A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update!
Number Two adjusted her body temperature to better suit the crisp, chilly air outside of the throne room, so she would not feel cold.
Before she entered the dungeons, she adjusted her body temperature once more. The dungeons often froze prisoners to death. Unsheathing her sword, the half-human half-ra'zac walked cautiously into one of the cells in the back… a drugged and injured being slumped against the stone wall, lips blue from the cold.
With her senses (it wasn't touch, taste, smell, sight, or hearing, but rather a combination of them all) she snaked out the tip of her tongue… tasting the air and sensing the vibrations of the prisoner with the sensitive nerves that only ra'zac had on their tongues.
After a while, Number Two frowned again. The aura was female… but she did not recognize the other vibrations and taste. Throwing open the door to the cell, she gasped. With her inhuman eyes, she could tell that the girl was not, or mostly not, human. Her features were like that of an elf… slanted, hard, but beautiful. Number Two remembered an elf from not too long ago.
She tried to recall the vibrations and the taste of the aura that elf had, and tasted the prisoner's aura again. The elf's aura had tasted like… leaves and magic. The taste of this being's aura had the flavor of magic as well, only much more potent, and there was more bitterness. The bitterness signified that the magic either had never or received very little training. There were other tastes, but they were dulled by the bitterness of the magic, and even if each taste could be singled out, there would be no way for Number Two to identify them. She had never tasted them before.
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Galbatorix's sharp blue eyes flashed dangerously. He raised his dark, thick eyebrows, running a hand through a jungle of hair:
Galbatorix's Point Of View (POV)
"Interesting." I mused. How interesting this little scenario was. Strange indeed… an extremely young mutt. Half-elf, half-human.
Haha! I knew it… this was the daughter of Sade, the third of the thirteen forsworn! How interesting, so interesting! She definitely bears some resemblance to Sade…her hair, her nose, and the sense of dignity she carries, but that could also be inherited from her elvin mother,Arya: shunned for seventy years after giving birth to that traitor's offspring! But I wonder if the girl knows that her mother is back into elvin favor. Hilarious! This is too good.
However, this girl is extremely powerful… I could pour the blood of the ra'zac into her, and make her invincible! She would be the best of the Numbers… She could be Number One, outranking others by far. I wonder, however, if she would serve me. How silly, of course she will.
I felt the lump under my hand. I knew what I was doing, but I was afraid at the same time… afraid that if the green dragon egg hatched for this girl, there was a distinct possibility that she would fly off to the Varden. Murtagh and Thorn had been able to break off his magic—a feat that nobody had ever accomplished before. I, Galbatorix knew that it was because of dragon magic they had escaped. Dragons truly did do unexpected things. This time, if the green dragon hatched, I would make the dragon swear to him as well. A more binding oath than the one Murtagh had given me. Brilliant.
Lazuli POV
Everything burned, ached, and my vision was distorted. My head felt light, and my legs trembled as I stood. Something hot was forced down my throat, and I sputtered. I tried to stick two fingers down my throat to purge whatever drug they had given me, but both hands were in splints.
Surprisingly, my vision cleared, and the image of a dark-robed man with a jungle of hair and beard came into focus. He held a long, black sword, and he tilted his head back, sinister laughter ringing out, hurting my sensitive ears.
"Come here, young lady." His voice was sleek and smooth… mesmerizing, in a way.
My legs were no longer trembling. I took a cautious step forward.
"What is your name?"
"Why should I tell you?" I was surprised by the venom in my voice, but this could have been the man who tortured me.
"Because I can do this." He murmured something, staring at my hands. The splints fell off, my wrists healed.
The man looked at my confused eyes and continued, "I can reverse that just as easily."
"Lazuli. My name is Lazuli." I didn't see the harm in giving him my name. It wasn't like he could control me with it… because I didn't even know my true name, so how could he?
"Lazuli, do you know what this is?" His hand whipped out, and something flew through the air—a stone. Out of instinct, I caught it. Under my grasp, the warm green stone vibrated. Startled, I dropped it. A large crack appeared on the beautiful surface, and I glanced up, afraid to be reprimanded by the man who stood at the front of the large room. His eyes glinted, gaze fixed on the stone in front of me. I looked down again, and saw that I had not just inflicted one crack, but multiple ones. Like dust, the stone crumpled, and a small lizard emerged.
Suddenly, the lizard unfolded a pair of scaly wings, membrane a glowing chartreuse under the light. A dragon. It stood before me, licking off the membrane that clung to it's scaly hide. I reached out to clear away the green stone—no, not stone, egg, that lay at it's feet. I accidentally brushed my palm on it's emerald snout, and I jumped back with a scream.
Pain shot up through my arm, immobilizing it. I shook my hand, trying to relieve the burning. A silver mark glowed steadily on my right palm. Looking up, I hissed, "Galbatorix."
