13. Talon
Chapter 13
Talon
It was evening when I approached the royal chambers. Calista and I had had dinner by the fire on the beach, spending most of our time outside because it was too beautiful to stay indoors. The cabin was only used for sleeping and lovemaking.
The guards let me through, and General Ezra greeted me. He didn’t wear his armor or weapons, dressed casually like he and the queen would retire for bed soon. He regarded me with his eyes that reminded me of Calista.
“I wish to speak to Queen Eldinar, if she’ll have me.”
His stare was hostile. “And I know what you wish to speak of.” He moved away and walked toward the dining table, which was empty with the exception of a few flowers. He nodded to a chair then moved into the other room.
I sat there alone for minutes, candlelight illuminating the corners of the room. A large window showed the deck outside, the mountain that looked like a dark mass. I waited for her, dressed in my uniform and armor as a sign of respect, despite the heat.
She emerged a moment later, barefoot and in a green dress, her blond hair in perfect ringlets down her shoulders. When she came to the head of the table, General Ezra pulled out the chair for her, not as her general, but as her husband.
He looked at me again, his stare angry, and then silently excused himself.
When he was gone, Queen Eldinar addressed me. “Forgive him. He’s upset by my decision.”
“I don’t blame him. You’ve just fought two battles.”
“Peace is merely a pause between conflicts.”
“There’s been a lot of conflict for you—all caused by me and Calista.”
Her hands came together on the table. “The dark elves were always our woodland adversary. They marched on our border so quickly that it’s clear they’d organized that strategy long ago. The battle against General Titan simply rushed it.”
“General Titan wouldn’t have been there?—”
“You’re determined to carry all the blame, aren’t you?” A slight smile moved on to her face.
“I just understand General Ezra’s perspective. While I appreciate your offer more than you’ll ever know, it feels selfish to accept it.” A different version of me would have accepted the aid without further thought, only concerned with my triumph. But I’d come to care for the people I’d once hated. “If you were to withdraw your decision, I would completely understand.”
She stared at me with those sharp eyes. “The only thing that will make Macabre feel obligated to fight is if I fight as well. You and Calista have both shared your poor opinion of his character, but he’s more than he seems.”
I had yet to see it.
“There is no other way.”
“Even with an ironclad plan, many of you will die.” I didn’t want to misguide her expectations. “You know the dark elves are cunning. Even with my command of the dead, we almost lost the battle of the Great Tree. I don’t know what to expect across the sea, but I suspect it will be deadly. Your population has already been decimated…”
“It has.”
“Not to mention, Bahamut will collect payment immediately.” My eyes shifted away at the realization. I’d never wanted something to pass and not pass simultaneously. I’d never felt both relief and disappointment at once. When Macabre denied my request, a weight was lifted off my shoulders but then twenty knives pierced my ribs. “My peace will be very short-lived.”
Pity entered her gaze. “You said there are a hundred dragons enslaved in the Southern Isles.”
“Yes.”
“That’s too many. Creatures so beautiful and intelligent should not be treated as such. I risked my life to save Macabre and the others. I consider it one of my greatest accomplishments as Queen of Riviana Star. I would like to save more—if I can.”
I gave a slight nod. “But you face more than men. You face dark elves and dragons.”
“I know what I face,” she said calmly. “You can waste this beautiful night trying to dismiss my help, or you can accept it.”
I bowed my head and gave a sigh.
“This is exactly what you wanted, Death King. I expected to feel your gratitude, not your disappointment.”
“I’m not ungrateful,” I said quickly. “I just care for you.”
Her eyes softened as a gentle smile moved over her lips. “You continue to surprise me, Talon. You possess more love and compassion than any human I’ve ever met—except my husband.”
“I wish there were another way.”
“But there is none.”
“Could the others fight while you remain in Riviana Star?”
Her smile changed into a sad one. “I’m not the kind of monarch that sends her army to do her bidding. I’ll fight alongside my army. I’ll die alongside my army. Just like you. I know I have more to lose since I have a nearly immortal life-span, but if my life is claimed in the battle, I know the God of Caelum will accept me with open arms of love—because you saved it.” She stared at me for a while. “And I know Macabre will look after me like a hatchling. He’ll look after my husband as well since he knows our love is true.”
It was hard to accept her words when I felt so much guilt. When I’d first met Queen Eldinar, her company had felt like the tips of a thousand knives against my skin. Now I saw someone I would take a blade for.
“I will speak to Macabre in the morning. After he accepts, we’ll make the return journey and finalize our plans. You’ll need to prepare your army to set sail. I’ll prepare mine for the same.”
Now that this felt real, my heart started to race. My future was set in stone, an eternity as a pawn to the God of the Underworld. But the other details remained unclear. If I lost the battle and forfeited the lives of other free dragons, lost other people I cared about, it would all be for nothing. I wouldn’t get revenge for Vivian and Lena—and I would have to suffer for eternity anyway.
“You’re afraid.”
My eyes found hers again. She could read my expression as well as Khazmuda could feel my emotions. “Yes. Decades have been spent preparing for this moment, and now that it’s here…I feel unprepared.”
