Page 55 of The Dragon Queen

Astaroth kept the sword at my neck as he turned to look at the opponent too weak to fight. “How honorable.” He pulled the blade from my neck and walked to the elf that had no chance against him. He could barely walk, could barely lift the sword that he carried at his side.

Astaroth gripped the hilt by two hands and sliced the blade straight through the other elf’s neck.

His body crumpled to the ground.

That was my opening to get up and run, but then there were more.

Many more.

They appeared on all sides, dead soldiers and elves, some wearing the mark of Talon’s regime and others the emblem of the Southern Isles. They swarmed us, some surrounding Inferno and taking on Astaroth’s dragon, while others moved to Astaroth to be cut down by his blade.

The rest moved to me and surrounded me in a circle, their backs to me with their shields up, forming a solid wall around me.

“Talon…”

“Rooooaaaaaaarrrrrrr!”

Tears sprang from my eyes when I recognized his voice.

We’re here, Pretty.

I pushed myself to my feet, swaying in pain as the shards cut and twisted inside me. But on the slight hill, I could see Khazmuda appear with his massive wings spread, coming down for a quick landing.

Talon jumped off, his cape billowing behind him, and he unsheathed his blade as he came for Astaroth with a rage that burned hotter than the fires that surrounded us.

Khazmuda roared before he lunged at the other dragon, teeth bared in a ferocious anger. The dragons collided with each other on the ground, talons and teeth aiming at one another’s throats.

Talon faced off with Astaroth, immediately driving the dark elf back with the speed of his blade, wearing a look of indescribable rage. Fire burned in his eyes and smoke left his lips. My swordsmanship was no match for Astaroth’s, not with the speed and strength he possessed, but Talon made him look like abeginner as he ran him down. Talon struck blow after blow, striking him in different places across his armor as Astaroth was forced to retreat toward me and my ring of protectors.

Astaroth blocked the hit aimed for his neck, but he wasn’t quick enough to block the flurry of blows that Talon unleashed. He kicked him hard in the chest and forced Astaroth to land on his back in the mud.

It was wet and sticky, and he struggled to grab his sword and stand upright, his boots sliding as they tried to dig into something solid.

Instead of taking the opportunity to stab him through the neck, Talon sheathed his blade across his back and stepped forward, his boots in the mud, and then slammed his boot right into his chest, forcing Astaroth to become submerged in the black liquid, his body violently trying to fight its way free.

Talon held his stance, keeping him under the mud with just his weight.

Astaroth had descended upon me with malevolence and arrogance, was an opponent who had overpowered me in every way, but Talon made him look like a novice in just a couple seconds.

A void was in Talon’s eyes as he stared down at Astaroth, drowning him under his boot, feeling nothing at all as the dragons fought behind him. The army of the dead climbed all over the dragon and stabbed him repeatedly to aid.

Khazmuda grabbed him by the neck with his sharp teeth and slammed him down into the ground. He sank his teeth in hard and pierced all the scales. There was a commotion, and then the dragon who had mutilated Inferno went still.

Astaroth and his dragon went together.

I felt no sadness for the dragon, even though I should. Not after what had happened to the dragon who shared my soul.

Macabre landed that moment with Queen Eldinar upon his back, probably noticing the commotion from above. Queen Eldinar headed toward us while Macabre moved toward Inferno with Khazmuda, seeing what they could do for their fallen brethren.

The dead dropped their protective wall and dispersed so the king they served could approach.

Talon rushed to me and kneeled down, immediately realizing my injury. With experienced hands, he unlocked the armor and pulled it off my body to expose the blood that soaked into my shirt.

With his bare hands, he ripped the shirt open to see the wounds from the armor, seeing the blood flow over my skin into the mud below. His hand immediately cupped my wounds, and he applied pressure to make it stop. “It’s not deep. You’ll be okay.” He lifted his gaze and looked at me directly for the first time.

“Inferno…” My eyes immediately watered once the threat had passed. “He protected me…”

“Dragons can heal each other,” he said. “It’s not over.”