Page 104 of Blood of Dragons

“They’re the last free dragons because the others have been violently enslaved,” Talon said calmly. “I think they have the right to know that. To hide this knowledge from them is an abuse of power in itself.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“They have the right to know,” he repeated. “And to make that choice themselves.”

“Don’t pretend your intentions are altruistic.”

“They’re symbiotic,” he said. “I need to avenge my family. Khazmuda needs to free his kin. We will work together until both missions are fulfilled. I’m just as committed to his cause as he is to mine.”

The breeze blew through her golden hair, moving about her in a beautiful way.

“Allow me to seek their audience,” Talon said. “Let them decide.”

“And if they say no?” she asked.

“Then they say no.”

“Really?” she challenged. “And you would just leave it at that?”

“I wouldn’t coerce a dragon, if that’s what you’re asking. You can ask Inferno yourself. I asked him for help twice. The first time, he said no—and I let him be. Years later, I pursued him again in the hope that his loneliness had changed his mind. And it had. I’m not a monster, but a man who’s had to do horrible things to survive. There’s a big difference.”

“I see no difference,” she said coldly. “Monsters are born in the dark—and you’re the same way.”

Talon didn’t refute her claims. “It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”

She stared at Talon with the same confidence he stared at her, the two monarchs equally matched in ferocity. “I have something to offer you—an exchange.”

My skin prickled.

“Yes?” Talon asked.

She looked to Ezra.

He stepped forward. “Our forest is deep and vast. It’s home to more than elves…but darker creatures that have threatened our borders for millennium. The Behemoth attack has stirred them, and our scouts report a congregation of the enemy. We know what they seek, and they must be stopped at all costs.”

“You want me to defeat them.” Talon said it more to himself than to everyone else.

“We want your aid in this fight,” Ezra said. “They’re dark elves, so no easy opponent.”

“And in exchange?” Talon asked.

The queen spoke again. “We will escort Calista blindfolded to Thalian—and she can make your plea to the dragons.”

It wasn’t exactly what we wanted, but it was better than nothing.

“What do the dark elves seek?” Talon asked.

The queen was quiet for a long time. “They want Riviana, God of Caelum.”

I thought of the redheaded god I’d seen, the way she glowed with the light of a thousand suns, her beauty and power unmatched.

“How many dark elves?” Talon asked.

“It’s hard to say,” Ezra said. “But several thousand.”

“How do they differ from you?” Talon asked.

“They match our strength and swiftness,” Ezra said. “And our intelligence. But they’ve been cursed and exiled from our lands, so they lack honor and empathy. They want revenge for what’s been taken from them, so they seek to destroy the afterlife.”

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