Page 103 of The Dragon Queen

“General Ezra.” Riviana looked at him directly. “Your men are responsible for keeping the dead at bay. They will break through the tree line any second. I feel their fires already burning. In themidst of the chaos, Bahamut will appear. Talon and I will take him on—and I ask that you keep all others out of our way.”

General Ezra nodded and stepped away to fulfill those orders.

“The dragons aren’t enough to stop the dead before they reach the forest,” Riviana said. “I can’t defend the Realm of Caelum and protect the forest at the same time—so I must choose. The forest will burn.”

Queen Eldinar continued to look up at Riviana as she waited for orders.

“Fight with your people,” Riviana said. “Protect your forest.”

Queen Eldinar continued her stare before she shifted her look to me. Her eyes remained there, giving me a long and hard look. “I apologize for the way I spoke to you before. I gave in to a moment of weakness…and for that, I’m ashamed. I should be a monument of strength in the face of despair. I should be the rock when the sand shifts. Forgive me.”

“There is nothing to forgive, Queen Eldinar. If I die protecting this tree, then it’s an honor to die alongside you.”

“Let’s not speak of death like it’s promised. Let’s speak of victory like it’s possible. I know you will fight valiantly, King Talon.” She gave a nod before she stepped away to join her husband in the ranks, ready to take on the dead who would break through.

The sky was dark, but if it were daylight, all you would see would be smoke. The trees throughout the forest burned as the dead marched through the trunks, coming closer to where we waitedto meet them. It became hard to breathe, and then the ash started to fall from the sky.

I stood beside Riviana in silence, staring out into the clearing as we waited for the enemy to arrive. Khazmuda informed me with the updates on the battle. They burned the dead and stopped at least half their forces, but they simply couldn’t get them all. Bahamut was nowhere in sight.

I knew he was sitting upon his throne, biding his time, waiting with his signature smile on his face. The world burned and the dead marched on, and he tapped his fingers upon the wooden armrest of his throne while he waited for his moment to appear.

Sailing to his lands and seeking out his powers would forever be my greatest mistake. If only I’d told Khazmuda my intentions rather than lying to him, he could have talked me out of it. He could have talked some sense into me…and spared everyone from this.

But if that had happened, I wouldn’t have met Calista.

Regret was a complicated emotion.

I blinked—and then he was there.

Short blond hair and pretty blue eyes, he looked like a prince rather than the God of the Dead. He wore his midnight-blue armor, his sword across his back, and on his lips was the smile I’d seen many times over the last few years of my captivity.

The dead had entered Riviana Star and breached the clearing, engaging the elves in a battle for their lives and their afterlives. Bahamut wasn’t only flanked by the dead who had fallen in battles long ago, but the dark elves who allied themselves with his power. Astaroth was there, along with others I’d seen inRiviana Star and the Southern Isles, foul creatures cursed by the God of Light.

I thought I would die, but I felt no fear.

He stood there with his arms by his sides, looking at me with the smirk that wouldn’t fade, savoring this moment like he would think about it again and again…for all eternity. Riviana stood beside me, but all he cared about was me. “All hail King Talon Rothschild, King of the Southern Isles.” His smile widened. “The man who won a kingdom, not on his own merits, but the merits of the lord he swore to serve.”

His words wouldn’t provoke me. Insults wouldn’t distract me. He knew he was more powerful than me, but he also knew he was vulnerable to injury and death. In the underworld, there was nothing I could do in retaliation because he was immune to all forms of attack.

But not anymore.

He reached for the sword across his back then slowly unsheathed it, drawing out a long blade that was dark like the night, hard to see in the smoke that turned the sky to the color of ash.

Riviana unsheathed her blade, golden like a sunrise, reflecting what little light and color there were in the clearing that was quickly becoming swept up in the fire.

He flicked his eyes to her. “No running this time.”

I unsheathed my blade and gave the hilt a squeeze, ready to face what came next.

He looked at me again. “Who are you?”

The battle raged on around us, elves being slaughtered when they were overrun by the number of the dead. Screams pierced the night. I couldn’t think of them. I couldn’t even think of Calista, who remained above the fight on the back of a dragon I trusted more than anyone.

“Without your dragon,” he said. “Without your army of the dead. Who are you?”

I continued to grip my sword.

His smile widened. “We’re about to find out.” Then he rushed forward, a mountain that cut its base and shifted in an earthquake. His blade spun then struck down, meeting Riviana’s blade before spinning and meeting mine.

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