Page 88 of Clash of Kingdoms

“Use the ropes from the saddle.”

He grabbed on to the rope and slowly hoisted himself up, finally getting into the saddle. “You want me to spoon you, or you want to spoon me?”

“You’re behind.”

“Hope you don’t mind my hard dick in your back…”

“Why is your dick hard?”

He moved behind me, chest pressed to my back. “Have you seen my wife? It’s always hard.”

We flew across the mountains in the dead of night, so there was nothing to do but look at the stars. I hadn’t slept in nearly two days and I was tired, but the impending mission was enough to keep my mind wide awake.

“Things still aren’t good with you and Harlow?” Cobra asked from behind.

It took me a while to answer. “No.” Cobra and I were never the kind of brothers to have the heart-to-heart conversations. Kingsnake was the only one I had somewhat serious conversations with.

“Shame. She’s got a great ass.”

“You want me to throw you the fuck off right now?”

“What?” He shrugged. “Clara has a great ass. It wouldn’t bother me if you said it.”

“I’ve never looked at your wife’s ass.”

“Well, maybe you should.”

“We’re about to enter the domain of the demons, and you’re acting like it’s all a joke…”

“Life is a joke, man. Lighten up.” He clapped me on the shoulder.

“I’m serious, Cobra.”

“I’m sorry, are there demons here right now?” he asked incredulously, looking around left and right. “We’ll be fine. I’ve kicked demon ass twice now. And if we are gonna die, I’d rather die with a laugh than a cry.”

We spent the rest of the journey in silence, the air slowly growing warmer as we headed farther east. By starlight, we were able to see that the mountains had been replaced by desert, and we traveled across the open world in the hope no one below saw our progression. Maybe one or two dragons wouldn’t be enough to be spotted—but twenty-six dragons was a different story.

We arrived at the mountains where the Exiles of Palladium were located and began our descent, Ian in the lead like he knew exactly where to go. He landed in the brush moments later, and then he dismounted.

The rest of us left the dragons and joined Ian, the sky changing from shades of black and blue to the light colors of dawn. He hiked into the mountains, taking a path through the trees and toward higher ground. We all followed in a line, hiking upward without asking any questions.

After twenty minutes, we were at a much higher elevation, and the torches became visible. I assumed we’d arrived at the territory of the Exiles, the people who knew exactly where the hidden passage was.

Finally, soldiers came to greet us, and they seemed to recognize Ian. They spoke briefly, and then they escorted us in a different direction entirely, through a cave and into a mountain. It was dark inside, so the guards lit flames to guide our way.

Ian came to a stop when the walls started to narrow. “This is where I leave you. The Exiles say this passage will take you into the demon domain. I need to remain with the dragons while you’re away.”

I looked into the narrow tunnel, dark with cobwebs in the corners. This was the passage that Beast had told us to take, where she would check for our appearance on a daily basis. “We can take it from here.”

“Good luck.” Ian gave us a nod before he walked away.

When he was gone, it was just us, vampires in a land very different from our own, fighting for a cause that didn’t benefit us whatsoever.

Cobra came to my side. “This should be fun.”

Kingsnake came next. “Never thought I’d say this, but I wish Viper were here. Detonators in dark places are his forte.”

“So, there’s a giant snake that lives down here.” Cobra looked up to the ceiling, a large spider web visible. “You don’t think giant spiders do too…right?”

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