I have to send you back

Royan touched the man's hand. The dragon on the knife began to move to force him to withdraw his hand. The moment he let go of the sleeping man the dragon returned to the knife and rested quietly. 

"We should leave," he insisted. 

Aida had no objections, it was the one sensible thing that the prince had said since they met. They rushed out of the palace. 

Royan pulled the doors closed and returned the magic that he absorbed to the door. He tapped the door three times making the spells active again. 

The two of them ran back to the main palace being careful not to be seen. The things that Royan saw were enough to tell him that things in the palace weren't what they seemed. 

It made him even more terrified of offending the seat. He could only try to imagine what all those people did to end up in that state in the black palace.