Page 39 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

“It makes no difference.” His voice echoed as the soldiers near him moved in formation. “You are hereby detained by the Twenty-third Legion.”

I folded my arms, planting my feet firmly on the ground. “Oh? Am I? I think you’ll need more, honestly.”

The commander laughed, placing one hand on his stomach, then looked back as his soldiers joined him. “Oh, I don’t think so.”

I held my hand out, a swirling ball of flame growing before I turned back to them. “You sure about that?”

One by one, the soldiers with him reached behind their backs, and one by one, chains fell from their hands, glowing and barbed.

“Well, shit.”

A SEVERED LIMB HIT THE TREE, AND THE GENERAL GRUNTED BENEATH ME.

Reggie stepped from the brush and approached me, his feet crunching on the burnt grass. My heeled boot still pressed on the general’s throat, my hands on my hips as I turned to Reggie.

“You were right about the weapons.” I nodded to the pieces of soldiers that littered the ground. A few of the chains still glowed as they lay near their corpses. The back of my arm still burned where I had been hit. After that first hit, I learned how to dodge a little quicker.

“I assumed as much,” Reggie said before looking at the general I held beneath my foot. He clawed at my leg, trying to breathe, his one eye bloodshot now. “Are you all right?”

I shrugged. “A few minor burns, but they are not nearly as trained as they should be if she expects them to defeat me. I’m fine.”

Reggie nodded solemnly. “And what of him?”

Pursing my lips, I tilted my head sideways and twisted my ankle. His body went limp, his arms falling to his side. “What of him?”

“I assumed you’d keep one alive . . .”

“I did.” I leaned over and ripped the sole eye from the commander before walking over to the half-crumpled soldier leaning against the tree. She sat up and grabbed her stomach, the cut deep enough that she hissed. I ripped the fractured helmet off of her head, and she cursed at me in a language I didn’t know.

“Reggie, translate this for me, please.”

Reggie nodded.

I crouched before her and showed her the eye of her general. She turned away from me. “I want you to take this back to Nismera. Show her what’s left of her precious legion.”

Reggie spoke in her language, repeating what I said. Her face blanched. She’d assumed I was going to kill her.

“Now tell me how you found me.”

She shivered, her blood leaking between her fingers. She spoke, looking between Reggie and me.

“We were sent to capture the wild Ig’Morruthen.”

I glanced at Reggie. “I could guess that much. Ask her why?”

Reggie repeated. She glanced at me but spoke to him so he could translate.

“Yes, Jade City is full of healers, but they specialize in poisons. They follow the one true king.”

I sighed and stood up. “Samkiel and I were right. They have a ton of jars containing rare and dangerous plants. Samkiel didn’t know what they were doing, but we knew something wasn’t right. Okay, we need to go get him, and then—”

The female soldier let out a sharp laugh, followed by a wet, pained cough. She glared at me as she spoke.

Reggie’s eyes widened, but he said nothing.

“What did she say?”

“You must promise . . .”

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