Page 217 of Upon Buried Embers
The next one stops me cold, and my legs give out.
She holds an axe in one hand, face covered in blood like it was splashed across her face.
“Asseya,” I say, trembling fingers nudging her gently. “Please, wake up.”
The fire continues to destroy everything around us, and my chest feels too tight, like it’ll burst at any moment as I look upon Asseya’s face, her chest unmoving.
“R-Rohan!” I shout, my hands shaking as I place Sparks on the ground, jostling his little body back and forth, trying to get him to move, but he’s so, so still.
Just like Asseya.
“Come on Sparks, not you too,” I sob.
Nothing.
“P-please, don’t leave me. You need to learn to fly, annoy Drogonah and play in the bucket with Escor. Please!”
He doesn’t move, and I sit back on my heels, tears tracking down my face, and there, surrounded by fire and embers, I scream.
It wracks my whole body, empties all the air from my lungs and no one is coming, no one is here.
“Drogonah! Escor!”
I look up at the night sky, orange crawling up to it, but I see no dragons.
A horn blares in the distance, loud and frightening. Then all of a sudden, something smashes in front of me, a green vapor expanding.
I hit the ground.
Fifty Two
Rohan
“You have been called here because this year, The Games will begin early,” King Halen says.
He’s sitting on his throne atop some steps, a purple carpet rolling down the center of them.
His guards line the entire room, swords at their hips, the purple bands around their arms showing their loyalty to the asshole.
I clench my jaw. I was supposed to be in bed with my Little Whisperer, but instead, every Dragonbond got called up before the king, and failure to arrive would mean death.
A death we would not give him willingly.
So we all came, early, and we’re all pissed because he’s kept us waiting for hours.
“You are to send your dragons to their temporary dens, as done previously, and your camps have been set up accordingly in the Enclave.”
“And those who are to enter The Games?” Sigrid dares to ask, the anger in her tone evident.
The king raises a blond brow, his dark eyes full of irritation at the question.
“Oh, did I forget to mention?” He stands, stepping toward us but not too close, he wouldn’t dare. “All members of all clans are to enter the verylastGames.”
“What?” I spit out.
“What do you mean,all?” Durruk says.
“Andlast?” Varan shouts.
