Page 52 of The Dragon Queen

Balls of fire continued to rain down on us from the dragons above, igniting more trees, setting buildings aflame and turning the cliff into a pyre. The dead who watched from the sides banged their swords directly against the bones of their rib cages, replicating the sound of war drums, speeding up their pace the longer I continued to fight my three opponents with a single sword.

I felt neither pain nor fatigue. If there were bruises on my body, I didn’t feel them. If my mouth craved water, I felt no thirst. Every need and every desire had been quieted the moment I arrived at the castle. Nothing else mattered until the job was done, until Barron’s entire world was at my feet, until he begged me not to kill his sons while I forced him to watch.

Barron blocked my hit then struck me with his own attack. I evaded it then slammed my fist into his chest, making him stumble back because he expected my sword at his torso rather than my knuckles.

He quickly recovered, but I took the opportunity to spit in his face.

He flinched as it splattered on his skin then began to drip to his chin.

“You will scream as you burn, and I will smile.” I struck him with my sword, hitting the same spot on the arm where I’d struck him a dozen times, and finally, the pieces broke apart. The chunk of armor dropped to the stone and exposed his flesh, already deeppurple from all the times I’d landed my hits. “You will beg me to spare your sons from the fire, and I will fucking smile.”

Talon.

I came at him hard, giving him a flurry of hits that carried the momentum of a running ox. I drove him back farther and farther, leaving his sons behind as they struggled to join the fight with their broken noses and arms. It was all a rush, the greatest rush I’d ever felt in my entire life.

He couldn’t keep up. Even with the power of his dragon, he was no match for the rage that tinted my vision red. He was out of breath, sweat heavy on his forehead, every ounce of arrogance replaced by fear.

I kicked him hard in the chest and sent him to the ground. He collapsed on the stones, and his sword flew from his grasp.

I walked to it and kicked it away before I headed back to Jairo, who had a broken nose that sprayed blood all over him. He could barely hold his right arm because it had been ripped from the socket from the way I jerked him around. When he saw me coming for him, he tried to run.

“Grab him,” I ordered.

The dead at my command rushed his way, barring his path back to the castle. The only way out was to jump over the cliff.

I looked at Kael. “Bring him to me.”

Talon!

Kael tried to fight the mass of skeletons that latched on to him and forced him to me. He was stronger than any of the skeletons, but when he was outnumbered twelve to one, he was at theirmercy. He screamed in disgust as the dirty bones of the dead grabbed his flesh and forced him directly into my hold.

The smile on my face didn’t feel like my own. It wasn’t the one I wore when I looked at Calista. Wasn’t the one I’d shown my wife. It felt like it belonged to the God of the Underworld himself.

I grabbed Kael and dragged him to his father.

Barron had gotten to his feet and grabbed his sword, but he seemed to realize the fight was over when I had both of his sons in my grasp.

I kicked Kael behind the knees, forced him to drop to the hard stone, and I grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back, exposing his throat like I might grant him mercy and make it quick.

Barron breathed hard, his sword at ease by his side.

I continued to tug on Kael and get off on the horror on my uncle’s face. “How does it feel?”

Talon!

“How does it feel to know your son will die and you can’t stop it?” I tugged his head to the side just to make him wince.

Barron sucked in a deep breath, glancing at his son before looking at me again.

“Come on, do it.”

When I demanded he fight, it seemed like Barron only wanted to talk. But now his kingdom had fallen to me, and all that was left was the executions.

“Beg for his life.” I jerked on Kael again. “Beg for his life the way I begged for Vivian’s.” I felt the darkness in my soul that had been planted there by Bahamut. I was cruel and vile, and I fucking liked it. The revenge was sweeter than a ripe peach on a summer day. “Do it!”

“My sons had nothing to do with the coup?—”

“Lies.”