Page 15 of The Dragon King
The guards surrounded Talon and grabbed him by the arms.
Talon quickly twisted out of their hold. “Trust me, if I wanted to get out of this, I could.”
They led him away to the building beside the royal palace.
I went to General Ezra next. “Please stop this.”
“Calista—”
“He did as you asked.”
“You didn’t hear them.” He grabbed Talon’s sword from the ground then turned to me.
“And neither did you.”
“I couldn’t understand the words, but I understood their behavior. Alaric had a vile grin on his face almost the entire time. They spoke to each other as equals, almost as friends or comrades. Talon issued no threat.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I think Alaric propositioned him for a plot to overthrow us, and Talon agreed.”
“He would never do that.”
“Calista, I understand love makes you blind. I love a woman I’ll love my whole life, and she’ll love me for a second. It’s complicated and messy, and I get that. But you don’t see who this man really is.”
I felt the tears behind my eyes. “I see him for all that he is.”
“I didn’t need to understand them to know what transpired. Talon asked them to leave, but I think it’s a red herring.”
“A red herring for what?”
“For the fact that they’ll return and try to take Riviana. And when they arrive, Talon will help them.”
“Why? Why would he do that? What does he get out of that?”
He hesitated.
“There is no motive, Uncle Ezra. You’re making baseless assumptions out of fear.”
“Alaric knows where the dragons are. I’m sure he figured out why the Death King marched with us and offered him the location if he turned on us—and he did.”
“He did not.”
He gave me a look layered in disappointment. “Because you can’t see, Calista.”
“He would never betray you or me.”
“Do you understand that he’s sired by Bahamut?”
Talon had told me the origins of his power, but he didn’t tell me the tale. He said it was too beautiful of a night to discuss something so heavy.
“Bahamut and Riviana are enemies. Have you noticed that the music in the forest has changed? Because every moment that one of Bahamut’s servants dwells in this forest is agony for her. As a puppet of the God of the Underworld, Talon wants to destroy the afterlife as much as the dark elves. It was a mistake granting him access to our forest. Alaric and the dark elves are coming, and we must be prepared. If our scouts report that the dark elves have left the forest by the deadline, then we’ll release Talon.”
“If they’ve decided to stay, that still isn’t enough to incriminate Talon.”
“I disagree.”
When I looked at Talon, I didn’t see a master of shadow or the embodiment of evil. I didn’t see a puppet of an evil god. I saw a broken man with a broken heart…but a heart, nonetheless. “I understand your concern, but you’re wrong about him. I would put my life on it.”