Blood of Dragons (Death #2)

Prologue III

PROLOGUE III

TALON

She turned in bed. Turned again. Released a heavy sigh.

I was already wide awake and staring at the ceiling, so my hand moved to her stomach. “Baby, relax.” She’d gotten so big the last few months. It had taken her four months just to show, but her belly was unmistakable. Just a couple more months and my son or daughter would be here.

“I can’t.”

I pulled down the sheets, lifted up her nightdress, and pressed kisses to her stomach. Sometimes when I rested my hand there, I could feel the baby kick, feel the life that we’d made together. “Breathe.”

Her fingers moved into my hair as she took her deep breaths, her stomach rising and falling.

“All of this will be worth it in the end. Remember that.”

“I know. I’m just so uncomfortable…my back…my feet…everything.”

“You know I would do it for you if I could.”

Her affectionate eyes blanketed me with her love. “I know.”

I continued to rub her stomach. “In a couple months, you’re going to have someone you’ll love more than anything else in the world. And all the hardship, all the sleepless nights, it’ll all be worth it.”

“It’s hard to imagine loving someone more than you.”

“You will. Trust me.” I lay beside her again and felt her cuddle into my side, her stomach against me.

“Why are you awake?” she whispered.

“I’m always awake.”

“I know something troubles you.”

Months had passed since my conversation with Uncle Barron. Instead of planting an olive tree that could provide shade and sustenance for us both, it seemed to have driven him further away. He and his sons and cousins had all remained outside the royal grounds, keeping to themselves in their villas and the countryside. I wasn’t sure if I’d made things better…or worse. “Nothing that concerns you, baby.”

“Your troubles are my troubles.”

I brushed a kiss to her forehead. “Sleep. You need your rest.”

I walked into the dimly lit bar and found Silas sitting at one of the tables, several tankards in front of him with a woman across his knee. Topless, she fed him grapes, and he ate each one that she popped into his mouth.

I pulled out the chair and took the seat across from him.

“Look who crawled out of his cave.” He turned his face away from the grape she tried to place on his tongue. “Get me another drink, sweetheart.” When she left his lap, he gave her a smack on the ass. “And call one of the girls over for my brother.”

“I’ll pass.”

Silas rolled his eyes. “Just the drink, then. My brother is boring.”

“Your brother is married.”

“Half of the guys in here are married.”

I got the waitress’s attention and ordered a drink. She brought it over, tits on display, but I just took the drink and ignored her.

“What brings you here?”

“The servants told me this is where I’d find you.”

“Yep,” he said. “This is where you can find me most nights.” He relaxed in the chair, arm over the back of the other armchair as he surveyed the rowdy bar, half-naked women walking around to serve the drunken men. “I call it paradise.”

Paradise looked very different to me. I pictured Vivian in the shade of an apple tree on a blanket, playing with our son, while her stomach was swollen with his sibling. This bar felt cheap and lonely—and it was a perfect reflection of my brother.

“So.” He took a drink from his tankard. “What did you want to discuss?”

I stared around the bar, trying to pull my thoughts together. “I feel a shadow creep up the back of my neck. It’s an unease I can’t explain or justify. A sense of doom without a cause.”

The subtle grin on his face slowly faded as he listened.

“It’s just a feeling, but it feels as real as a sword to the throat.”

“What’s provoked this, Talon?”

“It’s been a few months since I spoke to Uncle Barron.” I wasn’t sure why we even called him that because he was more of a distant cousin than a great-uncle. “He doesn’t show his face. His sons are absent from our lives. He and all his relations seemed to have disappeared.”

“Because he knows you’re onto him and backed off.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps that provoked him.”

“Provoked him to do what?”

“I don’t know, Silas. I just fear that he’s plotting something right under our noses. When he came to the royal grounds, we could see him in the flesh, witness his actions, but now that he’s avoiding us, I have no idea what he’s doing.”

“The farther away he is from us, the better,” Silas said. “The army respects Father’s rulership. The people respect Father as their king. Uncle Barron has no chance to poison them against our family. His only chance at the throne is to kill us all, pin the murder on someone else, and then take the crown for himself. And if he’s nowhere near us, then he can’t do that. I don’t want to dismiss your concerns as paranoia because I see it eating at you, but I think your distress is unnecessary.”

That was why I came down there, to hear Silas say these words to me, tell me that my concern was gravely misplaced. “I can’t discuss these things with Vivian.” I shared my life with her completely. There were very few secrets I kept from her.

“Why?”

“I don’t want her to worry. Her only priority is our child. Everything else is my responsibility.”

“I thought marriage was a partnership.”

“Not when she married a future king.” The kingdom and the crown were my domain, my responsibility. I was supposed to protect her, as well as everyone else. If she was worried, then I wasn’t doing my job correctly.

“You just like to carry all the weight up the mountain.”

“I’m her husband. That’s my burden.”

“No, you do that with everyone,” he said. “With me and Rosella, especially.”

I looked down into my tankard.

“I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, Talon.”

I continued to stare at the contents before I met his look again.

“Drink up. Next one’s on me.”

I smirked. “Wow, I don’t think you’ve ever bought me a drink.”

“Don’t get used to it, asshole.”

It was getting harder for Vivian to do things. Cooking was too difficult for her, so I had the servants prepare all our meals and deliver them to the cottage. She napped several times a day because she was up most of the night. The doctor said the baby was doing fine. It was just an uncomfortable position for her.

I planned a picnic for her under the olive tree in the garden. It was close to the edge of the cliff, showing the Northern Sea below, the galleons as they moved along the shore to bring goods to port.

She leaned against me, her back to my chest, her head resting against my shoulder. She wore a summer dress, her hands on top of her belly, enjoying the warmth of the sunshine. The servants had packed a picnic for us in a wicker basket, but we hadn’t eaten it yet because she was so relaxed in my arms. At one point, she fell asleep, and I let her be because I knew she was exhausted.

I knew this pregnancy was hard for her, harder than it seemed to be for most women, and I wished there was something I could do to make it easier for her. We planned to have more children, and I’d hate for her to go through this every single time. The morning sickness, the evening sickness, the back pain, the lack of appetite.

Footsteps sounded on the grass, and I turned to look at the armed soldier as he approached. He glanced down at Vivian, seeing that she was asleep, and unsure if he should wake her. He looked to me for direction.

“What is it?” I asked quietly.

“Your father wishes to speak with you. It’s urgent.” He stepped away as Vivian stirred.

Her eyes immediately opened at the sound of the voice that didn’t belong to me. She stiffened as she watched the soldier walk away. “What happened?”

“My father requires my presence.” I got to my feet and helped her up. “He said it was urgent.”

“Is everything okay?”

“I’m sure it’s fine, baby.”

“But nothing has ever been urgent before.”

“Soldier,” I called to him across the grass.

He turned around and faced me.

“Escort my wife to the cottage.”

“I can make it on my own, Talon.”

I grabbed the basket from the ground and handed it to the soldier. “Escort her.”

“Of course, Prince Talon.”

I gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

She looked at me like she had more to say, but she held her words.

The soldier extended his arm to her. “Come on, Princess Vivian.”

She took his arm, her other hand moving to her stomach.

Once I knew she was in good hands, I crossed the royal grounds and approached the castle. It was beautifully constructed of white stone, with spire towers and bridges, an architectural marvel. I entered through the open double doors and made my way to my father’s study, knowing that was where he would be in times of urgency. That was where his scrolls were read and written, where he housed his maps, where he did his heaviest thinking.

I entered the study, but instead of finding him behind his ornate desk, he was in the deliberations room, a room with a large table where his maps were placed, his pawns scattered across the surface. He wasn’t alone. His general was there beside him, as well as his commander. Silas was also present, and he didn’t crack a joke as I entered.

I could feel the heavy energy the second I stepped into the room.

“What is it?” I asked, approaching the head of the table, directly opposite my father.

He stared down at the map in front of him before he lifted his gaze to look at me. “King Constantine, King of the Dragons, calls for our aid. Dark creatures from the east have invaded their lands and enslaved most of their kind. He refers to them as dark elves, beings that wield dark magic. He also said by the time I received this notice, it would probably be too late to intervene. He said their attack was quick and cunning.”

I stared at my father for several breaths, each of those breaths becoming more labored as the truth set in. “How do you enslave a dragon?” They were the strongest creatures on the face of the earth. We were blessed that they chose to coexist with us peacefully rather than turn us into meals.

My father held my gaze with a straight spine. “A foe of a dragon is a foe to us. I fear we’ll be their next conquest.”

I had just enjoyed a picnic with my pregnant wife in the sunshine, and now we were at war. “What do they want?”

“What everyone wants,” he said with a calm voice. “Everything.”

The peaceful existence I’d known my whole life was gone—in just a few seconds. The castle was turned into a battlefield, soldiers manning the wall with cannons. Every soldier, even those not on shift, was called to serve, to prepare for a war we assumed would never come. The dragons had been our peaceful neighbors since the dawn of time. Not once did we ever fear them. And even if we did, we were no match for them.

The first thing I did was return to Vivian.

I opened the front door and found her standing in the living room, her face frantic because she’d heard the war bells sound on top of the tower.

“What’s happening?” she blurted, coming straight for me the second I opened the door.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“The dragons have been conquered by dark elves. We prepare for war.”

