing around it. I sat up quickly, holding the blade out, the cover dropping to my lap, exposing my body.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I growled, letting the words drip with an unspoken threat.
The shadow stopped moving. Recoiled, even. The wood creaked again—the floor, I realized—as the shadow toppled into the corner, hands raised, dropping whatever it had in its hands.
I pushed out of the bed, letting my feet drop to the floor with a soft noise, dagger still held out in front of me.
“Please don’t hurt me,” a woman’s voice said from the corner. Her voice cracked with fear, a sob broke through the quiet of the room.
“Light the candle,” I commanded.
She moved slowly, on her knees from the looks of it, and fumbled with something on the room’s table. After a moment I heard the flick of one of the firestarters humans loved to use, and a small flame appeared, illuminating the woman’s face as the darkness fled from the light as the flame grew.
“Irinda?” I asked as the candle flame flickered before her face.
“I’m sorry,” she said, holding her hands up in front of her, the firestarter falling onto the table next to the candle. “The master said I had to… He said—” Her voice cut off and she visibly winced, as if she expected to be slapped for speaking out of turn.
My eyes scanned the rest of the room, landing on the corner where she’d been. My clothes lay on the floor, crumbled, the pockets turned inside out.
“Is he in there?” I asked, motioning toward the wall.
“In where?” She asked, sobs causing her words to falter.
I waved the dagger in front of me. “Don't lie to me,” I said, my voice low. "Do you think he will come running to save you if I start cutting?"
Part of me hated threatening her, a part I was still trying to come to terms with. But I needed to be hard if I was going to survive the next few days.
“I…” she stammered, eyes bulging as she watched the dagger. Her eyes jumped between the blade, my naked body, and my face.
“Yes?”
She nodded, unable to speak as another burst of sobs racked her body.
I turned toward the door.
It didn’t make a sound as I opened it, exposing myself to the hallway beyond, which was dark, the oil lamps that had been lit bright hours ago now snuffed out. Well, that explained how she’d been able to sneak in without the light waking me.
“Which door is it?” I asked, not looking over my shoulder.
Her voice was a squeak as she responded. “Right. The right one.”
I nodded and crossed the hallway, my hand gripping the doorknob. It clicked. Still locked. I had noticed Lockpicking on the list of Skills the System had spit out at me earlier, but I didn’t have any tools available to use on the lock.
Cursing the System for giving me such a weak body, I tested my weight against the door.
I pulled back a few feet, preparing myself. I pushed my shoulder forward and then rammed into the door. It wasn’t a particularly wise solution. But, it was the only solution I could think of in the moment, my anger still boiling like a pot of stew threatening to overflow.
Pain exploded through my shoulder and upper arm. Vibrations danced through my body. Yeah, that was absolutely going to suck in the morning. It might even haunt me for a few days.
I slammed into the door again and it rattled with the impact. I was small. Weak, even. But if I hit this door enough, it would give.
It had to.
I was preparing to slam my shoulder into it a third time when I heard the lock click. The door swung open, the bald man from earlier staring out, red-faced. His eyes instantly shot to my chest and his cheeks grew brighter.
I cursed, shoving my body against his. He wasn’t ready for me, which was the only reason I managed to get the upper hand. He wasn’t as big as the thug leader had been, but he was bigger than I was—in height and roundness.
My movements caught him off-guard, though, and we tumbled to the ground, my body pressed against his. He smelled like booze, smoke, and sweat. I straddled his chest, pushing the dagger against his throat.
“You do this to everyone you rent rooms to?” I asked, letting the thin blade dig into his skin. A trickle of red appeared beneath the blade.
His eyes struggled to look between my face and my naked body. His cheeks reddened and a mixture of fear and anger stared back at me. "It wasn't like that, I swear." His voice came out broken as he tried not to cower beneath me.
“Thought you could just watch me, did you? Maybe sent in one of your girls and steal from me?” I asked, leaning down so he had no choice but to make eye contact with me. “I want that hole covered by the morning. And I want every key you have to my room.” I pressed the dagger a little harder into his throat.
"Of course." He bit out. His throat bulged as he swallowed hard.
“If I catch you looking at something you aren’t worthy of again…” I slid down his body, bringing the blade with me until it hovered over his groin. His eyes followed me, widening.
“I’ll take what you hold most dear. Understood?”
He nodded more vigorously this time as the anger gave way to humiliation.
“Good.” I pushed off of him, standing, and turned back toward my room. Irinda still sat on the floor next to the table, her knees pressed to her chest, tears streaming down her face.
“Oh, and since we're setting new boundaries, she works for me now,” I said, pointing the dagger at Irinda and glancing back at Brin, who had now pushed himself up on his elbows.
His cheeks flushed even darker when he caught me watching him, his eyes glaring back at me as if they could somehow promise retribution.
“I call and she comes running. Yeah?”
He nodded.
“Now, leave me alone so I can get some godsdamned sleep.”
I pushed back into my room as Irinda scrambled up to her feet, ducking past me and into the hallway. She glanced at the balding man, her eyes widening at the red line I’d left on his exposed throat, and then I slammed the door.
Skill Increased: Intimidation +1.
The golden window appeared in the corner of my vision, and I pushed it away with a forceful thought. I was too tired for any more of the System’s nonsense tonight.
"Seven moons," I cursed, and grabbed the corner of the bed. It was heavier than it looked—which was good for what I wanted to use it for—but it made my back and shoulder ache even more than they already did.
With far more effort than it should ever have taken me, I dragged the corner of the bed in front of the door to create a makeshift barricade.
Exhaustion pulled me back into the covers, and I didn’t even bother to blow out the candle or hang my shirt back up over the peephole.
If that hole wasn’t plugged when I woke up in the morning, I’d give the master of The Slumbering Drake something else to remember me by.
I fell asleep with a smile on my face. Maybe being a monster wouldn’t be so difficult after all.