After a thorough investigation to ensure there weren't any secret latches or doorways, she and Asher approached yet another door.
With each one passed, they probably went deeper into the earth. Taking a long, even breath, Honoria pushed aside her bubbling panic. Dragon-shifters weren't meant to be underground.
And in that instant, she truly understood what hell it must've been for Asher to be underground for five long years.
Her beast grunted. We can't change the past. It made him stronger. Nothing else matters.
Asher struggled with the larger, heavier door. Honoria took one half of the handle and together they managed to heave it open, revealing a teenage girl tied to a chair, her head slumped to her chest.
She was alone, and Honoria did the quickest scan of their surroundings possible before rushing to the girl's side. She was breathing, and when Honoria touched her cheek, the young female stirred.
Her green eyes widened, and she struggled against her bindings. She pleaded, her accent marking her as Welsh, "Please, you have to get me out of here. They have my parents. And if I don't go after them, it could be too late. Please, they'll murder them, I know it."
The girl was like a younger version of Honoria. Except in her own case, she had been sent away to safety and had been unable to help her mum and dad when they'd needed it.
But with this girl, maybe she could act and save them, to try to make up for not doing anything for her own family.
Honoria reached for the bindings, but Asher grabbed her wrist. He whispered, "No. We can't."
The girl sniffled and started blubbering on about parents and something unintelligible.
Honoria didn't—no, couldn't—leave her here.
Asher's grip tightened at the same time as her dragon spoke up. I know you want to, but we can't. If we do, without ensuring our target isn't here, we could be penalized.
So now you care more about winning?
It's not that, and you know it.
As she watched the girl's tears and weaker struggles, Honoria's heart squeezed. Could she really just leave the girl here and keep going?
Asher's voice was barely a whisper at
her ear. "I'm almost positive this is a set-up. First, bombarding me with the prison cells, and now a girl who is afraid her parents will be murdered? They're testing us, Ria. We can't let them win."
Asher's words cut through her desperation to save the girl. Having something from both their pasts, one right after the other, was too much of a coincidence.
One she never would've realized, though, if not for Asher pointing it out. Even now, the young female looked at her with big eyes, wanting her to help.
Taking a deep breath, she stood upright and backed away from the teenager. Even as the young female continued to struggle and sob, Honoria turned toward yet another blasted door. She murmured, "Come on."
With each step she took toward the door, Honoria only hoped she'd made the right decision.
Her beast chimed in, If this is truly a dragon hunter or Dragon Knight den, then we'll find a way to save everyone. But what Asher said makes sense. It wouldn't surprise me if each of the candidates was being confronted with difficult aspects of their pasts and/or their fears, especially since each of us was researched thoroughly by the DDA. It's the perfect way to test how a dragon-shifter performs under pressure.
Maybe, but sometimes coincidences happen. I won't rule out these people are truly prisoners until I spot Fraser MacKenzie.
Fair enough. Let's keep going and see if he's here.
It took both her and Asher to open the slightly smaller, but jammed door. Bracing herself for another dismal scene, she blinked when she saw the red-haired male sitting in a chair, his arms over his chest, whistling. "About bloody time," he stated in a Scottish accent.
They'd found their mark—Fraser MacKenzie.
~~~
Asher was glad he'd figured out what was going on, and even more so when Honoria believed him.
Between her being there for him in the row of cells, and he having her back with the struggling, sobbing teenager, it only reinforced how well they not only worked together but also how they balanced each other out.