Her face was already pale, but it started to look bloodless. “I—I don’t understand.”

“I heard the words directly from my father’s mouth, but I still don’t understand it.”

“How? How could dragons be conquered?”

“King Constantine said they wield dark magic.”

“What does that mean?”

I didn’t want to know. “I’ve prepared a ship for you. It’ll take you to Archaeon, our hidden stronghold there. You’ll be safe there until the war is over. And if we fall…you’ll sail to the east.”

Appalled, her breaths turned to pants. “I’m not leaving you.”

“You will.”

Her eyes started to glisten with tears. “I said, I’m not leaving you.”

“You’re not staying here.” I didn’t want to yell at my wife, not when I loved her, not when I was so fucking scared that I was about to lose her. “I will drag your ass onto that ship and tie you up myself if I must. There’s no scenario where you stay. Fire will rain down from the sky, and many of our people will perish—but you will not be among the dead.”

“Talon—”

“What is her name?”

Tears poured down her cheeks.

“Tell me her name.”

“Lena.” Her hand moved over her stomach as her bottom lip quivered.

“I know it’s hard to leave me, but you must.”

“No.” Her hand cupped her mouth as she started to sob. “Why is this happening? We made love last night without a care in the world, and now…everything is gone.” She sobbed and heaved, her hand still on her stomach.

It killed me to watch this, to know I couldn’t stop it, that I couldn’t protect her from the truth. I didn’t know exactly what we faced, but the assault would probably claim my life, and she and Lena would be on their own. “Vivian.”

She continued to break down right before my eyes.

I grabbed her forearm and squeezed it for her attention.

She looked at me again.

“I’m sorry.” Our lives were being ripped asunder. Her only concern had been to birth our children, but now she had to survive a war, most likely as a widow.

“Come with us.” Now her hand grabbed mine. “Let’s take the ship and go.”

For a fleeting moment, I was tempted, tempted to abandon everyone else I loved for a single person. To sail away and leave them to their fate because one man wasn’t enough to make a difference in a war. To start over in a new place with my wife and child, to settle in a little cottage in the woods and be perfectly content with almost nothing but love. “I—I can’t.”

Her tears started to well up again.

“I can’t abandon my family.” I couldn’t let my father fight this war alone. I couldn’t turn my back on my brother. “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t argue with me, knowing I was too noble to choose the easy way out, even for her.

“Grab your things. My mother and Rosella will go with you.”

“Talon—”

“I don’t know how much time we have, baby. Until your ship has left the harbor, I won’t be able to think of anything else.”

“Until we’re gone from your life forever…”

I would probably die—and we both knew it. “It’s not forever.” Somehow my impending death was easier to swallow than letting her receive a mere scratch. Death could take me, and I wouldn’t fight it, not when I knew that she was out of harm’s way, that she would keep my memory alive by telling our daughter who her father was, why I had to leave them both. “Let’s get your things.”

With Vivian’s hand in mine and her bag over my shoulder, I walked her to the stables and prepared a horse for her to ride.

“Prince Talon, His Majesty requests your presence imminently.” The soldier appeared from behind me.

I worked the saddle onto the horse because the stableboy was busy preparing all the other horses for battle. “I’ll be there when I can.”

There was a pause before he spoke again. “He said now.”

I turned around to look at him.

Vivian immediately shrank back from my wrath. So did the soldier.

“I will come when I’m able. My wife needs me right now.” I turned back to the saddle and properly secured it before I attached the bag to the side. It contained a couple changes of clothes and linens, but it also had food and water to last for her journey.

He made the mistake of grabbing me by the shoulder. “Prince Talon, I’m sorry?—”

I spun around and shoved him back as I pulled my blade free. The blade was at his neck a moment later, my hand gripping the front of his shirt.

Vivian gave a gasp.

“Listen to me.” I gave him a hard shake. “I said, I will be there when I can.” Then I shoved him so hard he tripped backward.

I turned back to the horse and tied the reins to the post. “Come here, baby.”

She came forward and looked at the horse warily.

“Don’t worry. I’ll ride with you.” I grabbed a step stool and put it beside the horse so she had a leg up. I grabbed her hand and helped her up. Then I gripped her so she could swing her leg over and mount the horse.

I removed the stool and untied the reins before I led the horse out of the stable, pulling him away from the building so I could mount him in the open and take off.

“Talon.”

I stilled when I heard my father’s voice, the defeat in his tone.

I turned to look at him, the horse releasing an impatient breath at my arm.

He looked at Vivian on the horse then back at me, his eyes glazed in hurt. “You would give up so easily…”

“I will fight with you, Father. But I must prepare for the worst.”

His eyes stayed on me, the disappointment evident.

“I’m going to take Vivian to the harbor. She’ll leave for the east on a manned ship. Mother and Rosella can join her if they hurry.”

“Your mother and sister would never abandon their home,” he said. “And we need that ship and those men for battle. War is about the many, not the few.”

“I don’t care.”

My father gave me a sheathed look of anger. It was dull to others, but it was a forest fire to me. “Enough of this. You’re wasting valuable time when we should be deciding our next course of action?—”

“Begin your preparations in my absence. I’m unavailable until my wife and child are safe.”

“You would put them before your kingdom?—”

“Damn fucking right.” I placed my foot in the stirrup and climbed into the saddle behind the horn, Vivian behind me. “I’ll be back in an hour. I pledge my life and my sword to this kingdom—and I will deliver.”

I ordered the captain to commandeer the galleon, the fastest ship with the black sails, and placed her belongings in one of the private chambers. The sailors got to work preparing the ship for departure, dropping the sails and throwing the supplies on board for a hasty exit.

Vivian was scared. I could see it on her face. She sat on the bed, her hand on her stomach, her breathing labored.

“Listen to me.” I moved to my knee in front of her and opened the sack. There was a dagger inside. “You remember what I showed you?” I gripped it by the hilt, the blade pointing down.

She nodded.

“Right here.” I pointed at the spot on my neck, right where the artery was. “One hit and they’re done. Keep this on you at all times. Under your pillow at night. Under your dress during the day.”

“Okay.”

“I’ve ordered the soldiers I trust the most to man this ship. Their only job is to protect you. I’ve rewarded them with more gold than they could ever spend as payment.”

She started to cry.

I opened the bag and removed the cloth that was bound around a stone. When it was gone, it revealed the brilliance of a diamond, a diamond so big that it filled my entire hand. It was flawless, shining even in the darkness in the cabin. “I know you must travel light. Keep this hidden, and when you get to your destination, it will buy you a home and food for the rest of your life.” I wrapped it in the cloth again and tucked it back inside the sack. I had been in such a rush to get her down here and to safety that I didn’t think about what came after that.

The goodbye.

Her hands cupped my cheeks as she sobbed. “I would stay if it were just me.”

My hands gripped her wrists. “I know.” I knew she would die with me rather than live without me.

“Come with us…please.”

My eyes closed, trying to resist the plea in my wife’s voice.

“Please…”

I grabbed her wrists and pulled them from my face. “You know I can’t.”

She started to cry harder, knowing this was it.

The moment was too much, too heavy, my mind couldn’t cope with it. “I will do everything I can to survive. And when I do, I will find you. That’s a promise.”

She sobbed, her cheeks red and her eyes puffy.

I kissed each of her hands. “I love you.” I lifted up her dress and pressed a kiss to her belly. “Both of you.”

“No…”

My hands dug into her hair, and I brought our faces close together. Despite the havoc of emotion inside me, I didn’t succumb to it, not when it would only make it harder for her. “Tell me you love me.”

She gripped my wrists and sobbed. “I love you.”

I kissed her forehead. “If we don’t see each other in this life, we’ll see each other in the next.” I pulled away.

She dug her nails into my flesh and suddenly exerted more strength than her little body could usually produce. She tugged me close.

I had to twist from her grasp and step away.

“No…”

Turning my back on her and walking out was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do, to walk away from her sobs, to ignore my wife’s suffering, to know she would start a life in a new place…and probably remarry and have more children with someone else while my corpse would rot on a battlefield.

With tears in my eyes that I didn’t shed, I rode back to the castle to fulfill my duty…and let her go.

“We need nets. Gather all the fishing nets from the harbor and attach them to spikes. If the dragons attack us, that’s our only chance to take them down.” My father gave his orders, and two soldiers left the room to carry the message.

I walked inside at that moment, seeing Silas in his full armor without his typical smirk.

My father shifted his gaze to me, his stare still angry.

I approached the table, my sword hooked over my back, desperate to look out the window and see if I could spot her ship headed out to sea, but I needed to focus on the war that was about to arrive on our doorstep.

My father had never looked so disappointed in me.

It was the worst feeling in the world, to know your father thought so little of you, but it didn’t affect me whatsoever. I’d made my decision—and I would repeat it a million times.

He looked at me with disdain. “The future Queen of the Southern Isles chose to abandon her people. Perhaps you should have married a woman of noble birth as I suggested, because her spine is weak.”

Silas flicked his eyes to me, forced to listen to this strained conversation.

I continued to feel nothing. “She wanted to stay, but I made her go.”

My father stared, both hands on the surface of the table. “The crown will be passed to your brother Silas upon my death—because your abandonment is treasonous.”

