Page 86 of Her Dragon Daddy Disaster
The room sprang into action. Guards closed up firmly around the sovereign, ushering her toward her exit, a small door to the left of her throne, which led to a private tunnel to her chamber, while the council members all scattered away from the large table.
“Careful, he has men in the palace!” I called as they went for the doors. “It’s not safe out there. I don’t know what he has planned.”
The sovereign paused halfway through the door. “Who?” she asked, her voice easily carrying over everything. “Who did this?”
“His name is Malakai,” I said. “And until recently, I considered him a friend. He intends to usurp you.”
The main doors to the throne room were suddenly flung open, admitting a wave of dragons in navy-blue and black outfits. They charged in behind shouts of liberty and freedom and cries for a new leader.
But instead of the injured and shocked remains of the council, they found the entire body waiting for them. A verypissed-offbody of experienced dragons, who had very nearly seen themselves and their leader killed in a cowardly plot.
“Come on,” a guard shouted, motioning for the three of us to follow him. “The sovereign says to come with her.”
The guards ushered Sarah, Jakub, and me into the tight hallway, barring the door behind us. Two of the guards stayed behind, while the rest urged us onward, hurrying through the dimly lit passageway.
I kept Sarah close, the two of us keeping our son sandwiched between us as we jogged. The sounds of combat behind us faded, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Other guards would be called now. The threat was over. They would organize, and Malakai would be defeated.
“We did it,” I said to Sarah, giving voice to my relief. “We stopped him.”
“You stopped him,” she said, giving my shoulder a squeeze as we reached the sovereign’s quarters. “You stood up to him, and now, he’s paying the price.”
“And what price is that, exactly?” a coldly familiar voice asked as we emerged from the tunnel.
A dozen stern shifters waited for us, arrayed in a half-circle around the exit chamber. The guards didn’t hesitate, charging forward with cries for their sovereign.
“Stay in here!” I shouted at Sarah and went to join them.
We were outnumbered. Badly. Though Malakai and his men were raw and unused to working together, they were confident as they fought the sovereign’s personal guards, who worked as a team, covering one another’s flanks as they fought to protect her.
But it wasn’t enough. One of them went down. I slotted into his position, driving back the guard’s killer before he could take down another guard. My fist caught him across the jaw, mailed as it was with dragon scales. The sharp edges sliced through his skin, spraying blood across his face, momentarily blinding him.
Even as he reeled back, another took his place. I blocked an attack and tried to lash out, but I missed, exposing my right flank. The navy-blue clad attacker tried to drive home a blow, but the palace guard extended a leg, hitting just hard enough to throw the traitor off-balance.
It nearly cost him his life, as the attacker nearest him drove in for a killing blow.
Out of nowhere, a dragon entirely in black swept in. He moved like death, faster and stronger than the attackers. First one, then another of Malakai’s men dropped, dead or horribly injured.
In the space that opened, I found myself momentarily without a foe. It was time to change that.
“Stop this!” I shouted, lunging for Malakai, who had hung back, letting his men do the fighting. “It’s over, Malakai. It’s over. Nobody else has to die.”
“Her rule is over!” he spat in return as we grappled.
I swept his ankle out, and we hit the ground, bouncing over a corpse. Malakai’s elbow caught me above my eye, splitting the skin. Blood poured down my face and splattered his as pain erupted.
“You’ve lost,” I said, slamming my head into his nose. Cartilage gave way, ruining his face in a mangled mess of blood. “Give it up, Mal. Please.”
A knee took me in the stomach, tossing me to the side with incredible force. I gasped, my mouth open wide as air left my lungs. Malakai was on me in a second, slamming fists into my ribcage before I could get my arms up in defense. Huge hammer fists drilled down with incredible force. The face of my former best friend was twisted into something dark and driven, in the ugliest of ways.
“I knew you wanted it for yourself,” he spat, blood going everywhere as it poured from his destroyed nose. “You always thought you were better than me!”
Grabbing one of his upraised arms, I twisted, tossing him off me. Getting to my feet, I finally was able to draw in a breath.
“I never thought that,” I said as we faced off again. “You’re imagining it.”
“No, I’m not. I see clearer than ever!” he cried. “None of you can see. She needs to go. Only I can guide our people and stop them from losing ourselves. She wants to dilute us with humans. We mustn’t allow it to happen. We are better!”
Having had enough, I charged at him once more, watching his right arm. There was no one who knew him better than I, and that included his tendencies. Such as always starting with his dominant hand.
