Page 81 of Caress of Fire
Behind him, Fedryc’s men stared at the feral with a fear so primitive, Fedryc knew they wouldn’t fight. Turning to see the hooded men of Lord Anion’s army, he realized they were similarly struck with numbing terror, most of them having drawn back their hoods, staring with wide, glassy eyes at the nightmare that had landed in front of them.
The brown dragon was big and powerful enough to annihilate both armies if he chose to.
Fedryc looked at Nyra, who stared down at him, waiting for him to make the first move. He took a step toward her, ignoring the brown dragon, then stopped when the beast hissed. Fedryc didn’t look at the brown. He had eyes only for Nyra.
A moment passed, then Fedryc kept going, ignoring the louder and louder hisses of the brown beast until he stood right in front of his Bound. Nyra looked at him for a long time, then she bent her head, bringing her muzzle all the way down to just above the ground.
Fedryc bent down, bracing both hands on Nyra’s wide head, then rested his forehead against hers. The strength of the flow ofvitalembetween them almost made him stop but he knew she needed it as much as he did. Emotions flowed from Nyra to him, along with that life-force that kept them both locked together from their first day to their last.
Then Fedryc pulled back and jumped on Nyra’s back. He turned to face the brown dragon and his heart almost stopped beating, deep shock spreading through his body.
Marielle was right.
Because atop the brown feral dragon was his friend, Henron, who looked down at him with pure silver eyes. Fedryc locked gazes with Henron and knew something had happened to him. Something that shook the very fabric of what the Draekons knew about their link to the dragons.
Henron had found a Bound in the brown feral and now, both he and Nyra were coming to his aid. There was a lot Fedryc wanted to ask his friend, but there was no time. First, they had to destroy Lord Anion and his Knat-Kanassis army.
His hand flat against Nyra’s neck, Fedryc turned to the gray dragon, Nyra following his lead. The brown dragon followed his mate’s lead and turned on Lord Anion and his gray dragon.
Lord Anion’s face was twisted with anger, but also with a religious kind of terror.
“Attack!” Lord Anion shouted without looking back at his men. When no sound came, he turned his head to stare at his men, still locked in their terrified stupor.
The first of them took a step forward, then another. Then the flood of hooded figures started, and time was lost in fury, death and blood.
Chapter 27
Shouts and screams echoed across the courtyard and Marielle stood as people ran away from the door, their faces twisted in abject fear. At her side, Beral stood, as dumbfounded as she was.
“What in the world?” Her voice died down as a flood of figures cloaked in gray, with hoods covering their faces, invaded the courtyard from the castle gate. Her eyes widened with horror as a hooded figure drew a wicked, curved blade and sliced right through a guard running in his direction. The guard fell down to the side, his body collapsing with convulsions then, a second later, lying in a morbid stillness. Dead.
The first hooded figure lifted his hood and Marielle locked eyes with a bright orange, fanatic Delradon stare. The three white circles nestled inside each other were painted on his bald forehead.
Knat-Kanassis.
“Send off the transports!” Marielle yelled, springing into action as the flood of hooded men overtook the courtyard. A swift series of screams started a sudden panic and in an instant, the world collapsed into chaos. People ran, overwhelming the doors to the transports, pushing each other in their haste to get away from the threat.
A door pulled up from the ground, closing on people still trapped. A man shrieked as his arm was severed as the door closed on him. A transport lifted higher above Aalstad castle, ready to shoot into the distance.
Then the sky filled with fire as the transport exploded, along with everyone inside. Debris littered the courtyard and Marielle screamed as the guard wrapped protective arms around her.
Another transport hovered above the stone, ready to pick up speed and fly away.
“Tell them to stand down,” a familiar, fluted voice called from behind, rising above the screams of the people trying to escape. “Or I will blow them all to pieces as you watch.”
Marielle turned to see a tall, slim figure cloaked in gray, the blood red of her dress shining under the cloak. Her lovely features were set in almost bored lines, and her silver eyes stared at Marielle without a trace of warmth. A golden dragon stayed at her side as the young woman walked amidst the Knat-Kanassis acolytes, ignoring the screams and the violence all around.
“Silva?” Marielle shook her head, like she was trying to convince her mind that her eyes were lying.
Silva walked slowly, her eyes set on Marielle, a soft, almost tender smile on her painted lips. Behind her, the golden dragon kept in pace with his mistress, golden eyes set on Marielle with open hostility.
It wasn’t Isobel. Silva had us all fooled.
As Silva advanced, the Knat-Kanassis soldiers tamed the terrified people into submission, leaving a stream of blood on the stones, killing anyone who dared to resist. Siva looked over her shoulder as an old man held a wrinkle-faced woman close to his body and a hooded figure raised his sword high over his head, ready to render the killing blow.
“Stop.” Silva’s voice was unaffected and even cold as the woman looked up at her with hope. “Kill anyone who resists, but those who don’t, keep them in the courtyard. They can clean the blood from the floor of my castle.”
The hooded figure turned to Silva then inclined his head, the Knat-Kanassis symbol on his forehead shining like a beacon of evil.