“He can have it,” I said. “The crown is a penny compared to the diamond that is my wife and child. In this, we will always disagree, but my first duty is as a husband and a father, not a prince or a king. Their safety comes before everyone else. I’m not sorry for what I did. Release your fire—but I will not burn.”

That only seemed to anger him more. “You worthless bastard?—”

“Father.” Silas was the one to interrupt the heated exchange. “I know you’re scared. Shit, we’re all scared. But Talon sending Vivian away is not an acceptance of defeat. It doesn’t mean the war is lost. All he wanted to do was protect his pregnant wife, a woman who can barely walk right now, and I don’t fault him for that. He didn’t take the ship with her. He came back here to win with us—or die with us. In the event of your death, I refuse the crown because Talon is a better ruler than I could ever be.”

My heart tugged at his words.

“If it were me,” Silas continued. “I would have done the same. This may be the last time we’re all living, so let’s put this behind us and move forward. What’s done is done—and we have a war to win.”

Every able soldier was armed and prepared for battle. The castle was situated high on the cliffs, while the city was down below. We were at the coast, so it closed off one front from an attack, unless they attacked by ship.

Our military was always prepared, but it’d been hundreds of years since the last battle had taken place. That reigning peace had weakened our bones, put us in a state of perpetual calm. I was afraid we wouldn’t be able to handle this war, especially against beings we didn’t understand.

I stood at the edge of the royal grounds, at the top of the cliff, the warm breeze moving through my hair, darkness all around us. Every torch we had was lit all around the kingdom, providing a distinct glow so we could see our surroundings. Some of the hills and fields were illuminated so we could anticipate an attack, but until our foes approached the immediate vicinity, we wouldn’t know. Instead of having scouts stationed ahead, we thought having every able man behind the gate was our best chance for success.

Silas stood beside me, staring at the same sight.

We said nothing, just stood in silence.

I glanced at him beside me. “I appreciate what you said back there.” My brother and I didn’t have a lot of serious one-on-one moments. It was usually jokes and taunts, the only way we knew how to show affection.

He continued to stare ahead. “I meant it.”

I looked ahead again.

“I’ve never seen Father scared before. He’s always optimistic about everything.”

“He’s never faced war. His father didn’t face it. Nor did his father’s father.”

“He thinks we’re going to lose, and it scares him that other people think it too.”

I watched the torches dance in the sea breeze. “We shouldn’t assume defeat when we don’t know our enemy.”

“If we went to war with the dragons, we would lose. So if these creatures can defeat the dragons, then they can defeat us. You were right to put Vivian on a ship. At least our bloodline will continue…even if no one remembers us.”

I wanted to admonish him for his pessimism, but in my heart, I knew he was right.

“ Roooaaaaarrrrrrr .” The forceful call exploded through the air like a bolt of lightning. At first, it sounded like an echo, coming from different directions as it bounced off the mountains, but then I realized that wasn’t the case.

There were dozens. “They’ve coerced the dragons into an attack.”

Silas hadn’t moved, hadn’t reacted, as if he’d been expecting this.

I moved away, ready to command the soldiers at the top of the cliff.

But Silas didn’t move. He continued to stare into the darkness.

“Silas.” I came back to him, staring at the side of his face.

He turned to me, dead in the eyes. “I want you to know I’ve always looked up to you. When we were young, you used to complain about standing in father’s shadow, until one day you began to appreciate it. I was born in your shadow, a shadow so big that I’ve never seen the sun. But I’ve loved every moment of the shade.” He extended his hand to me. “If we don’t see each other again…just know that you’ve been a great brother.”

I let his hand hover between us. “Silas.” I moved into him and embraced him with a hard hug.

He gripped me tightly, clapping me on the back.

“You’re the best brother I ever could have asked for.”

He held on to me, his grip remaining tight like he was hanging over the edge of a cliff. “I know.”

I chuckled, feeling the tears sting my eyes. “I love you, asshole.”

“I love you too.”

Fire. It burned the city. It burned the world.

The dragons swooped through the darkness and knocked the cannons from the ledges. The bells of the towers were ripped from the stone and tossed into the sea. Screams of dying soldiers pierced the night. We’d successfully captured two dragons with our poorly fastened net system, but once the dragons were on the ground, they were a terror, and we lost a lot of men that way.

We were doomed.

I watched my men die. I watched my city burn. And all I could think about was Vivian—sailing to safety across the Northern Sea, so far away, she couldn’t see the fires or hear the screams. Parting from her had broken my heart, but now it gave me solace.

I ran to the eastern side of the castle, where my father issued his orders. The soldiers at the coastline were led by the general, but they were getting massacred the way we were up at the cliffs.

I reached him just as a dragon swooped down and knocked a line of men aside. One man was snatched in its enormous talons and carried into the sky before being swallowed whole. It was dark, and the riders were hard to see, heavily armored so any arrows that managed to strike them bounced right off.

I reached my father. “We must surrender!”

“Fire.” He issued his order, and a series of cannons fired at a dragon that passed by. Each one missed. “Again.”

“Father, we must surrender!”

He wouldn’t look at me.

“Did you hear me?” I’d yelled it the first time and the second.

“Yes, I heard you,” he snapped. “And no.”

“They’re going to kill us all?—”

“And wouldn’t you rather die than be a slave to a new regime? You know they’ll make a mockery out of us?—”

“But the people we’ve vowed to protect will be spared. Their lives and the lives of their children are more important than our egos.”

Silas stood behind him, listening to the conversation with a ghostly face. “He’s right, Father?—”

“This conversation doesn’t concern you,” he snapped.

I hated that these would be our last moments together, fighting and screaming with each other while the enemies soared through the skies.

“Listen to me,” I said. “We surrender. Then for as long as we’re still living, we try to discern how the dragons have been coerced. King Constantine would never let their kind be used in this manner, so there must be some external force making them behave this way. We figure out what this is and reverse it?—”

“ Roooaaaaarrrrrr !”

The world suddenly went quiet. The dragons ceased their attack. For the first time, I could hear the crackling flames because the screams of the dying had stopped. A silence ensued, but it was packed with so much tension that I couldn’t draw breath.

Then he emerged from the darkness into the light of the flames—King Constantine. A charcoal-gray dragon larger in size than the rest, with brilliant scales that reflected like wet oil. He turned idle in the sky, his wings flapping to keep him in place, and then the rider called down to us.

It took me a moment to distinguish his face at this distance when the light was limited and he slowly rose up and down on the idling dragon. But then I saw it, those unkind eyes, that heavy-jowled face. “Uncle Barron…” My stomach tightened and pushed the acid up my throat. I’d been scared the moment of the siege, but now my terror had deepened into something more. A knife slid into my back, right between my ribs, and speared my lungs.

He called down to us from his mighty steed. “Had enough, Your Majesty ?” Those unkind eyes had deepened into the gates of the underworld. Evil shone brighter than the full moon on a clear night. His lip was even curled up like he struggled not to sneer.

My father said nothing, staring up at him with contempt.

I’d warned my father, and he didn’t listen—and now we were all about to die.

“Your eldest may be arrogant, but he’s no fool. He saw what you failed to see, and now everyone you love will burn in my flames.” His dragon slowly lowered itself closer to the earth, obeying silent commands. Uncle Barron’s face came into better view, and he was wearing armor that looked nothing like our own. It was black and shiny, made of a material I couldn’t identify. He’d been nothing but an ordinary man my entire life, and now he looked like the mightiest soldier. Once his dragon landed, the other dragons were visible in the air, acting as guards if any one of us tried anything.

Uncle Barron climbed down from the powerful dragon then approached us, his cape flapping in the wind, looking quite a few inches taller and infinitely more powerful. He stopped several feet away from my father, his sword resting on his hip, and he let the silence pass as he enjoyed every second of his conquest. “First—we’ll start with you.”

Stakes were constructed out of the olive trees that had thrived hundreds of years in our courtyard. Butchered with blunt axes and knocked over by the enormous talons of the dragons, they were the first to be massacred.

We were bound by our wrists and forced onto our knees, knives at our throats as we waited for our turn to be burned. I stared straight ahead, refusing to look at my little brother beside me, to see the fear in his eyes that I couldn’t assuage. I didn’t look at my father either, knowing he must be riddled with guilt that he’d ignored my repeated warnings.

I thought of Vivian and the child we’d made with our love—because that was the only comfort I had. I’d failed my family. I should have done more than warned my father. I should have executed Uncle Barron when I had the chance. There would have been no repercussions for the crime since I was the prince. But I’d let my father’s stupid optimism reign—to the detriment of us all.

My father spoke beside me. “I’m sorry, Talon.”

I wanted to say it was okay, to grant him forgiveness in our final moments, but I couldn’t. My child would grow up without a father. My wife would have to survive without a husband to provide and care for her. I would consider myself lucky if I was burned alive first, just so I wouldn’t have to watch my brother scream until death finally took him.

“I should have listened to you?—”

“It doesn’t matter now.”

He turned to look at me, defeat in his eyes, the sword still pressed right up against his neck.

I wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“You would have been a great king?—”

“I wanted to be a father far more than I wanted to be king, but now I’ll never know my child.” I kept a straight face even though I wanted to burst into tears. “I’ll never know if I had a son or a daughter. I’ll never know the joys of fatherhood…”

My father turned away quickly like I’d slapped him.

Silas said nothing as he listened.

