Page 102 of The Dragon Queen

Talon

I have Calista.

A breath of relief escaped me.

With my talons, scales, and fire I will protect her.

I know you will.

I can still protect your soul, but you will need to protect your body.

I will do my best.

Because I love you, Talon Rothschild—with my whole heart.

I sucked in a harsh breath as my eyes watered.I love you too, Khazmuda.

You lack wings and fangs and a tail covered in spikes, but you don’t lack heart. It’s the same as mine. I may be a dragon and you may be human—but we’re the same. We’re brothers.

I clenched my eyes shut so the tears would fall.I’m honored to be your brother.

And I’m honored to be yours.

When I felt the silence in my mind, I opened my eyes once more. The soldiers were placed around the tree, ready to give up their lives to defend it, even if that meant only a handful of elves survived. This fight went beyond immediate mortality, but the Realm of Caelum that would heal their souls in the afterlife.

That was what we all fought for.

I stood on the dais with my sword across my back, knowing I was the last line of defense for the tree, for the gateway to the afterlife, the last protector of the people on the other side whom I still loved.

She appeared beside me, coming out of darkness and turning into light. In white armor with her golden sword, she stood nearly my height, a tall woman who was infinitely prouder than I was…because she was a god.

I met her stare when I felt it.

She looked at me with the same accusation that Queen Eldinar wore. “The pathway that I opened to his realm never closed. He managed to use it to his advantage. Something I should have foreseen.”

“I’m sorry…” I’d never meant an apology more.

“Your apology rings hollow.”

“I mean it?—”

“But you’re not at fault. That blame lies with me, and I won’t let you take it from me. You asked Queen Eldinar to keep yourpromise, and she failed to do so. Your dragon and your lover poked and prodded until they got what they wanted. The blame lies in all of us.”

I looked ahead into the forest. “I will give my life to protect this tree.” Without the army of the dead at my command, I was just a man with a sword. Nothing special. And it probably wouldn’t be enough.

“When I stepped into the underworld, I shed my immortality.”

I looked at her once again.

“I became vulnerable to the blade. Vulnerable to death and the veil. As a visitor in the land of the living, he, too, has forsaken his immortality. He will remain powerful and swift, but he’s as sensitive to bloodshed as you are. You can beat him, Talon Rothschild—we both can.” She was the first one to have any ounce of hope—and that hope bathed me like sunlight. “We fight him together.”

I nodded in agreement.

Queen Eldinar approached, looking like a queen in her armor and her short swords at her hips, her husband at her side. But the life was still sucked out of her face. Gray tendrils of death punctured her skin and took hold. She approached Riviana and gave a slight bow. “Riviana, God of Caelum, I apologize for all of this?—”

“There will be no apologies.”

Queen Eldinar straightened.

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