Page 65 of The Last Dragon King
If the queen thought she could just waltz into Embergate and take out the king’s chance at having an heir, she was sorely mistaken.
We kept the horses just inside the stable, waiting for a signal from Drae that he needed extraction.
Instead of a signal, the front door of the house blew off its hinges and Drae was tossed out onto the street in a puff of black smoke.
What the…?
Regina kicked the horse with her heels as chaos erupted into the once silent night. Nox and Falcon burst from the home next, each bleeding from their arms. Half a dozen guards followed them with swords drawn.
I barely had time to process the scene when Regina whisked the wagon beside them and whistled.
The king, Falcon, and Nox launched themselves inside and then we took off.
“Mission accomplished,” was all Drae said and a triumphant feeling spread throughout my limbs. They did it. The person responsible for Joslyn’s death was dead.
A loud and deep horn blew throughout the fort and I knew they’d be shutting the gates and preparing for an attack. An arrow whizzed past my head and I ducked before popping up again, wide-eyed.This must be what war felt like, I thought. By the time you processed what was going on, another situation entirely had unfolded.
“Hold the reins,” Regina told me.
I scrambled onto the horse as Regina switched places with me and grabbed her bow, shooting arrows at the approaching army of angry Nightfall soldiers running after us.
“Arwen, let’s fly!” Drae cried out.
My heart hammered in my chest as the horses barreled for the fort’s closed gates. Shift into a dragon and fly out of here while riding on a moving horse!Is he insane?
I spun to find him already ripping off his shirt.
Hades, he is serious.Here we go…
Abandoning the reins, I jumped into the small wagon with him, yanking off my leathers without a care for nakedness. Who could worry about exposing oneself when you were about to die?
The king was the first to strip down, but only halfway, still wearing trousers, and within seconds he sprouted wings from his back with a growl of pain. He’d transformed into a partial dragon, wings only, and then used his arms to grab Nox and Falcon by the waist.
“Can you take Cal and Regina? It’s easier to take two if you partial shift and hold them like this,” he said.
Umm. No. Hades no. I couldn’t.
Something terrifying crossed his gaze and I frowned. There was something he wasn’t telling me.
‘I can’t fully shift. Not enough magic,’he said, and fear flooded my entire system.
Already?With each shift he was losing his power, which meant the people of Embergate were in grave danger.
I nodded, then with one jump he leapt into the air, away from the cart. Nox and Falcon hung from his arms as he flew them over the fort.
What. The. Hades?
“I don’t think I can do that,” I mumbled to Regina.
She looked behind me, at what I knew was the approaching gate and probably an army of more men. “You have to,” was all she said, and then she and Cal reached out and grasped one of my arms each.
My leathers were hanging snugly off my waist, my breasts covered by my small bralette, and I decided that was enough clothing to remove if the goal was just to erupt wings from my back.
Pulling forth the fire within me, I pushed it into my transformation and felt a pop of pain as the wings burst from my back.
“Now!” Regina yelled and the cart jerked to a stop. I jumped into the air, flapping my wings. We went airborne, and for a few seconds I actually thought this would be easy. Then the weight of two people dragged me downward.
“Flap them harder!” Regina yelled as she held on to my left arm with two hands, and Cal held on to my right.