“I wish I’d left with her…” I wished I were on that boat with her right now, getting her to safety, building a cottage with my bare hands so that she and my baby would be warm by the fire while I tilled the fields outside. Our lives would be simple, but we would be together. I would have to carry the shame of my abandonment every day, but that would have been preferrable to this, to watching my family die right before my eyes because I couldn’t stop it.

“Bring them.” Uncle Barron issued his command.

A moment later, Mother and Rosella were dragged from the castle, both of them sobbing like they’d already endured terror behind the walls of the castle. They were forced to their knees on the other side of my father.

He didn’t look at them.

“Rise, Your Majesty .”

I stared straight ahead, unable to look at him, unable to watch.

He got to his feet on his own. He didn’t fight. Didn’t issue a protest.

My mother sobbed harder than ever. Her cries were like wet screams.

The men escorted him to the stake and secured him to the wood.

My eyes dropped down, focusing on the cobblestone beneath my knees, my mind desperate to block out the horror.

I heard the dragon take a breath—and then felt the heat of the flames on my face as the stream of fire unleashed.

I didn’t hear my father scream—but I heard my mother.

She sobbed and collapsed forward, her hands bound behind her back, bringing her knees to her chest to curl up like a child. The sobs racked her entire body, made it shake uncontrollably.

My sister cried too, but her tears seemed silent in comparison.

My eyes remained down, feeling the flames right on my forehead. When I looked beside me, I saw Silas’s horrified face. The flames reflected in his eyes as he watched the scene, as he watched our father get burned alive.

Then I smelled it, the rancid smell of burned flesh.

I felt the acid move up my throat, and I almost hurled.

Silas bent forward against the knife and splattered vomit on his knees.

My mother continued to sob.

I hoped I was next. I’d rather die now than watch any more of this.

Uncle Barron’s boots were audible as he took his time walking toward us. They stopped in front of my mother, in my peripheral.

She continued to lie there and sob, either oblivious or indifferent.

“Get her up.”

I closed my eyes because I couldn’t bear it.

Rosella sobbed. “No! Please! Let her go!”

The men escorted my mother to the next stake, and there was no fight. She just cried as they bound her to the wood.

Silas lifted his head.

“Don’t watch,” I said to him.

“No!” Rosella continued to scream.

Silas dropped his chin.

I heard the same sounds as before, the dragon drawing breath then releasing his jet of flame.

My mother didn’t go quietly. Her screams were horrifying, full of unspeakable agony, her body unable to process the pain of her flesh being charred and melted.

I clenched my eyes as tight as I could, but nothing could block out the mental picture.

Silas started to cry, not for himself, but for our mother.

When the screams stopped, I knew she was gone—and I was grateful for that.

Rosella sobbed her heart out.

Uncle Barron’s black boots returned, and they stopped in front of Silas.

Of all people, he was the one I couldn’t stand to watch. “Take me next.”

Silas looked at me.

Uncle Barron looked down at me, the sneer on his face. “I like to save the best for last.” He gestured for the men to grab Silas.

I knew this was punishment for what I’d done, for going to his villa and issuing my threats, for catching the scent of his trail when no one else noticed. “My father continued to see the good in you when none was to be found. Have mercy…”

“Your father was a fool—and he died like a fool. My line should have sat upon the throne all these generations. Instead, a spineless, pathetic, foolish bloodline warmed the seat. None of your kind deserve to endure, and I will slaughter every person who has your blood. Your family line will cease to exist.”

His men got Silas to his feet and dragged him forward.

There was nothing I could do to stop it, and that killed me. “Silas.”

He was escorted to the stake, the pile of wood about to be burned.

“Just close your eyes. It’ll be over in thirty seconds.” I wanted to burst into tears. I could feel the heat burn just below my eyes. But my despair would only make it harder for Silas to die. “Soon, you will know peace.”

“Grab her too,” Uncle Barron said. “Siblings go together.”

They dragged Rosella, who tried to fight their hold and was kicked in the stomach.

I sat there alone, a knife to my throat, watching the last of my kind get tied to the stake. “Please don’t do this.” I turned to Uncle Barron and begged. “I’ll do anything you want. I’ll serve you in any way you wish. Put us to work in the fields. Exile us from your lands. I’ll be your stepping stool every time you get onto your horse. Just don’t do this…please.”

He stared at me with mirth, like my plea only made him enjoy it more. “Burn them, Constantine.”

The dragon inhaled a breath and released the jet of fire.

I immediately looked down, the tears coming out of my eyes when I felt the heat. My sister screamed in agony, but Silas remained silent. However, his silence only lasted a few seconds before the flames became too much—and then he screamed.

I clenched my eyes shut and tried to block out the sound, but I couldn’t. It was all I could hear, all I could picture.

When the screams stopped, I felt both relief…and utter devastation.

I was the last remaining member of my line, and now I just wanted it to end. I wanted to pass through the veil and be in the sky. I wanted to be with my family again, far away from our ash corpses, to know only peace. And one day…Vivian would be there too.

“Bring her out.”

My eyes were on the cobblestones beneath me, my vision a blur from the tears and the agony, but everything came into focus when I heard his words. My chin rose to meet his gaze—and now the sneer was a full grin.

“I’ve saved the best for last.”

“No…”

Then I heard her scream, a voice I’d recognize anywhere, and I felt a panic far more intense than any other.

They dragged her from the doors of the castle, her pregnant belly unmistakable, and she tried hopelessly to twist out of their grasp as they forced her forward. “Talon!” She screamed for me, screamed for me to do something.

“No!” I unleashed a surge of strength that defied my size and somehow pushed off the two men who held me down. My hands were secured behind my back with several knots, and I couldn’t twist free. I nearly popped my shoulder out of the socket because I twisted so hard.

The men shoved me back to the ground.

“No!”

“Talon!” They continued to drag her to the stake, her sobs louder than my mother’s.

“Don’t do this.” I turned to Uncle Barron, who enjoyed the sight with that same sickly smile. “She’s not my kin. She’s not my blood. Let her go and burn me. Please.”

They started to tie her to the stake.

I tried to jump to my feet again. “This is just cruel. This is how you start your reign? Burning an innocent woman?—”

“She may not be your blood—but her child is.”

My child. The child that would never be born because of me. “Please…” I broke down into tears, the drops flowing down my face like rivers because she somehow meant more to me than my entire family. “Wait until the child is born and then spare her…” I couldn’t believe my words, but I’d rather one of them survive than neither. “Come on, please. Uncle Barron, please. Just…fucking please.”

He ignored me. “Constantine.”

“ No! Please! Please don’t fucking do this ?—”

The dragon released the fire—and she screamed.

I dropped forward and sobbed, my face to the cobblestones, and just like my mother had, I curled into a ball and sobbed as I listened to my wife shriek as she was burned away, as my child was consumed in the flames. My body shook violently, and the tears felt like fire on my cheeks. It seemed to last a lifetime, the agony, the screams, the terror…and then the world went black.

My mind faded because it couldn’t take it anymore.

I didn’t how long it lasted, seconds or minutes. But then I heard a voice I didn’t recognize.

Hold on.

My eyes slowly opened to the cobblestone, my knees in my line of sight, the reflection of the fires making the stone shine.

Almost there.

The voice was inside my head, so I wasn’t sure if it was real.

If I was dead.

If I’d officially lost my mind.

“ Roooaaaaaarrrrr! ”

My body tightened, but I didn’t move.

“What is this?” Uncle Barron said. “Control him.”

I didn’t move because I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything.

“What is he doing?”

I’m here.

I spoke back in my mind. Who are you…?

My vision was suddenly blocked by a mighty talon. It circled me on all sides then came in close, scooping me from the cobblestones and gently cocooning me in his grasp. I was lifted from the ground, and the heat of the flames disappeared.

“Stop him!” It was Uncle Barron’s frantic voice.

Hold on.

My body started to shake in his grasp, jerking left and right from his sudden movements. It was dark so I couldn’t see anything, just hear the flap of powerful wings, hear the powerful roars of other dragons as they pursued us.

I’m sorry I couldn’t save her.

My eyes glistened with more tears, but they didn’t have a chance to fall. My mind couldn’t accept the horrible truth, simply couldn’t bear it, and shut down again. The world went black…and I hoped it would stay that way.

I felt my body gently set upon the ground. After all the bumping and shifting, it finally went still. My mind stirred slightly, and I opened my eyes, seeing darkness, the rocky texture of a cave wall.

I think I lost them.

I continued to stare at the wall, my entire body in unspeakable pain, but not from injury.

We’ll have to stay here for a week or two—until they give up and stop looking.

I lay there for a while, just staring at the wall and the dirt, so indifferent to everything, I wasn’t sure I cared about my predicament, about the fact that a dragon was speaking directly into my mind.

What is your name? I felt my body shift as he sliced the tip of his talon through my bindings.

My hands came free, and I slowly pulled them to my chest, all the muscles screaming in protest from being restricted for so long. I grimaced as I sat up, feeling the blood shift and descend downward to my stomach. I felt my wrists before I turned to look at the dragon, black as midnight, his eyes the same color except for the shade of gray on the outside edge. I’d seen a dragon before, but we rarely interacted with them, so it was still a surprise to be up close with one like this. His head was lowered toward the cave floor so our eyes could meet, and the hot breath from his nostrils moved over me like a humid breeze.

