Page 106 of The Dragon Queen

He continued to stare at me as he considered the question.It’s never been done.

“Butcanit be done?”

I do not know, Calista Laurier. As I said, it’s never been done.

“I need you to combine all the powers of the dragons together into yourself—and then fuse with Talon.”

He continued to stare at me as he considered all of this.

“We don’t have time to think about it. We just need to do it. Otherwise, Talon will die, the forest will fall, and the Realm of Caelum will be overtaken by the God of the Underworld. We must do this—and we must do it now.”

Chapter 31

Talon

He beat me bloody, ripped my armor from my skin, slammed me into the forest floor, and then made my chest curdle from the heat of his flames. He burned me white-hot and made me scream in agony as the flesh melted into bone, as I died a slow and painful death. I felt him tug on my soul, felt him grip it with his sharp talons and tug like meat straight off the bone.

I felt Khazmuda hold on—but not as strongly as he did last time.

Bahamut growled as he slammed me down again. “I will eat you, Talon Rothschild. And before I eat your woman’s soul, I will tell her how good yours tasted. When I make her my private servant in the underworld, to please me for all eternity, I will tell her how sweet it was.”

A surge of strength came from nowhere, and I slammed my fist into his face, breaking my knuckles in the process because his face was hard as stone. I punched him again and made him release my chest, made black blood ooze from his wounds.

He released a demonic growl then grabbed me again. Rain poured down and put out the fires. It soaked the earth and madethe blood run. The fight continued, but I had no idea who was still alive at this point.

He slammed me down into the dais, and my world spun. But up above, I saw the silhouette of a dragon, a black shadow that descended through the darkness, coming closer to me.

“Khazmuda…no.” I feared he would come for me. I feared he would bring Calista and hand her over to a demon.

Bahamut grabbed me by the throat and squeezed.

Thud. “Roooooaaaaaaaaaarrrrrr!”

I knew Khazmuda’s roar, and that wasn’t it. It belonged to someone else, a dragon I didn’t know well.

Bahamut punched me hard in the face, so much blood caked into my skin I could barely see out of my eyes. He rose to his feet and left me there, the cold air splashing onto my bare skin and the injuries that oozed blood.

“Talon!”

I gasped for air when I heard her voice—Calista. “No. Run!” I forced my body to roll over, to see through the rain and the battle.

It was Constantine, far too big for the space, cramped in the air without much of an ability to fight or evade. He was already being attacked by the army of the dead, soldiers crawling all over him as he tried to bite them off.

Then I saw her in the haze, moving toward me.

“Calista…” I barely had a voice. I barely had anything left. “Run!”

But she ignored me and stood her ground. “Leave him alone!”

“No!” I’d accepted my death, but I couldn’t accept hers. When I thought I couldn’t move anymore, I managed to get myself to my feet. I managed to stand when I thought I couldn’t even lift a finger.

She stood with her blade in her hand, facing off with a huge demon nearly three feet taller than her.

“Bahamut!” I screamed. “You want me, here I am!”

But he continued to move toward her.

Talon. Constantine’s voice reached me.I need you to come to me. Now.

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