Page 108 of The Dragon Queen

I punched him again—and then he changed.

He was no longer the monster with a broken face. Now he was the man, blood covering all of his skin because it oozed from his broken eyebrows, his bloodied eyes and broken nose, from his cut cheekbones. He was no longer the handsome man who offered deals without explaining all the stipulations. Now, he was just a broken man on his back, looking up at the sky as he breathed his last breaths.

I steadied my fist and stared.

He stared back, just seconds from the veil.

“You will no longer haunt me, Bahamut. You will not linger in the corner of every room I enter. You will not rip me from the warm bed I share with my woman. You will not destroy my happiness with your darkness.” I grabbed the blade that pinned his arm to the dais and gripped the hilt with both hands. “And you will not take the Realm of Caelum.” I slammed the blade into the center of his heart, exerting so much force that the blade dug nearly a foot into the wooden support beneath him.

He gasped for breath when he felt it. His arms dropped to either side of him. His eyes found mine and stared for several hard seconds, his contempt as fiery as the black sconces that lit his halls. But then he turned his head slightly and looked at the sky, the rain continuing to come down and splatter his bloody and broken face. “You are nothing without your dragons.”

I grabbed the hilt and twisted it, digging into his black heart and tearing the flesh. He took another breath, and just as a raindrop splattered on his nose, he went still, eyes open but locked on my face. I stared down at him as my fingers loosened their grip. “And you are nothing without love.”

Once Bahamut was gone, his army of the dead dropped where they stood. The dark elves who followed him were immediately outnumbered and slain within seconds. With the God of the Underworld gone, I didn’t know where their souls traveled. Perhaps they traveled nowhere.

I looked across the clearing and spotted Calista, who was unhurt and coming to Constantine’s aid. A blade had been stabbed into one of his legs, and she helped him remove it. Once I knew she was unharmed, I rushed to Riviana where she continued to lie on the dais, taking her labored breaths.

I kneeled down beside her and looked at the dagger I had handed to Bahamut, the weapon that had caused the killing blow.

Her hair was wet from the rain, and her blood was golden rather than red, bathing her armor in a beautiful shine.

Helpless, I stared down at her. “I’m sorry…”

She looked up at me with weakness in her eyes but without a hint of cruelty. “Bahamut, God of the Underworld, has been defeated because of you. Do not be sorry.”

“I didn’t do it alone.” I still felt the power of the dragons rush through me. Still felt the difference in my strength and focus. But none of those gifts could help her. “I wish I could help you.”

“You can. The light in the Realm of Caelum heals all wounds, emotional and physical. But I can’t get there on my own. If I remove this blade, I will bleed out before I can heal. It must be done in the golden light.”

My arms gently scooped underneath her body, and I lifted her, cradled her into my chest. She was a tall woman, matching my height of over six feet. Without the influx of power I possessed, I wasn’t sure if I could carry her this way. If she were a man, I would have thrown her over my shoulder, but with the dagger so precarious, that I wasn’t an option.

I carried her to the tree, which had remained untouched by fire and violence. The door was sealed.

She reached out slowly, her hand shaking before it touched the bark. She closed her eyes and her breathing increased, becoming labored and shallow. But then a light burst in the outline of a door, shining bright before the opening appeared.

She rested her head against my chest, like opening the door took more energy than she expected. She didn’t tell me what to do, breathing harder and harder against me.

I stepped through and carried her to the other side, walking through light so bright I had to close my eyes as I carried her,unsure which direction to head because it seemed like a plane with no direction at all.

“Here.”

I stopped and looked down at her, the light around us blinding, so bright it saturated our surroundings and made everything disappear. I took a knee with her in my arms then placed her on the ground. It was too bright to see any details, but by touch, I knew it was grass.

She grabbed the hilt of the dagger and continued to breathe in anticipation.

“Let me.” I waited for her to remove her fingers before I grabbed the hilt. I squeezed it before I pulled, getting it out of her flesh in one fluid motion.

She gasped when the blade left her body then tensed, holding her breath as she waited for the pain to pass.

I dropped the dagger then placed both of my hands against her wound, applying pressure to stanch the bleeding before she lost too much of her life-force. I kept the pressure and studied her face.

Slowly, her breaths became calmer, easier. Her eyes closed, and she looked like she was asleep.

I pulled my hands away and saw that the bleeding had stopped.

“I will go on.” Her hand went to mine and gave me a weak squeeze. Her hair had dried in the light, and color returned to her face. A slight smile was on her lips. “But for now, I need to rest.”

I nodded.

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