My eyes moved back to the ground, and my fingers dug into my hair. Heavy tears pooled in my eyes, and I started to sob, the kind that cracked my chest and made my spine tense. My mind tried to shield me from the trauma, but I couldn’t stay unconscious forever. The only way out was death—a merciful reprieve I was denied. “You should have left me.”

They were going to kill you.

“And I wish they had.” I sobbed like I never had, indifferent to the dragon who watched. “I have nothing to live for.”

What about revenge?

I was too broken to feel anger. I was too broken to feel anything. “Why didn’t you get there sooner…?”

I flew as fast as my powerful wings could carry me ? —

“That’s not fucking good enough . She deserved to live, and I deserve to die. You should have saved her. You should have saved my wife…my child…and let me burn to ash like the rest of my kin.”

His black eyes focused on me and didn’t blink. I’m sorry for your loss ? —

“You couldn’t possibly understand my loss.” The tears came again, along with the pounding headache. “My losses…”

I lost my kin too…

“Don’t expect me to feel sorry for you because I don’t give a fuck about anything. Burn me, eat me, I don’t give a shit.” I lay back on the ground and stared at the ceiling of the cave, the tears streaking from my eyes to my ears.

I will do none of those things.

“Then I’ll do it myself.” My eyes went dry, but the last tears I had slowly made their way down my cheeks to the earth underneath me.

The dragon went quiet.

We sat there in the cave together, silence stretching on, complete darkness outside.

Wherever we were was colder than my home by the sea. I felt it in the ground, felt the chill in the air, but I didn’t care enough to do anything about it. Maybe I would freeze to death and it would all be over.

My name is Khazmuda.

I stared at the ceiling.

You’re Silas or Talon, but I’m not sure which .

My brother’s screams echoed in my mind. “Talon…”

I would make a fire for you, but I fear they’ll see it.

“I’m fine.”

It’s cold. Your skin is pale.

“I’m fine.”

If you rest under my wing, the fire in my belly will keep you warm.

“I said I’m fine.” I sat up and looked at him. “Tomorrow morning, we go our separate ways. Go back to the Southern Isles and get your revenge.”

And what will you do?

“Put myself to the sword.” I lay back down again and stared at the ceiling once more.

No woman would want that for her mate.

“I’ll never know what she would want—because she’s dead.”

The night was the hardest part.

Every time I fell asleep, I saw fire and heard screams. I saw them die over and over, one by one, in a different order each time. I was jerked awake again and again, gasping for breath like I’d been held underwater for minutes.

When the morning came, I was dead tired but too scared to sleep.

I looked outside the cave at the trees that were unfamiliar, the sky partly cloudy, the cold noticeable in the dry air. Wherever we were was far away from home. “You must have flown far.”

I flew hard and fast for a very long time.

“I have no idea where we are.”

East .

Where Vivian should be right now.

Can you hunt?

“I’m not hungry.”

We both need to eat, and if I expose myself, they’ll find us.

“I told you I’m not hungry.”

You need to survive, Talon.

“I don’t need to do anything.”

I understand your sorrow right now. But once it passes, you’ll want revenge ? —

“Once it passes?” I sat up and looked at him. “Humans and dragons must experience emotions very differently because listening your wife scream your name as she’s burned alive doesn’t fucking pass…”

That was a poor choice of words. I’m not proficient in your language like Constantine was.

“You just don’t understand because you haven’t lost what I’ve lost. Your kin aren’t even dead. They’re feasting on my people as we speak.”

He was quiet for a long time. You’re right, our circumstances are very different.

I stared outside the cave again.

You can’t save the people you love, but I still can.

“Good luck with that.”

I can’t do it alone.

“Well, don’t expect help from me. I owe you nothing for saving my life—not when I wish you’d let me burn.”

Your devastation will turn to anger, and then you’ll want revenge.

“Revenge won’t bring them back…won’t bring her back.”

But he must answer for his crimes ? —

“Stop trying to manipulate me.”

It’s not manipulation, but a reminder of your duty. It’s your duty as the rightful king to take back your kingdom from the foes who stole it. It’s your duty to murder those who murdered your family. It’s your duty as a husband to avenge your wife’s death. I’m simply reminding you of your obligation.

I got to my feet and felt myself sway slightly, my body weak from the lack of water and nutrition. But I steadied myself and looked outside the cave. “Fine, I’ll hunt just so I don’t have to listen to your bullshit any longer.”

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed.

A couple weeks. Maybe a month.

It didn’t matter.

I sat on a boulder in front of the stream, watching the water swirl around the rocks and continue on its way toward the lake at the bottom of the valley. It was a clear day, and I sat in the shadow of the pine tree, the birds chirping overhead, the world in various hues of green because of all the rain that had fallen over the last few weeks.

Khazmuda and I barely spoke to each other. He didn’t mention returning to the Southern Isles again, as if he understood that I would just reject that suggestion again. Sleep was still difficult to tackle because the nightmares were so vivid and horrific. There was no reprieve when I was wide awake, because it was all I could think about.

I watched salmon swim upstream, moving to the top of the stream to lay their eggs.

Like I did every day, I thought of my child…who would have been born by now.

Tears glistened in my eyes and blurred my sight.

The sound of powerful wings was heard overhead before Khazmuda landed on the other side of the stream, facing me as he tucked his wings into his powerful body. Against the vibrant colors of green and brown, his black scales stood out.

He stared at the stream for a while before he looked at me. Your pain is more intense than usual.

I stared at the stream. “My child would have been born by now.”

I’m sorry, Talon.

The tears bubbled over my eyes and spilled down my cheeks.

Your sorrow is painful to feel…

I sniffed before I wiped my eyes on my forearm, forcing the tears to retreat.

You don’t need to hide your tears.

“I’m not. I just can’t do it anymore.” A month of constant sorrow had wrung me dry of tears. To be this depressed, this irrevocably broken…was emotionally exhausting. There were times when I thought about slitting my own throat, but I hadn’t found the courage yet.

He watched me, his black eyes focused on my face.

In the month we’d been together, he told me that I had a gift, an ability to communicate with dragons that not everyone possessed. In another time, it would make me feel special, but now, it was hardly noteworthy.

“You should move on, Khazmuda. You owe me nothing.”

He looked down at the stream, seeming to look at his own reflection. I have nowhere to go.

For the first time in a month, I felt pain that wasn’t my own.

The only home I’ve ever known is gone—and you’re the only person who understands.

“There must be dragons somewhere else in the world.”

Maybe. But I’m not sure if I have the energy for such an undertaking.

“If you find more dragons, you can ask them to fight with you to free your kin.”

To leave their home and risk their lives…I find that unlikely.

“But it’s their kin too.”

Humans are your kin, but your kingdom wouldn’t rush to the aid of another.

My eyes dropped to the stream.

What will you do, Talon? You can’t live here forever.

“No, I can’t.” And I didn’t intend to.

His eyes remained on me.

“Perhaps other dragons escaped.”

Maybe a few. But I don’t know how I would find them. The world is a big place, even for a dragon.

All I’d been able to focus on were the flashbacks, the memory of the screams and the smell of burned flesh. I hadn’t thought of anything else until that point. “What exactly happened? Why weren’t you turned?”

Barron seemed to forge an alliance with dark elves, creatures we haven’t seen in hundreds of years. They used their dark magic against us, using our ability to speak with others telepathically and turning it inward to control our minds. They forced us to fuse with them or riders of their choice, like Barron’s associates and relatives. A fuse is supposed to be given freely, a union between two minds that can be reversed at any time, but they found a way to lock us into the fuse. Not only does the fuse grant them the power of a dragon, but it also grants immortality. That means your uncle will rule those kingdoms for eternity—and the dragons he’s subjugated.

“He’s no uncle of mine.” I wished I’d never called him that. Wished my father had had a stronger spine to defy him when it would have mattered. “Why you were able to resist it?”

I don’t have an answer. All I know is they tried to puncture my mind, and I stopped it.

“Why did you come to me?”

My world was in chaos. My family and friends were trapped in their mental enslavement. I couldn’t communicate with them because their riders forbade it. I called out into the world and heard nothing back—except your voice. He stared into the stream, looking at his brilliant scales in the sunlight. I felt your distress. Felt your sorrow. Heard your pleas. I wasn’t sure if you were human or dragon when I rushed to you. I saw Constantine light the stake as I approached—and then I understood.

I would cry if I could, but I was literally spent.

I hoped you were a dragon and was disappointed that you weren’t. But I wanted to save you anyway. I recognized my pain in you. It was a split-second decision to swoop down and take you—and I don’t regret it . He lifted his gaze and looked at me again. And I know one day you won’t regret it either.

I walked through the trees with my bow slung over my back next to my sword. I’d worn the same clothes the last six weeks, washing them in the river and hanging them to dry. I constructed a leather canteen out of hide and collected water when it rained to drink. All the survival skills my father had instilled in me kept me alive.

But I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alive.

I walked through the trees following deer tracks, but I stopped in the clearing and looked at the sky. It was an overcast day, the clouds dark like they might release rain in the next hour or two. There was a constant touch of coldness here, mildew on the branches and leaves in the morning, a dryness that made my breath escape as vapor. It was nothing like home…the place I missed with all my heart.

I continued to stare ahead, looking at the vast emptiness before me, feeling nothing in my heart.

