Page 67 of Blood of Dragons

Barron seemed to forge an alliance with dark elves, creatures we haven’t seen in hundreds of years. They used their dark magic against us, using our ability to speak with others telepathically and turning it inward to control our minds. They forced us to fuse with them or riders of their choice, like Barron’s associates and relatives. A fuse is supposed to be given freely, a union between two minds that can be reversed at any time, but they found a way to lock us into the fuse. Not only does the fuse grant them the power of a dragon, but it also grants immortality. That means your uncle will rule those kingdoms for eternity—and the dragons he’s subjugated.

“He’s no uncle of mine.” I wished I’d never called him that. Wished my father had had a stronger spine to defy him when it would have mattered. “Why you were able to resist it?”

I don’t have an answer. All I know is they tried to puncture my mind, and I stopped it.

“Why did you come to me?”

My world was in chaos. My family and friends were trapped in their mental enslavement. I couldn’t communicate with them because their riders forbade it. I called out into the world and heard nothing back—except your voice.He stared into the stream, looking at his brilliant scales in the sunlight.I felt your distress. Felt your sorrow. Heard your pleas. I wasn’t sure if you were human or dragon when I rushed to you. I sawConstantine light the stake as I approached—and then I understood.

I would cry if I could, but I was literally spent.

I hoped you were a dragon and was disappointed that you weren’t. But I wanted to save you anyway. I recognized my pain in you. It was a split-second decision to swoop down and take you—and I don’t regret it. He lifted his gaze and looked at me again.And I know one day you won’t regret it either.

I walked through the trees with my bow slung over my back next to my sword. I’d worn the same clothes the last six weeks, washing them in the river and hanging them to dry. I constructed a leather canteen out of hide and collected water when it rained to drink. All the survival skills my father had instilled in me kept me alive.

But I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alive.

I walked through the trees following deer tracks, but I stopped in the clearing and looked at the sky. It was an overcast day, the clouds dark like they might release rain in the next hour or two. There was a constant touch of coldness here, mildew on the branches and leaves in the morning, a dryness that made my breath escape as vapor. It was nothing like home…the place I missed with all my heart.

I continued to stare ahead, looking at the vast emptiness before me, feeling nothing in my heart.

Nothing at all.

I dropped my bow from my shoulder and set it on the ground. The quiver of arrows came next. Then I unclasped the chest plate of my armor and let it fall. I’d meticulously cleaned it by the river a couple times, just to occupy my mind. Now I let it fall into the mud.

I pulled out my dagger next and unsheathed it.

Talon.

I ignored his voice, ignored the concern in his tone.

Talon, don’t.

He was the only friend I had in the world, but it wasn’t enough. Every day, I remembered the way my father’s flesh smelled. I remembered the way my mother collapsed at the sight of his burned corpse. I remembered my little brother’s high-pitched screams. I remembered the way my sister was kicked in the stomach when she tried to fight her fate. And I remembered the way my wife screamed my name…and begged me to save her.

I didn’t even realize I’d done it.

The blade pierced my heart all on its own.

I jerked when I felt the pain jolt me like a bolt of lightning.

The breath I took was painful.

Talon!

I buckled to my knees and hit the earth, my hand still around the hilt of the dagger.

It was painful, but nothing compared to what they’d suffered.

This was merciful.

I collapsed onto my side, my head hitting soft grass, the birds chirping in the branches in the tree beside me. It was peaceful, feeling the life leave my body, the blood ooze from the irreparable wound. “Vivian…I’m coming.”

A shadow moved over me. The ground shook with a heavy landing.

But it was too late.

I was already gone.