Page 36 of Kingdom of Rot & Ruin
I couldn’t even stand up to tug at it. Logically, I knew it wouldn’t matter. I could see the Fireguards underneath me, pulling each other away. L was standing resolutely, but the other three hauled him out of there.
No sense seeing the dragon physically tear me limb from limb, after all.
I rolled onto my stomach, with herculean effort, trying to get my bearings. My hand landed on bleached, broken bones. Glancing up, the dome’s surface was littered with them. A human skull lay in two pieces just inches from my foot.
Fuck.
Growling filled the air, and I no longer cared about a few bones.
The dragon was awake.
How had I thought he was ever small? The creature raised himself up on all fours, towering over me like the god of fire he was.
“Just make it quick,” I said before I could help it. One bite to the back of my neck, then sweet oblivion?—
A long femur bone caught my attention from the corner of my eye. The dragon growled, hunching low like a cat about to pounce.
In that split second decision, I decided I wouldn’t let an overgrown lizard with wings decide how or when I’d die. I had just enough adrenaline and preservation instinct left to give it one final go.
I lunged for the femur, slamming it as hard as I could over my knee, ignoring the pain and protest in my body. It shattered in half, leaving a nice, sharp edge.
Whipping around, I pointed it at the dragon, still laying on my back.
The dragon’s head tilted to the side comically.
I didn’t disagree. All he had to do was let loose a puff of fire, and it was over. My little sharp stick wouldn’t have a damn thing to say about it.
But it made me feel better.
“Nice dragon. Pretty dragon.”
Flattery hadn’t exactly worked on the queen, but I had nothing to lose.
The dragon exhaled through its snout, throwing a few red embers my way. I watched them fall at my feet, the red glow quickly dying away as it cooled to a charred black.
I tried to stand, but only fell over.
Fuck, everything felt broken.
“I hate B. I hate the queen. I hate EVERYTHING!”
I threw the bone spur away, watching with satisfaction as it skittered over the side of the dome. The dragon followed its progress until it disappeared over the edge, then whipped its head back around to me.
The look in its eyes wasn’t that of a mindless beast. And it had lost the glimmer of hatred that I’d seen in archives.
It was studying me.
Maybe I couldreasonwith it?
“Hello. I’m Zephyr. What’s your name?”
The most amazing thing happened. The dragon shrunk before my very eyes until a small figure stood before me, most definitely not a dragon.
He could have been my younger brother with his dark hair and identical jawline, but he had the queen’s eyes. Helooked different from when I’d last seen him in the throne room, but it was still unmistakably him.
“Prince Zion,” I gasped out.
The naked boy frowned, sitting back on his haunches.