Nothing at all.

I dropped my bow from my shoulder and set it on the ground. The quiver of arrows came next. Then I unclasped the chest plate of my armor and let it fall. I’d meticulously cleaned it by the river a couple times, just to occupy my mind. Now I let it fall into the mud.

I pulled out my dagger next and unsheathed it.

Talon .

I ignored his voice, ignored the concern in his tone.

Talon, don’t.

He was the only friend I had in the world, but it wasn’t enough. Every day, I remembered the way my father’s flesh smelled. I remembered the way my mother collapsed at the sight of his burned corpse. I remembered my little brother’s high-pitched screams. I remembered the way my sister was kicked in the stomach when she tried to fight her fate. And I remembered the way my wife screamed my name…and begged me to save her.

I didn’t even realize I’d done it.

The blade pierced my heart all on its own.

I jerked when I felt the pain jolt me like a bolt of lightning.

The breath I took was painful.

Talon!

I buckled to my knees and hit the earth, my hand still around the hilt of the dagger.

It was painful, but nothing compared to what they’d suffered.

This was merciful.

I collapsed onto my side, my head hitting soft grass, the birds chirping in the branches in the tree beside me. It was peaceful, feeling the life leave my body, the blood ooze from the irreparable wound. “Vivian…I’m coming.”

A shadow moved over me. The ground shook with a heavy landing.

But it was too late.

I was already gone.

I jerked upright and gasped.

The world of greenery was back, lush and colorful, and the birds chirped from their branches.

I gasped again and reached for my heart, my fingers ready to wrap around the hilt of the dagger…but it was gone.

The wound was gone.

And I felt…different.

Instead of feeling weak from the blood loss and sick from the injury, I felt strong, stronger than I’d ever been. There was a fire in my veins, a burn in my fingertips. Information seemed to pass through my mind quicker than before. I looked the same, but no longer felt the same.

Khazmuda’s face appeared before me. He didn’t wear expressions the way a human did, but it was clear that he was livid. I’m sorry for what you’ve lost. You say I can’t understand, but I’ve felt your pain every moment since we’ve become companions, so I do know your despair. I’ve carried it in addition to my own. But there’s no amount of suffering that justifies this cowardly exit. You’re too broken to fulfill your duty to your people and your family, I understand that. But there is no excuse for this. I respect your anguish. I respect your grief—and I will give you all the time you need. But I do not respect this. Vivian wouldn’t want this, nor would any of your family members. He pulled away and looked into the trees, his energy still angry.

My hand continued to feel my chest. “What—what happened?”

I fused with you.

My hand dropped as I looked at him.

It was the only way I could save you.

“I didn’t ask you to do that?—”

I said, it was the only way I could save you. He looked at me again. And you’re worth saving, Talon.

It was months before we left our cave in the mountains and ventured elsewhere. My body had become ravaged by the strict diet of meat and whatever fruit and vegetables we could find in the wild. I was ready for a change of scenery, and Khazmuda was ready to pursue his ambitions.

We found a village in a warmer climate. I wasn’t sure how close it was to the Southern Isles, but it had to be in the same hemisphere because of the heat and humidity. It was very different from where we had been. Instead of pine trees and redwoods, there were cypress and olive trees. Instead of rocky mountains, there were hills and valleys. They had a harbor with galleons and sailboats. A decent-size village, but not big enough to be a major city. No such place had been under my father’s rule, so I assumed it was far enough away from my homeland.

We approached at dark and landed in the distance, in an open valley that seemed nowhere near the closest dwelling.

The heat was a welcome respite from the cold, but it gave me a pang of sadness. I was homesick, not just for the place, but for the people…the people who had been dead for four months. I hated to imagine how much the kingdom had changed, what Barron had done to the castle, how he treated the people, how he probably raised the taxes and made the poor even poorer.

Are you sure about this? Khazmuda was hard to see in the darkness, his scales perfectly blending into the night. It was probably the reason he had been able to escape that night. Scales of any other color would have made him an easy target.

“Yes.”

His powerful gaze punctured my face. I need to trust you, Talon.

“I’m a man of my word, Khazmuda.” Khazmuda wanted to search for other dragons because he still intended to free his kin from the Southern Isles someday. Whereas I was still drifting through life, too broken to care about anything, even revenge. When I wasn’t a brother or a son or a husband…I didn’t know who I was anymore. Maybe I would never know. But Khazmuda was afraid to leave me, because of what I’d done to myself. I vowed I wouldn’t make the attempt again—and I meant it.

I know you don’t care for me, Talon. But I’ve grown to care for you deeply.

His affection passed over me like a breeze because I didn’t try to catch it. I couldn’t accept love. I didn’t deserve it. It took all my strength to say it, to force out the words from my broken soul. “I do care for you.”

He watched me.

“Deeply.”

He moved his snout toward me and gave me a gentle rub.

My hand moved to his scales and I felt the smoothness, but I still barely touched him.

We’ll be able to speak the way we do now, no matter the distance, because of the connection we share. If you call for my aid, I will come as quickly as I can.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

What do you intend to do?

“Get a job. Make some money. Find a house. Be alone.”

That is what you desire? To be alone?

“Yes…for now.”

What skills do you have?

“I can hunt. I can fish. I can build things. My father taught me many things.” The final words I’d said to my father were justified, but now that the months had come and gone, I felt like shit for what I’d said. I should have offered him forgiveness and let him go with peace, but instead, I’d held on to my rage. And now I had to carry it forever.

I can tell he cared for his hatchlings.

“Yeah…he did.” He was good to all of us. But that goodness was the very reason he ended up dead, and I would learn from that mistake.

Then this is where we part ways. Take care, Talon. I hope you find what you’re looking for.

“You too, Khazmuda.”

I spent a year in that village.

It passed with aching slowness, every day the same as the last. I’d wake up before the sun and arrive at the harbor to take the ship out to sea. With the crew, we retrieved our traps and dropped new ones, collecting crabs and lobsters as well as fish. What I liked most about the job was the fact that none of the guys were talkers. They just wanted to do their jobs and go home.

I reeked of fish at the end of every day. Didn’t care for that.

Then I would spend my evenings alone. My accommodations were humble, four walls with a bed, a small table, a fireplace, and a bathtub. I ate dinner at the tavern every night, drinking until I could barely make the walk to my cabin. I passed out on the bed and then rose before the sun the next morning.

I did it on repeat.

My pain had numbed a long time ago, but I was still dead inside. It’d been almost a year and a half since I’d lost my entire family, but to me, it felt like yesterday. The dreams had started to fade and were replaced by flashes of images of work, of crabs and nets. Sometimes I saw Khazmuda, who stopped by to visit whenever he was in the area. My mind seemed to heal from the trauma, but my heart never would.

I’d just made the walk from the tavern when I heard his voice in my head. I’m here.

I stepped inside the cabin, my mind hazy from the ale. Wasn’t expecting you.

You’re intoxicated.

Yep .

Let me know when you’re well enough to speak.

Tomorrow was my day off from fishing, so I would visit then. I’ll see you in the morning.

I collapsed on my bed and woke up to the sunshine across my bedroom floor. I’d fallen asleep in my clothes, so I put on my boots and walked into the wild, leaving the trail and moving to our meeting spot in a hidden valley.

Khazmuda was there, his dark scales a deep contrast to the greenery all around him. He sat there, powerful and tall, a creature that could rip apart a stone building. I’d never really appreciated his appearance, but he truly was a beautiful dragon.

Khazmuda lowered his head so we could be eye level. Your skin is darker.

“It’s called a tan. I spend a lot of time outside now.”

I’m glad my scales don’t change color.

“Yeah, they’re nice.” I took a seat on a boulder so it’d be easier for Khazmuda to be level with me. “So, how have your travels been?”

Still no sign of dragons, and I’ve searched everywhere.

“The world is a big place. I’m sure there are free dragons somewhere.”

We are living treasures. All men want to capture us and own us. Dragons have never been free since your kind came into being.

“Not all men, Khazmuda. We lived in harmony with your kind for generations. Most of the apples on the tree are good, just a few are spoiled.”

He watched me with his intelligent, dark eyes. I’m glad to see you’re doing better.

“Doing better?”

That’s the first positive thing I’ve heard you say since we met.

“I’m just trying to make you feel better, Khazmuda.”

Something you’ve never tried to do before. I can see it in your eyes…they aren’t as heavy.

My eyes immediately flicked away.

Your improvement brings me joy.

“Improvement is a strong word. All I do is work, drink, and sleep. It all seems pointless.”

If this is unfulfilling for you, you can join me.

My eyes remained averted.

You have a much greater purpose than setting traps for crabs ? —

“I already said no.”

Why?

I ignored him.

I asked you a question, Talon.

“I heard you,” I snapped.

You’re the rightful king of the Southern Isles, but instead of reclaiming the throne and avenging your family, you would rather sit on a boat and get a tan.

“Fuck you?—”

It’s been almost two years, Talon. Your mind was terrorized by what it witnessed and needed time to mend. That is reasonable. But now you’re ready to wield your sword and be a savior to your people ? —

“I’m sorry that your kind has been enslaved, but that’s not my problem. My family are ash on the wind, so returning will achieve nothing.”

And yet, you fish off a boat and achieve nothing every day.

My eyes returned to his face, and I felt my blood boil.