She stared at me for a while, her eyes possessing depths so vast, the light didn’t reach the bottom. “You command the kingdom of men to the north, command the dead, have allies in both elves and dragons. You’re as prepared as you can be, Talon Rothschild, King of the Southern Isles.”
“I will never be King of the Southern Isles…”
“You will, for a moment, and you will savor that moment with everyone you cherish most.”
When I returned to the cabin, Calista wore one of my shirts with nothing underneath, sitting on the couch in front of the fire she’d built without my help. She looked at me when I walked inside, green flames in her eyes.
The guilt felt heavier every time I looked at her.
Her eyes showed her curiosity, but she didn’t question me about the conversation I’d had with Queen Eldinar.
I removed my armor and uniform and stripped down to my boxers. The window was open, so the sound of the ocean was audible over the crackling flames. I grabbed the bottle of scotch I’d taken from their stores and sat on the couch beside her.
She was beautiful without even trying, her bare feet resting against the edge of the table, her elbow propped on the back of the couch as her hand supported the back of her head, her dark hair a lovely curtain.
I took a drink as I looked at her, stunned that someone could be so gorgeous without even trying. After I put the canteen on the table, I leaned back and continued to look at her, unable to deny the connection that had grown stronger over the last few days. I’d thought I would push her away when I told her about Vivian, but she showed no sign of hurt or resentment. Seemed to care for me more and not less. My plan had backfired, and not only did I bring us closer together, but I deepened the feelings I tried so desperately to fight.
Calista stared at me in the light of the fire, her thoughts unknown behind that calm face.
“She’ll speak with Macabre in the morning.”
“I think he’ll say yes.”
“I do too.”
“I’m sad to leave this island, but it’s time to go.”
I was sad to leave it too. It was easy to picture a life here, Khazmuda taking us for a short vacation from our duties, watching the sunset, and making love in front of the bonfire on the soft sand. But then I pushed it away, because there would be nothing after the battle. Once it began, it would be the last thing I ever did.
“Talon.”
My eyes shifted to hers again.
“Where did you go?”
Just like the queen, Calista could read me. Read me like an open fucking book. “Your uncle disagrees with her decision.”
Her eyes filled with sadness. “He cares for her more than himself.”
“I know he does.” He wore his heart on his sleeve, just the way I had when I was married. I never played games. Always remained faithful even when I didn’t have to be. Made my wife feel secure by making her feel cherished every day.
“She’s so beautiful, she doesn’t seem real.”
I watched her speak, watched the light hit the angles of her face perfectly.
“She’s like living magic, and my uncle is deep under her spell. I don’t agree with all the parameters of their relationship, but I can’t blame my uncle for his obsession because she really is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” Her eyes shifted away as if she had pictured Queen Eldinar that very moment.
A sarcastic smirk moved on to my lips as I stared at her, seeing a woman who was so beautiful, a single look had changed my life forever. “I still remember the night we met with vivid clarity.”
She turned to look at me.
“The glow of your skin in the torches. The fight in your green eyes. The way you walked right up to the mightiest dragon in the land without hesitation. All it took was a single look and a brief interaction, and I was hooked on your line for the rest of my life.” I hadn’t been with another woman since I’d seen her, even when we were leagues apart and she wanted nothing to do with me. “I tried so hard to resist, not to care for you, but I was cast under your spell, and I’ve been imprisoned by it ever since. Your uncle may think she’s the most beautiful woman in the world, but I disagree.” I’d tried to pull away from this woman, to put a barrier between us to make this all easier for her in the end, but then moments like this happened…and I couldn’t fight it. “You are.”
She stared at me for several hard seconds, her eyes emotional but encased in disbelief. She continued to look without needing to blink, staring at me where I sat on the opposite end of the couch. Then she moved for me, showing more confidence than she ever had, and cupped my face as she brought our mouths together, kissing me with a passion that made her tremble.
My hand slid into the fall of her hair, and I fisted it as I felt the rush of emotion and desire, an adrenaline burst only she could give me. Rendezvous with my concubines had been just a means to an end, a display of power, but with Calista, it was deep and full of ache, a connection so raw it hurt.
She straddled my hips and cupped my face with both hands as she kissed me, sitting right on top of my hard dick through my boxers. She breathed into my mouth before she turned her head and kissed me another way, taking what she wanted without an ounce of hesitation.
I still remembered our first time together, how much patience and encouragement it had taken for her to let me in, for her to embrace our physical intimacy as something beautiful rather than violent. Now she took me like that had never happened.
It turned me the fuck on.
I lifted my hips slightly to pull down my boxers and get my dick free.
She lifted her shirt over her head to show her tits.
I tugged her underwear to the side because I was too anxious to wait for her to get them off. I wanted to be surrounded by her slick tightness because I was a man with a beautiful woman on my lap. But I also wanted to be inside her because it was medicine in my veins. It healed my broken heart. It brought peace to my chaos. It slowed down time, made me forget the future and the past. It made me live in the moment…and cherish every second.