Page 80 of The Death King
The floor suddenly felt uneven underneath my feet as his rage coursed through the entire room. He’d been cold to me before, but he’d never been hot-blooded like this, knocking me down with an invisible sword.
“If it bothers you, you don’t have to do it?—”
“Yes, I do.”
“You always have a choice?—”
“I have to kill him at all costs. At every cost. At the cost of the innocent as well as the guilty. At the cost of myself.”
I was desperate to ask the question that sat on the tip of my tongue, desperate to know who he was, what had happened to Talon, what could instill this kind of unstoppable rage that boiled in his blood. But I knew better than to push him any further than I already had.
He rose from the chair and stepped away, his back to me, his black cape moving behind him. “We’re done here.”
15
TALON
I was alone in my bedchambers, in my usual spot in front of the fireplace. Raindrops pelted the windowpane across the room, the drops tapping against the glass because of the rage of the wind.
My hips ached to be between the soft thighs of the woman down the hall, but my mind was too shrouded in anger to desire company. My whores had been neglected and ignored. They’d come to visit more than once, but I sent them away. Told them to service the guards who protected me night and day instead.
The men were very appreciative.
“Do you ever do anything else?”
My eyes shifted to the armchair that had been empty a moment ago.
There he sat, in his midnight-blue armor, arrogance in his stare. “Kings are too busy slaying to sit in front of the fire like an old man.”
“A king who slays without a plan is a dead king.”
“A king who sits on his ass is no king at all.”
I stared at my adversary, the monster who had access to me whenever he wished, who had a grip on me that would never slacken. “I have one chance at this. It needs to be done right. When I march on those gates, it must end in victory. If not, then everything I’ve done will be in vain.” It’ll mean Calista suffered at the hands of General Titan in the Arid Sands needlessly. That the dead were pulled from their crypts unnecessarily. That the people who are about to die will die for no reason.”
Bahamut listened, his fingers brushing across his chin.
“The legends say there’s a secret society of dragon defenders somewhere in these lands. I’ve had scouts searching the wilds for the last decade. If they exist, they must reside in the most inhospitable locations to avoid detection. But I’ll find them.”
“If you’ve been searching ten years to no avail, your scouts suck or the dragons don’t exist.”
“I believe they do.”
He sank into the chair and crossed his ankle over the opposite knee. “You don’t have that much time, Talon. Find that second dragon and take your fleet of ships to enemy lines. Win the war. I’ve handed you the victory.”
“When a king falls upon his own sword, he’s always pierced by his own arrogance.”
Bahamut stared, his fingers moving to the wooden armrest. “It’s been ten years, Talon. A lot can change. He may already be dead. Or he may be getting stronger with every passing year. You can’t sit around waiting for the perfect time because there is no perfect time. It seems like you’re stalling.”
My eyes narrowed. “You have a lot of fucking balls to say that to me.”
“Maybe you’re subconsciously stalling.”
“It’s all I think about—night and day. Hatred is the air in my lungs. Fire is the blood in my veins. Time has not weakened my resolve. It hasn’t dulled my rage. It’s made it infinitely worse. Doubt my commitment again, and see what happens.”
“I don’t doubt your commitment, Talon. I just think you’re afraid.”
“Afraid?” My jaw clenched at the insult.