The enslavement of my kind is not your problem? After everything we’ve been through ? —

“I didn’t ask you to save me. How many times do I have to say it? You did me a disservice by sparing my life. I could be with my family right now, but you took that away from me— twice .”

His black eyes stared.

I stared back.

You are a coward, Talon Rothschild . He stepped back and opened his wings.

“Don’t act like you saved me out of the goodness of your heart. Don’t act like you fused with me because you truly wanted me to live. You’ve wanted to use me from the start. You keep pestering me to help you because you know you can’t do it yourself.”

He stared at me for a long time. I saved you because I felt your despair from leagues away, calling to me like a prayer. I’ve lost my kin, but I’ve still never known the agony that you felt that night. I saved you because, in that moment, it felt right. Even now, it still feels right. There’s no better ally than Talon Rothschild, the King of the Southern Isles, but there’s also no better friend than someone who’s also lost everything. To willingly fuse with someone is a gift not freely given, but I’ve given it to you because I care for you—deeply. Despite the cowardice you’ve shown in the present, I know you were an honorable man in the past. I hope to see him again someday. He opened his wings and took flight, leaving me alone on the rock. Goodbye, Talon.

Weeks passed, and we didn’t speak.

I wondered if we would ever speak again.

My life remained bleak and unremarkable, repeating the same thing every day, making no friends in the village, and keeping to myself. Some of the women tried to speak with me, asked other members of the crew about my availability, but I rejected every advance that came my way—rudely.

I had no desire for human companionship at all, physical or otherwise. My body was alive, but my soul had died that day, so I didn’t feel the desires I used to feel. I felt no desire for the flesh, for intimacy, for friendship—nothing.

I sat in the tavern alone, tucked in the corner with my dinner and my tankard beside me, thinking about the final conversation I’d had with Khazmuda. I wondered where he was, if he hated me, if I should apologize. But I also knew he was better off without me, that I was an anchor that locked the ship in place.

A horn sounded—a horn I’d never heard before.

I looked up from my fish stew, the fish I’d probably caught myself, and watched everyone else in the tavern look just as worried. After a moment of shock, they set down their tankards and utensils and headed for the front door. The bar maiden tossed her towel aside and left the empty tankards on the counter.

I followed them out, seeing other people outside their homes on the street. They all faced the dock at the ocean, seeing something I couldn’t. I moved forward through the crowd to get a better look—and saw a fleet of black galleons.

Pirates.

The first galleon had already docked in the harbor, and in the darkness, I could see silhouettes disembarking down the ladder and landing on the pier.

I didn’t have my sword, so there was nothing I could do. Even if I did have it, I was outnumbered by a hundred to one.

They came closer, the firelight from the torches illuminating the faces of hearty men with tanned skin like mine. In the lead was the captain, wearing a fancy leather coat adorned with gold buttons and velvet cuffs. He wore a captain’s hat, a hole in the bill like a sword had been aimed at his eye but missed. He surveyed all the villagers who had come out to stare. “Good evening, lads and lasses, I’m Captain Blackstorm.” He surveyed us all, a man close to my age, maybe a few years older. “My crew and I just need a couple provisions, and we’ll be on our way.” He made a gesture to the pirates behind him. “Lost a few good ships and men out to sea. You know how it goes.”

The men started entering homes and the tavern, taking whatever they wanted without opposition.

The village was a small fishing community. There was no leadership and no military—so there was nothing that could be done to stop them. They raided the pantries and took all the food they could carry. They took clothes too, any essential that could be useful. The only things they didn’t take were cannonballs and weapons, because we had none.

“Now, I just need a couple able-bodied men, and we’ll be on our way.” Captain Blackstorm surveyed everyone in line. “You.” He pointed at a man who was a few years older than me.

One of the crew grabbed him by the arm and yanked him forward.

Captain Blackstorm walked down the line. “You.” He indicated a young man, one who had barely arrived at adulthood.

One of the pirates moved to grab him.

“No, that’s my son.” A man, probably his father, emerged. “You can’t take him.”

The pirate pulled out a blade and pressed it to his throat. “He’s ours now, old man.” Then he shoved him back.

The son looked back at his father as he was dragged to join the crew.

Captain Blackstorm picked a few more people. “Alright, we’ll be on our way.”

He must not have seen me, a trick of the torchlight and where I stood, because he would have picked me otherwise. I was a better candidate than most of the men they’d picked.

“Please.” The father moved forward again. “He’s just a boy.”

Captain Blackstorm looked at him again and smiled. “He’s mine now, old man.” The crew marched the prisoners away toward the ship.

The boy continued to look back over his shoulder, like he expected his father to do something.

I wasn’t sure why I did it. There was no deliberation in my mind, just a spontaneous act. My feet carried me forward, and I broke the rank of the crowd and emerged into the open. “Let the boy go—and take me instead.”

There was a collective gasp from the villagers behind me.

Captain Blackstorm slowly turned around and looked at me, his head tilted and his eyebrows furrowed. “Perhaps chivalry isn’t dead after all.” His boots shone in the firelight, and the hilt of his sword glimmered. He took his time coming back to me, sizing me up.

“I’m a fisherman, so I already know how to sail.”

His eyes roamed over my face, taking in my features far longer than he took in anyone else’s.

“I know how to hunt. I’m good with the blade. I’d make a much better addition to your crew than the butcher’s son.”

He continued to stare at me as he considered the offer. The silence seemed to last a lifetime. Then he looked over his shoulder and made a gesture to the pirate who had the boy. “I accept your trade, good civilian.”

The pirate pushed the boy back to his father.

The man caught his son then immediately pulled him away, like Captain Blackstorm would change his mind and take us both instead.

One of the pirates grabbed me by the arm and escorted me toward the ship.

I twisted out of his grasp and shoved him hard in the chest, refusing to be manhandled by anyone. It was instinct.

He pulled out his blade like he wanted to cut me for my insubordination.

“Leave him be, Squid,” Captain Blackstorm said. “He comes willingly.”

I’d never sailed a galleon, but I learned quickly. I worked the ship with the others by day, and by night, I slept in one of the bunks below deck. It was no different from my life before, except for the fact that I never left the ship.

We sailed out on the blue ocean, nothing around us except the sea and the sun. I had no idea where we were or where we were headed, but it didn’t matter. I’d been floating through life for nearly two years, more dead than alive, so this suited me. Never in the same place for more than a day. Dwarfed by the size of the world that surrounded me. Unafraid to sink to the bottom of the ocean because my life had no value.

The crew seemed to have their own cliques and camaraderie, and the slaves weren’t a part of those social circles. We slept in the very bottom of the ship next to the supplies, and they didn’t make conversation with us.

Which was perfectly fine with me.

The slaves talked about how much they missed home and the people they’d left behind.

I didn’t join those conversations.

I was on the port side of the ship, adjusting the sails to catch the wind because the captain had changed our course. The wind blew through my hair, having a tinge of warmth that reminded me of home, of the evenings Vivian and I lay in the sand and watched the sunset. I was certain that was where we had conceived our child, our toes in the sand and wine in our bellies.

“You’re a decent sailor.”

I hadn’t heard Captain Blackstorm’s approach because I was lost in the memory of my dead wife. I secured the rope in place before I looked at him. “I used to be a fisherman.”

“A fisherman is no sailor. The comparison is an insult.”

“It won’t feel like an insult when we run out of food and you need me to fish for you.”

His hardened stare bored into my face like he was angry, but then a slow smile moved on to his mouth. “You’ve been on the crew for a month, and I haven’t heard you speak.”

“Not much of a talker.”

“Regret taking that boy’s place?”

The sun was directly in my face, so I had to squint to hold his stare. “No. He’s got his whole life ahead of him.”

“And you don’t?”

My whole life was behind me—long gone.

He continued his stare, his eyes burning into my face like candle flame over a piece of parchment. “There’s a story behind those eyes. Maybe after we sail the sea long enough, you’ll share it with me.”

“I doubt it.”

A hint of a smile moved over his lips. “The tides rise and fall, turn the hardest rock into grains of sand. They clean shores, wash the barnacles off the hulls of ships, bring lost vessels home. The sea heals all—even the most broken.”

“You sound like you speak from experience.”

He grabbed on to the rung of the rope ladder and looked out over the sea, the water a brilliant blue in the sunshine. “Oh, I do.”

Months later, we were attacked on the open sea.

Captain Blackstorm stood at the wheel, looking at the ships in the distance. “We’ve got company, lads. All hands on deck.”

Squid unlocked the armory below and handed out swords to everyone, even the prisoners. He gave me one, a rusty blade that had seen better days. I tested it around my wrist, feeling the blade slice through the air, an action I hadn’t done in years.

The cannons started to fire across the sea.

“Aim for the sails!” Captain Blackstorm called as he cranked the wheel, trying to turn the ship to get the best angle for the cannons.

The cannons continued to fire.

All I could do was stand there and watch them navigate through the water toward us. I should be scared about sinking to the bottom of the ocean in open water, but the pace of my heart didn’t increase at all. I’d fought in a battle and lost everything, and now I had nothing left to lose in this one.

We shot down the sails of a few ships, but several made it through, attacking the other ships in our fleet. One of them came directly for us, their black flag fluttering in the wind. They came right up against the hull, and their sailors swung from ropes directly onto our ship.

