Page 117 of Queen of Legends and Lies
If I survive.
Dragonfire licks at my skin, barely held at bay by my own flames as I barrel through the chaos with my eyes fixed on the well ahead.
Each step shoots white-hot agony through my body. Still, I push on, fueled by desperation and unyielding resolve.
“Lark!” Eldor’s hoarse cry rises above the roar of battle. “Don’t do this. It’s too dangerous!”
“I have to try.” I whirl to see him straining against his bonds on top of Kaida, his features fixed in an anguished mask. “I can’t let Knox die!”
Around us, the battle rages on.
Sterling struggles against the onslaught of magic from Celeste and her cohorts. Royal guards clash with the traitors, steel ringing against steel in a deadly symphony. I’m the only one who can help Sterling.
Agony lances through me when Eldor’s strained voice reaches my ears again. “Lark, you must…” His head jerks violently, black veins pulsing beneath his skin. “Read the books!”
I shift direction and lurch toward Eldor, desperate to reach him, to somehow stop the corruption ravaging his body. “Grandfather, no!” My scream is raw and primal.
“I know you will…make me proud.” He twists under his ropes, writhing as his hand finds the dagger at his hip. “I love you…Granddaughter.”
Terror wraps around my heart and squeezes. “What are you?—”
But it’s too late.
With a final, wrenching spasm, Eldor frees the dagger from its sheath and plunges the blade into his heart.
Dark crimson oozes over his hand.
Time slows, stretching out into an endless, horrifying moment. I can only watch, frozen, as Eldor crumples atop Kaida, his lifeblood spilling across the black scales.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
A howl of fury and anguish rips through the air.
It’s mine.
Rage ignites in my veins, searing away the shock and grief. I spin toward Celeste, my vision tunneling until all I can see is her treacherous face.
She meets my gaze with a smirk, her blue eyes glinting with cold satisfaction. “Poor little bird. Only one biological family member left in the whole world now, and he’s merely a half-brother.”
Bitch! No wonder I didn’t really like her when she was my instructor. Should’ve trusted my instinct.
White-hot flames burst from my palms and lash out at her in a blistering torrent.
She laughs as she deflects them with a flick of her air magic, the fire dissipating harmlessly into the night. “You can’t win, Lark. One way or another, Xenon will have you.”
Her taunting words only fuel the inferno building inside me.
I unleash blast after blast, pouring every ounce of my pain and hatred into the flames. Dame protects Celeste, blocking each assault with her fire-resistant wings.
Agnar sprints to my side, bow in hand, quiver full of arrows slung over his muscular shoulder. He pulls a vial from his pocket.
The tears I gave him, imbued with curative magic.
He unstoppers the vial, tips a single drop onto an arrowhead, and presses it into my palm. “Use this on the dragons!”
I snatch up the arrow. “I could seriously kiss you right now.”
“No time.” He gives my cheek a quick pat. “And I don’t want Knox to kick my ass.”
