Page 70 of Empire of Death
He slowly withdrew his head, moving at a distance where he could regard me with both eyes.I don’t like the heaviness of your words,Sunieth.
I shared everything I’d told my mother and Hawk. “I know this is hard, Zehemoth. But you can’t come with me.”
Where you go, I go.
“Not this time.”
He released a plume of smoke from his nostrils. It formed a long cloud that trailed up to the sky.I won’t let you sail into a war without a mighty dragon to watch your back. The Southern Isles are home to both humans and dragons. We fight and die, side by side.
“I appreciate your sentiment, but these golden spikes frighten me.”
They’re no match for dragon scales.
“But we don’t know that. Half of you are keeping my father alive, so if one of you is pierced with this cursed gold, I doubt you’ll be able to heal yourselves. Every wound will be a fatal one. I can’t let any of you fly into battle without proper protection, at least.”
And I can’t have you sail into battle without a single dragon to burn your enemies.
“I know this is hard, Zehemoth. But you have to let me go.”
Another plume of smoke left his nostrils.I have to do no such thing. I’m a free dragon who can do anything I please.He pushed another cloud of smoke out of his nostrils in his stubbornness.You’re my human, the one I’ve chosen to share half of my soul, and I will not let you go into battle without me.
“Zehemoth—”
No.
“Then as Queen of the Southern Isles, I order you to remain behind with the rest of your kin.”
The smoke he released from his nostrils was a cloud so thick it blocked my vision for a moment. I couldn’t see him in front of me, couldn’t see the sky.
“I can’t risk anything happening to you.”
And I can’t risk anything happening to you,Sunieth. Why is it your duty to care for me and not my duty to care for you?
“Because I’m the queen, and it’s my responsibility to care for the dragons. If you come with me, they’ll be aiming only for you, and there’s a good chance that one of them will hit you because you’ll be the only dragon in our army. You won’t be an asset but instead a target. And how am I supposed to win this battle if I’m constantly worried for you? If the circumstances were different, you and the others would be coming to my aid. But I can’t in good conscience let the dragons come when I know it’ll be a slaughter. You know the powers that have been granted to me. I don’t need the protection of a dragon, not when I have theprotection of—” I cut myself off before I finished the sentence, before I started an argument with Zehemoth right in advance of my departure…and possibly didn’t return.
A cloud of smoke didn’t rise from his nostrils, but he stared me down with a ferocity I’d never witnessed before.You think the protection of a god is stronger than the love of a dragon? It was love that saved your father from the underworld. It was my father’s bond to his soul that kept him on this side of the veil so he couldn’t be claimed. The reason you exist at all was because my father’s love triumphed over the forces of evil—and don’t you forget it.
“Zehemoth—”
Zehemoth abruptly turned away from me and opened his wings. He walked to the edge of the cliff and the courtyard then tipped forward, dropping down to the village below. The beat of his wings was audible a moment later, and then he flew into the distance.
I could still speak to him with my mind, but I didn’t bother to try, not when I knew he would block me out. So I watched him fly away from me, my heart heavy from the pain, but also relieved, because now I knew he wouldn’t try to come with me.
I left the Southern Isles with a fleet of ships armed with cannons and soldiers ready for war. Stood on the bow of the ship next to the captain as he navigated our galleon in the lead, heading east in the hope we’d beat the Barbarians’ arrival.
If King Ithaca were smart, he would still prepare his men for battle.
It was the first time I’d done something recently without my brother to accompany me, and I realized now how strong that connection had grown because I felt a little lost without him. I had two of my father’s commanders who served me with the same respect as my father, but I still felt alone.
Even though I was never alone, because Callum was always there.
I looked at the sea all around us, the smell of the salt on the air reminding me of my father, and then I headed down to my royal chambers. It was a room with a bed and a desk holding maps and chess pieces. The windows in the rear showed the view of the sea from the back of the ship.
I stood over the map and stared at it, unsure where the Barbarians would come from. Perhaps we’d cross their path on the way to the east. Perhaps a war would break out right where we stood.
When I lifted my chin to look out the window, I couldn’t see the sea—because Callum blocked my view. Kingly in his midnight-blue uniform with his black armor pieced together over his impressive mass, he was a terrifying sight…but a comforting one to me. His enormous blade jutted over one shoulder, his dark blue cape hanging down the cliffs of his shoulders. He stared at me across the table.
“Do you know their location?”