“We’ve been boarded!” Captain Blackstorm called.

I hadn’t raised a sword in years, but my training and years of experience returned like they’d never left. I thought I was a fisherman, but at my core, I would always be a soldier. I attacked the first one and sliced my sword across his stomach before I headbutted him. Then I moved to the next, taking two guys at once, overpowering both because they were sailors, not fighters like I was.

“Back to the cannons!” Captain Blackstorm said. “Talon’s got it.”

The crew returned to the cannons to continue their assault, and I single-handedly took out the intruders who tried to rush the ship, kicking them overboard or slitting their throats. When they were all gone, I sprinted across the deck and leaped across the water onto the opposite ship, rolling across the deck until my back slammed into the other side.

“We’ve got company!” one of the men yelled.

I got to my feet and blocked the sword aimed at my neck before I punched him hard in the stomach and knocked the wind out of him. The distraction was enough to kick him back and handle the next guy who came at me. Sailors didn’t wear armor, so this was the easiest battle I’d ever fought, taking out men in a single hit rather than a dozen.

The captain was the last one on the ship, and he left the wheel and ran down the stairs toward me, his sword gripped in his hand, evil in his eyes. “You think you can take my ship?—”

I threw my blade at him—and impaled him right in the stomach.

The words died in his mouth, and he buckled to his knees. With wide eyes, he looked down at the fatal wound then collapsed forward, blood oozing on the deck along with the others.

Once the captain was dead, the battle ceased shortly afterward, the remaining ships turning into the wind to speed away. One of our ships had taken damage, but the hull was salvageable.

Captain Blackstorm swung onto the ship and came to my side, surveying the ship that now belonged to us. “Squid, take a look at the supplies below. Tom, prepare the ship to set sail.” He came up to me then looked me in the eye. “Decent in the blade…quite the understatement.”

“They wore no armor.”

“So, you’re a soldier.”

I hesitated. “I was…once upon a time.”

“I’d say more than a soldier, with moves like that.” His stare pierced my face, asking for more without actually asking the questions.

But I didn’t share. I would never be ready to share.

“You’re the commander of this ship now, Talon. I’ll give you a crew, and we’ll set sail.”

I didn’t thank him for the opportunity, even though I probably should. It was hard for me to feel anything, let alone gratitude or praise.

“What will you name her?”

“What?”

“The ship.” He tapped his boot against the deck. “Every ship needs a name. Preferably a woman’s name—since a woman’s blessing is good luck. So, what will it be?”

I almost rejected the offer, almost sidestepped it like I did with everything else. But the name came to my mind so quickly that I couldn’t push it away. It made my chest hurt…and made it feel warm at the same time. “Lena.”

It’d been almost a year since Khazmuda and I had last spoken.

As time passed, I felt guilty for the way we’d ended things. Maybe it was the sea cleansing my soul, or maybe it was from the guilt that festered like a bad wound. It became heavy on my mind like a storm of clouds, and with every passing day, it grew heavier and heavier…until it started to rain.

I didn’t know where he was, but he’d said there was no distance too great for the connection of our minds. When he left, we didn’t unfuse, so that power was still in my veins. It gave me an edge in battle that built a reputation which had spread across the seas. Now I was known as Commander Talon, one of the fiercest pirates who ever lived.

I stood at the edge of the ship, my hands on the banister, looking out at the vast sea that had no end and no beginning. I’m sorry. I spoke the words into my mind and heard a faint echo.

Then there was silence—a great silence.

The breeze moved through my hair, which had grown long from not cutting it. A gust came and almost lifted my hat from my brow, but it was so snug on my head that it remained. The scent of salt suddenly entered my nose after a big wave crashed against the hull. Time trickled by…and there was no answer.

It’s good to hear from you, Talon.

I closed my eyes, the relief washing over me like the tide.

I’d only hoped to hear from you sooner.

I’m sorry. I just… I didn’t have words. I didn’t have a justification.

I understand.

How are you?

My search has been fruitless. If there are dragons who remain in this world, they’re very hard to find.

I’m sorry.

I haven’t spoken to anyone since we’ve parted. It’s been a lonely experience.

I felt even worse. You should have reached out.

I felt unwelcome.

I’m sorry I made you feel that way, Khazmuda. But know that you’re never unwelcome.

There was a pause before he spoke. You sound much better. That makes me happy.

I didn’t know what to say to that.

Are you still in the village?

No…it’s a long story.

I want every detail.

I was taken prisoner by pirates ? —

His mind immediately exploded. Why didn’t you call for my aid? I would have sunk their ships to the bottom of the ocean ? —

I didn’t call for aid because I didn’t need it. I didn’t mind the change in scenery.

His mind calmed. And now where are you?

Well, I’ve become part of their crew. Got promoted to commander. Now I’m one of them.

You’re a pirate. The disappointment was heavy in his voice. A fisherman…and now a pirate.

I don’t expect you to understand.

Good. Because I never will.

You haven’t found other dragons, so what chance do we even have, Khazmuda? We fly to the Southern Isles and take on a hundred dragons single-handedly? Along with the dark elves that we know nothing about? We’ll last a few minutes at most. What kind of plan is that?

Khazmuda was quiet.

You know I’m right.

This is the first time you’ve sounded receptive to the idea.

I’m not receptive. I’m just telling you we have no chance ? —

We have no chance in our current predicament. But what if our circumstances change?

I was quiet.

What if I find an army of dragons to fight with us? Will you fight with me?

I continued to stare at the sea.

Talon.

I’d been numb for a long time, but there was a new flame inside me, the burn of a single-wick candle. I would consider it.

Khazmuda fell silent, and that silence stretched on for a long time, like he was shocked by what I’d said or hadn’t heard it at all. Thank you.

Our fleet came to the village port, and we hopped out, ready to take the provisions we needed, knowing the civilians would never take up arms against us. Even those villages that had a militia were still too fearful to oppose us, because the sailors in the ships could destroy their homes with the cannons.

I stole from others, something I never would have done in my previous life, but I didn’t care. My father lived an honorable life and gave people second chances when they didn’t deserve their first chance—and he was burned at the stake. My moral compass had been smashed under a heavy boot.

I helped the crew load the supplies onto the main ship, the men bringing more crates of fruit and bread, of dried meat and nuts. What we needed more than anything was the fruit so we wouldn’t fall weak to scurvy. Someone suffered it on every voyage, and fortunately, it hadn’t happened to me yet.

Squid and the others returned, but instead of bringing crates of more goods, they brought prisoners.

Women.

Their hands were bound behind their backs, and they sobbed as they were forced to the ship, all young and pretty, women who’d barely reached adulthood, stripped from their families. Squid shoved them forward like cattle. “Shut up and get on board.”

I watched in horror, seeing the five women who would be used to service the sailors out at sea. In the years that I’d sailed with the crew, I’d never witnessed this. We pulled into ports with brothels, and the men paid for their fantasies.

But this had never happened before.

“Let them go.” I dropped the crate onto the ground and stepped toward Squid, blocking the women’s path to the ship.

“What did you say?” Squid asked, looking at me like he didn’t believe what I’d just said.

“You heard me, Squid. The women stay.”

The women turned quiet, stopping their cries once they felt a moment of hope.

Squid and I had formed a friendship through our journey across the seas, but that was instantly shattered when I opposed him. There was a gleam of anger in his eyes, an unmistakable threat. “You may be the commander, but you aren’t the captain, and the captain wants women for the long journey ahead?—”

I pulled out my blade and put it to his throat. “ Let . Them . Go .”

He swallowed, his throat shifting and pressing into the knife just enough to cut the skin.

“Now.”

Squid stepped away from the blade. “I follow orders from the captain—not from you.”

“Then I’ll do it.” I turned to the women and started to cut their ropes.

They sobbed and thanked me, bowing their heads in gratitude.

“Get the captain,” Squid ordered. “Now.”

I cut all the women free. “Go. Quickly.”

They rushed off down the pier, taking off at a dead run to get farther and clear of the ship.

Captain Blackstorm climbed down the ladder a moment later and immediately looked at Squid. “What’s the problem?”

Squid shifted his angry stare to me.

“I ordered Squid to release the women. He refused, so I did it myself.”

Captain Blackstorm turned his stare back to me, his eyes cold. “You had no authority to do that. I’m the captain, and you serve me.”

“And if you want me to continue to serve you, then we don’t take women. Accept my terms—or I’ll walk.”

He stared me down, his eyes shifting back and forth between mine.

I openly opposed his authority, and there would be repercussions for that. But I stood by my decision. “There are brothels in almost every port. Be patient and get your jollies off there. I will not command a ship while women are being forced underneath. That’s not the kind of man I am, and you shouldn’t want to be that kind of man either.”

Captain Blackstorm continued his stare, like he didn’t know what to do. To keep his authority, he couldn’t let anyone oppose him. He would lose the respect of the crew. But I was a special sailor, the best with the blade, and I’d won them fights they would have lost. I’d become essential to his crew, and he knew it. “I accept your terms, Commander Talon. Now, let’s finish loading the supplies and head on our way.” He turned back to the ladder and climbed up, dismissing the matter.

Squid didn’t hide his surprise and his disappointment. When he looked at me, his expression was full of disdain.

“You have a problem, Squid?”

He immediately looked away. “No problem… Commander .”