Page 218 of Upon Buried Embers
King Halen holds up a hand and comes to a stop twenty feet away from us.
He’s six foot, stomach slightly bulging and his fat fingers are adorned with rings. He wears his fine purple tunic, a necklace with the king’s sigil engraved on it and formal pants.
He has a golden dagger at his hip, but if he comes any closer we would rip him to shreds.
“I’ve decided that I’m… bored with this truce and declare a new one. So all members will participate.”
“And what is the new truce?” I ask, gritting my teeth and his eyes flash to mine.
He doesn’t hide the hatred there, and I don’t hide mine.
“One game to end it all. If you win, you take your people and your dragons home, never to be bothered again.”
“And if you win?” Karag asks, the first time he’s spoken.
“I take it all from you. Your people, your dragons.”
“No,” Sigrid growls.
“That’s not fair, you can’t make us do this!” Durruk shouts.
“Our dragons will burn it all to the ground if you try,” Varan warns.
“And why haven’t you?” King Halen asks, his tone smug. “Let me put it in simple terms that you barbarians will understand. You came here on your dragons, yes.” We all freeze, and his smile is lethal. “Well, let me just say that all I need to do isflick my fingers, and they’ll be sound asleep. And whatever will happen to them when they’re so… vulnerable?”
“You’re lying!” Sigrid snarls, and my axe is already at my side. “You break the truce if you harm the dragons outside of The Games.”
He shrugs. “I just told you I was bored of it, are you deaf? I have your dragons locked away in the Enclave, and the rest will come shortly.”
“You did what?!” I roar.
That isn’t possible…
But his eyes… his smile.
He’s not lying.
I’ll fucking kill him.
“Now,” he says, walking back to his throne. “You will cooperate for your own good. If not,” he pauses and looks at us from over his shoulder. “You will forfeit, and I’ll keep your dragons. They’ll be under watch at all times by my guards, and if anything happens, if you try to harm me or my city, they will be hurt.”
“I don’t want this new truce,” Varan says, eyeing us. “None of us do.”
He laughs, taking his seat again. “You seem to think you have a choice. As we speak, your camps are burning.” We freeze, shocked into silence. “And anyone left is being brought here.”
“What did you just say?” I ask, voice deadly and he smiles wide.
“There’ll be nothing left of your camps come morning.”
Alara…
I step forward, my heart hammering painfully as rage rises to the surface. The others follow, weapons raised, but then every single guard around the room raises their swords, all fifty of them. In their other hands, is a glass sphere full of green vapor that they’ll throw at us, making sure to stay far back.
One hit with that, and we’ll be knocked out.
“You’ll die before you get near me, and then what will happen to what’s left of your clans? Your dragons?”
We all pause, chests heaving and I can feel the anger of each and every Dragonbond as dragons roar in the distance.
