Page 104 of The Dragon Queen

Even if he fought in this battle as a mortal, he was still gifted the strength and speed of a god, a behemoth that could process information with a greater focus, could react and think quicker, who could simply move far faster than I could.

Riviana was quick and strong just as he was, but even she wasn’t enough. Without me to block and strike him from behind and command his attention, she would have already received a blade across her neck.

It was chaos, the three of us dodging and moving, locked in a dance of fire and ash. It hurt to breathe, hurt more with every passing second as the fires continued to burn the trees that used to sing.

It’s starting to rain.

I ducked before the blade could slice through me. I rolled out of the way.

Riviana withstood his ire. He drove her backward as their swords came together and clashed, slipping past each other. When her blade was down, he slammed his fist into her face and sent her hard to the ground.

I pushed myself up and ran forward, watching him spin back to take me on because he knew I would pop up again. With the strength of five strong men, he wielded his sword like a titan, pushing me back and blocking all my hits and landing his blows to my armor. Khazmuda’s scales remained together, but the bruising underneath made lose my breath with every new hit.

Riviana was back, taking his attention away long enough for me to slice my blade just above the top of his boot.

He released a growl then came back for me, more animal than man, charging me down before he knocked the blade from my hand then gripped me by the neck. He punched me in the face over and over, hitting me so hard I blacked out every time, felt my body go limp. It was like a mountain against my face, the waterfall a geyser of blood.

I felt myself hit the ground. There were no more punches. Blackness took me for seconds, but then my vision returned.

Talon.

He’s too strong…I’m sorry.

You’re stronger, Talon Rothschild.

No…I’m not.I watched him come for Riviana, who held her own against him better than I did, but she was growing tired. I could see it in the way she wielded her sword, the way she had slowed down noticeably. She couldn’t block his hits with thesame timing, and as a result, she was receiving more injuries to her hands and wrists.

You are, Talon Rothschild.

I pushed myself to my feet and wiped the blood from my face. It continued to drip from my nose into my mouth.

Bahamut found an opening and knocked her sword away. He gripped her by the throat and slammed her down to the ground before he did it again and again, bashing her head and making her bleed, a disgusting smile on his face.

I pulled out my dagger and threw it, aiming at the exposed part of his neck. It hit its mark and sank deep.

He released her.

But he didn’t fall. Didn’t sway. He left her where she lay then faced me, the dagger sticking out of the side of his neck with a small line of blood. He looked at me, only slightly provoked by my actions. “You call yourself King of the Southern Isles, and that’s all you have? A slip of the dagger when your opponent isn’t watching?” He grabbed the dagger by the hilt and tugged it out of his flesh.

Blood ran down his neck and dripped inside his armor.

I gripped my sword and prepared for his attack.

He changed the grip of the dagger then turned to Riviana, where she lay on the ground coughing.

I sprinted toward him, but I wasn’t fast enough.

He stabbed the dagger right through her stomach, pinning her to the wooden dais below.

She gasped for breath then stiffened, afraid to move even the slightest.

Bahamut turned to me, but he wasn’t the handsome man who’d struck a bargain with me on that desolate island. Now he was the monster several feet taller than me, the one with a face that protruded in three different ways, with sharp fangs that could pierce my armor like a dragon. “Thank you for the assist, Talon.” His voice was deeper than it was when he was a man. It sounded like the underworld itself. “It’s just you and me. How long do you think you’ll last, Talon?”

I held my defensive stance, ready for the behemoth to rush me and rip out my throat.

“I want what was promised to me. Your soul, here and now.”

I knew I would lose this fight. I knew it with my whole heart—and nothing would change that.Tell Calista I love her.

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