Page 4 of The Death King

“Before I fed King Theodore to Khazmuda, he said you knew the location of the remaining dragons of this land. Give me that location, and your kingdom will be spared. Refuse—and I’ll burn everyone.”

My eyes immediately shifted to my father, staring hard at his back, the revelation news to me. Dragons had died out so long ago that they were considered myth and legend at this point. I hadn’t believed they were real until I saw this one in the flesh—and the scales. To know they existed in these lands…sounded like a fairy tale.

A dark fairy tale.

My father stood there in silence, the recipient of that ruthless gaze.

When the Death King didn’t get the answer he wanted, he cocked his head slightly. “You choose beasts over your own people. You choose to protect dragons, beings who have chosen not to protect you.”

“I know nothing of dragons. King Theodore obviously said whatever you wanted to hear in the hope of sparing his life.”

Seconds passed, and the Death King stared, his eyes still focused and angry. “The end of this tale is the same, regardless of the journey. Your blood and muscle will nourish my dragon—but your people may live. Choose wisely.”

“Do what you must—and I’ll do the same.” My father turned around, showing his back to the Death King, and walked through the double doors to the castle, the doors that wouldn’t stop the fire of a dragon for long.

The Death King watched him go, the tip of his blade still pointed to the ground, his hard eyes focused on my father’s back.

Once my father crossed the threshold, the guards shut the doors and barred them closed. They dropped the planks into the latch, fortifying the door, but everything was made of wood. Wood that would crackle and burn like dry logs in a fireplace.

My father walked past me. “Lieutenant Finney, you’re to escort my daughter through the secret passage to the mountains. Go there and don’t look back.”

“What?”

My father turned to me, a defeated look in his eyes. “Go with him, Calista.”

“What about you?”

“My place is here.” His eyes had never looked so empty, so hopeless. He spoke to me like I was a stranger, with no emotion whatsoever, just complete apathy. “There isn’t time to argue. The doors will hold a few minutes if we’re lucky.”

“Father…” My tears were instantaneous because I knew this was goodbye. The last time I would ever see him alive. I would flee underground, and he would be fed alive to a dragon. There would be no corpse to bury.

He grabbed both of my shoulders and looked down at me. “I need you to be brave, Calista. Can you do that?”

“Not as brave as you.”

His eyes softened. “I love you, darling.”

I tried to say it back, but I couldn’t. I just cried harder. “I—I love you too.”

He kissed my forehead before he let me go. He walked off without looking back, his men going with him.

“Come on, Princess.” Lieutenant Finney grabbed me by the shoulder and dragged me away.

I cried as he steered me to the stairs and down the stone steps. I heard a loud explosion, and then the castle shook. It shook so hard we flew apart and hit the wall. The castle started to crumble. I could feel it shudder under the force of the dragon.

Finney grabbed me again and dragged me along, forcing me several levels down under the castle toward the prisoner cells under the keep. Then I felt another shake, another crumble, and the roof caved in.

“Move!”

Stone rained down from above.

I sprinted up the stairs and missed a heavy piece of stone by inches. I kept going, crawling with dust all over me. The shaking stopped, and I clung to the stone steps in case it started again. When nothing happened, I looked behind me.

The stairs had collapsed.

Lieutenant Finney was gone.

“Lieutenant!” I sprinted back and hit the wall of stone, the path to safety gone. “Finney!” I screamed into the rocks, tried to get my hand in between the grooves to move the boulders, but it was too heavy, and I was too weak.

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