Page 23 of The Dragon King

I pushed myself to my feet and already saw a pile of dead bodies before the tree.

Queen Eldinar was facing off with five enemies entirely on her own, and she already had a dagger sticking out of her arm where she’d been stabbed. She cut down the sword of a Behemoth, but a goblin got her from the side and stabbed her armor with a sword that then broke off into two pieces.

I looked at the tree when I saw a dark elf approach, carrying an axe with a smirk on his face.

Queen Eldinar screamed when a blade swiped across her side and sliced her flesh.

Most of the guards had fallen, their dead bodies on top of the monsters they’d already slain.

I had to make a choice, and I had to make it fast. I pushed myself to my feet and sprinted at the dark elf who had reached the tree. I grabbed my dagger and stabbed it right into his neck, making him release a blood-curdling scream. He twisted sideways with his axe to strike me, but I ducked just in time to avoid the hit. I slammed his arm down on my knee and made him drop the axe before I grabbed the dagger and stabbed him once again.

This time, he fell to the ground.

Queen Eldinar was the last one standing, and somehow, she was still alive—but barely.

She continued to hold her sword, but she swayed. A dark elf slammed her shoulder with his sword, but she was too slow to dodge it. The dark elf kicked her next, sending her to the grass, her white armor smeared with her own red blood. He grinned as he stood above her, savoring his victory with a cruel smile.

She was too weak to fight, her body finally giving out.

“Your Majesty.” He raised his sword to stab her right through the chest.

“No!” More enemies swarmed into the clearing, trying to get to the tree, and I was blocked from the queen. All I could do was raise my sword and try to stay alive, but I knew I would be next.

But then I saw him appear out of nowhere. With his black sword and matching cape billowing behind him, he sliced his blade clean through the dark elf’s neck and severed his head from his shoulders. “Calista!” He couldn’t turn to look for me, his blade cutting down all the foul creatures that came for him, handling more than Queen Eldinar had but without taking a hit. I knew Khazmuda’s strength had fired off in his veins, and he was an opponent who couldn’t be matched.

Uncle Ezra reached the queen before I could. He ripped a chunk of his cape and secured it around where she bled.

A goblin tried to descend upon them from the rear, but I sliced him through the back and made him drop. “Talon, I’m here!”

He defeated another group of enemies with a sword that moved quicker than lightning, cutting off heads and arms, having the strength of more than twenty soldiers combined. When he killed the last one closest to him, he turned to look at me.

Time seemed to stop as he stared at me, his stare so pissed off it was violent, but also so relieved at the sight of me. “General Ezra, protect the door. Calista, attend to the queen and be the eyes in the back of my head.”

General Ezra released his wife even though it probably broke him to do so. He unsheathed his blade and struck down thegoblins and elves who stabbed and clawed at the door made of branches.

I rushed to the queen and supported her head. Where the cape was tied around her waist, I applied pressure to stop the bleeding. She breathed hard, and her eyes started to mist over. “Stay with me, Your Majesty.” I looked up to watch Talon.

He single-handedly kept the entire army back, moving from side to side to cut down the foes who tried to break the ranks and get to the tree. The few who made it through were cut down by Uncle Ezra.

I watched Talon work, watched sweat pour from his forehead and his cape whip around as he moved with strength and grace. The gift of his dragon gave him a power that couldn’t be matched by enemies a foot taller than him.

But I knew there were too many.

He knew it, too, because he turned to the queen. “If I don’t call upon the dead, we’re all finished. Do I have your permission?”

She continued to breathe hard, her face going pale.

Talon turned away and executed a flurry of blows too fast to watch. He stabbed a Behemoth in the chest, straight through his armor because his blade was made of dragon scales, and then beheaded another goblin, exerting such strength that every strike was a one-hit kill. “I will not die for nothing. Do you want me to save your fucking tree or not?” He looked down at the queen without an ounce of pity for her slow demise, the rage like bonfires in his gaze.

She breathed hard before she opened her lips to speak, but nothing came out. All she could do was nod before her eyes closed and her body weakened in my hold.

Talon turned away and lifted his palm as I’d seen him do in the past. His fingers closed into a hard fist before he slammed it hard against his chest.

I heard the collective scream through the forest, the God of Caelum screaming in protest at the defilement.

Talon turned back to the battle and slashed his blade across his foes, keeping them away from the tree. It only took a few minutes for the tide of the battle to change, where Talon was met with fewer foes as he protected the tree.

The dark elves and their allies were forced to turn their attention to the army of the dead who popped out of the ground to fight under Talon’s command. It divided the monsters into sections, all fighting on different sides.

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