Page 10 of The Dragon King

So, if the dark elves had the ability to control minds, General Ezra and Queen Eldinar didn’t know about it.I march with General Ezra and the army to defeat the dark elves that compromise their border.

And you tell me this now?

Under no circumstance are you to attempt to help me.

I will do as I please.

If these dark elves are the same as those who took my kingdom, then we can’t risk their invasion into your mind.

I defied their attacks, Talon.

But I would rather die than risk it.

Khazmuda was quiet.

It’s not worth it.

“I don’t like you.”

I turned back to the general when I heard what he said.

“I don’t like you for my niece…is what I mean.”

I marched by his side and continued to hold his gaze.

“I appreciate what you’ve done for her. I appreciate the way you’ve protected her. But we both know you’re the wrong man for her. She’s suffered enough, and I don’t want her to suffer anymore.”

The flush of anger was enough to make my blood boil underneath the surface. “When you discovered that Scorpion Valley had been conquered and your brother slain, what did you do?”

He held my gaze.

“Answer me.”

He looked ahead and remained silent.

“Nothing—that’s what you did. There wasn’t enough love or loyalty to your brother to get you to leave this forest and search for the only family you had left. An orphaned little girl was forced to survive on her own—and you couldn’t get off your ass.”

His eyes remained locked ahead.

“I didn’t kill her father. He handed her over to his commander and offed himself. A fucking coward.”

General Ezra stopped.

And instantly, so did the entire army.

He looked at me, the rage in his eyes.

“Her father abandoned her. You abandoned her. But I never have. When an army marched upon your forest with her inside it, I flew across the land to raise my sword in her defense. She told me she never wanted to see me again, but I still came. You may not like me, General Ezra. But every man in her life has failed her—except for me.”

General Ezra raised his hand when we approached a large clearing.

The entire army stopped.

We didn’t march with heavy footfalls like most men. The elves were quiet, slithering through the grass and around the roots of trees like snakes. It was dark, and I spotted the torches in the distance on the way here.

Now, I saw them up close, a line of torches across the wide gap between the trees. It wasn’t large enough for a battle to take place, but it was a clear divide between the two borders. The trees were different here, shorter in height with less vegetation.

We stood there for minutes. The soldiers waited for orders.

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