Page 54 of The Dragon Queen

Hold on, Inferno.

He said nothing, his mind gone.

The rider hopped down again and landed on the blood-soaked earth. He wore a black cape the way Talon did, and as he came closer and in view of the fire that torched the nearby trees, his features became visible.

Astaroth.

With sallow, gray skin and a look of malevolence in his eyes, he stared me down like I’d personally affronted him. The silence stretched for nearly a minute, a minute that Inferno didn’t have. Then Astaroth reached behind his back and gripped the hilt of his heavy blade before he unsheathed it. The blade was midnight blue with a shine so clear it was like a mirror. He held it at his side as he looked at me, cocking his head as he examined me.

A flutter of fear entered my heart, but I pushed it back. I didn’t have Inferno’s power in my veins, not when he was on death’s doorstep. I would never take it from him, not when it might be the only thing that might keep him alive.

I was on my own.

Astaroth took a step toward me. “You’re the one turning our dragons against us. I have seen it.”

I knew I had no chance to win this fight and save Inferno, but I had to try. He gave his life for mine, and I would do the same for him. We were fused—and that meant something.

Astaroth’s eyes narrowed. “There will be no more of that.” He took another step and then another before his momentum peaked, rushing me at a speed that belied his height and size. There was no doubt that he channeled the power of his dragon in his muscles, had the strength to wield that sword like it had the weight of a feather.

Before he reached me, I felt it…felt my body come alive with unbridled power. Fire lit up my veins and made me suck in a deep breath.No. The grip on my sword was suddenly tight, and my body felt weightless.Inferno…

Astaroth stuck me with a killing blow, aiming to decapitate me.

I ducked and felt my hair fly behind me. I rolled out of the way and felt the mud and blood stain my armor. I sidestepped his next hit and then the next, staying alive solely because of the heightened focus that Inferno lent to me.

Astaroth stopped his assault and watched me with narrowed eyes. “Kill the dragon.” He could have spoken to his dragon in his mind, but he said the words out loud just for my benefit.

“No.” I rushed to him and slammed my blade down into his. Then I spun my blade around again and tried to land another blow, but all I received was his sword to my vambrace.

I had the upper hand for merely a second before he overtook me again, and this time, his hand slammed down on my arm and nearly made me scream. The armor protected me and there was no wound, but the hit was so strong it nearly cracked my bones.

He smirked as he barreled down on me. “Your dragon is no match for mine.” His sword flashed through the air, a streak of blue light, coming at me with a speed my eyes could barely see.

I defended myself but only barely. My muscles strained against his size and experience. Inferno’s abilities kept me alive, but barely. I simply didn’t have the skills that Astaroth had accumulated over his long life.

He struck me again, hitting me so hard in the torso that my chest plate cracked inward and impaled me.

I almost screamed, but my pride wouldn’t allow it. I could feel the shards of the armor right in my stomach, several inches deep, so painful I could hardly breathe or move. I stumbled back and almost landed in the mud.

Astaroth didn’t pursue me. He just stood there and smiled—like he knew.

Now was the time to flee for my life, but I wouldn’t leave Inferno. If he died, then I would die too.

He spun his sword around his wrist as that gloating smile remained. Then he came for me, his steps slow, as if savoring the moment before the kill.

I moved backward, feeling the mud underneath my boots. It was hard to have a good hold without slipping, and when I took the wrong step, I fell on my ass and felt the shards dig into me deeper.

This time, I screamed.

Astaroth’s smile widened as he approached, his boots tapping against the mud. “Under different circumstances, I would have spared you. Beautiful women are my weakness—and I would have enjoyed you in my bed.”

I couldn’t stop the cringe from coming over my face, preferring death to that outcome, an outcome I knew all too well.

He placed his blade at the side of my neck, forcing my chin to tilt with the edge of his sword, as if he was enjoying the final sight of my beauty before he cut my head clean from my shoulders. “Such a waste…”

The sound of a footstep made me glance behind him, hoping to see Queen Eldinar arrive just in time to spare my life. But it was an elf with a sword, half of his body burned to blackness. He stumbled as he walked, too weak to move, but he continued to come this way.

I didn’t know whether he was dead or alive.