Page 37 of The Dragon Queen
I looked away because the strength in her eyes was too much.
“I can speak to dragons even when I’m not fused. Perhaps I can speak to the ones that are enslaved. Perhaps I can help.”
“Maybe. But it’s the dark elves that I fear. You simply don’t have the experience to match their strength in battle.”
“I’ll be with my uncle.”
“As much as he loves you, his duty is to his wife and his queen.” I looked at her again, wishing she were a coward who would be happy to wait behind while others risked their lives. But if she were that way, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with her.
“Then let me come with you.”
Flashbacks came across my mind, my wife screaming my name as they burned her body with fire. The way Silas screamed before the end because he couldn’t handle the intensity of the flames. The dark night that was full of so much smoke that there was no sky. Every breath hurt my lungs from the anguish and the ash of my loved ones. “No.” I clenched my eyes shut and forced the thought away. “I want you nowhere near him.”
She didn’t press the argument. “Then I’m going to join Queen Eldinar in her battle against the dark elves.”
I bowed my head in irritation. “No.”
“Talon.”
I kept my head down.
“I know you’re scared?—”
“Scared is a weak description of my abject terror.” I raised my chin to look at her.
“While the dark elves are cut down and more dragons become free, there will be confusion. The dragons will probably panic and flee. Or they’ll attack our dragons anyway because they’ll have no idea what is happening. I can speak to them without being fused, so I should be there to tell them what’s going on and what to do next. I don’t need to battle with the dark elves. I can ride upon Inferno and assist.”
“You want to lead the dragons…”
“I guess you can say that,” she said. “Queen Eldinar and her kin will be engaged in battle. My uncle will be leading the soldiers below. You’ll be focused on your conquest. Ethan will be organizing the villagers. We all have our part—and I think this should be mine.”
I closed my eyes again because the stress that gripped my throat was too painful. Made it nearly impossible to breathe. I loved Vivian with my whole heart, and it took decades for me to heal. If I lost Calista…I would never heal. I wanted to lock her up in a stone prison with an army of ten thousand to keep her safe. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect you, Calista. If you call for my aid and I’m locked in battle with Barron or his sons, I may not be able to do anything about it.”
She gave me a long stare. “I know…and I’m okay with that.”
I sat on the beach alone in front of the bonfire. Everyone had spent the day preparing the ships for the short voyage. At dawn, we would leave the harbor and sail away from the Hideaway.
I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. Wouldn’t be able to sleep any night before the battle.
I felt his presence before I heard the sound of wind beneath powerful wings. Then he landed beside me, the thump of his body against the sand distinct despite the softness of the earth.
His dark scales shone in the glow of the fire, a dark mirror of the flames.You’re afraid.
“Very.”
A fear so strong I would be able to feel it on the opposite side of the world.
My arms rested on my knees as I stared at the fire.
What do you fear?
“You can’t figure that out, Khazmuda?”
There was a long pause of silence.I know the battle is just days away. It will claim the lives of those you know…and possibly those you love.
I hugged my knees when I thought about Vivian, the way she was dragged to the fire as she screamed my name…believing I would be able to save her.
But it will also give you the vengeance you desperately seek—as it will for me.