Page 31

Except there were no drums. The dead began to beat the hilt of their blades against their chest plates, all in sync.

They surrounded my father and his opponents, not intervening in the oncoming battle but participating with their intimidation.

The beats became louder as they slammed their swords harder.

I looked around at the dead corpses that haunted my father’s opponents, my own ancestors who took up one last call to fight.

Then my father joined in, his fist to his chest, hitting it so hard it seemed like the plate would cave in from his beating fist. He approached Barron with his sword in his grasp, the world hot from the flames that surrounded them both.

“This is for my mother.” He continued forward, beating his chest along with the dead. “For my sister, Rosella.”

Barron readied his sword. So did Jairo and Kael behind him. They did their best not to appear afraid—but they were definitely unnerved.

“For my brother, Silas.” My father started to raise his voice.

“For King Bolton Rothschild— my father .” He came toward Barron and stopped beating his chest. And the second he did, so did the dead who supported him.

When he spoke again, it was a scream that I would never forget.

“ And for Vivian and Lena—my wife and daughter—the people I loved most . You took them from me—and now I’ll take everything from you ! ”

I watched my father defeat his enemies with angry tears and burn them alive. I watched as my castle burned, as the courtyard was destroyed by fire and ash. I watched my father reclaim his lands in our family name.

But now, I saw it differently.

The moment abruptly changed when Wrath took me to the same place, but a different day.

Now, it was sometime in the middle of the night because it was dark and no one was around.

The smell of ash was still potent. The stakes where Barron and his family had burned were just a pile of ash now.

All the trees and flowers had been destroyed by the carnage.

My father no longer trembled with rage he could barely contain.

His eyes were dry, but he looked so devastated, it was like he’d lost the battle.

I’d never seen him look that way in my memory, even when I disobeyed him and he punished me, or when he was stressed about a food shortage in the kingdom or the horrible drought we had one summer.

This misery was different.

Then a man appeared out of nothing—just like Wrath.

Dressed in the dark-blue uniform that Wrath himself wore, he looked like a king, the two-handed blade across his back. But this man was different in appearance, with blond hair and blue eyes. He was handsome like Wrath, but just from a single look, I could tell he was vile. “What have you decided?”

My father gave no distinct reaction at his appearance, like he’d expected this. “How will it happen…if I don’t choose her?”

Choose who?

“I’ll take your soul, here where you stand, and they’ll find your body at dawn. But you can avoid that, Talon Rothschild. Your dragon has agreed to serve you in this task.”

“How do you know that…?”

“Because I see everything—even when you don’t see me.”

I didn’t know my father was a necromancer, and I didn’t know that he’d made a deal with the God of the Underworld. And I didn’t know what they spoke of now. My father’s shoulders were heavy from an invisible burden, and all the fire he had during the battle had burned to ash.

“Queen Eldinar occupies a tent with her husband to the south of the city. Slit his throat. Knock her out. Carry her from the camp to the outskirts where Khazmuda can meet you. He can carry her to my lands while you remain behind. No one will suspect you, and no one will notice that Khazmuda is gone.”

“She’s the one you want, isn’t she?”

Aunt Eldinar?

“Don’t be jealous, Talon Rothschild. You may be a king to men, but she’s a queen to something far greater.

If you fail to choose her, you’ll devastate the two that love you unconditionally.

Imagine Calista’s face at the sight of your body.

She’s lost so much—and now she’ll lose you.

And your dragon, your closest friend and confidant, the one who will grieve for you the most. While your service in the underworld will be agonizing, it will pale to the hurt they must carry for the rest of their lives.

” He cocked his head slightly. “Can you really betray those you love most?” He was different from Wrath in every distinguishable way.

Whenever he spoke, it was with barely contained mirth, like the suffering of others was truly addictive.

My father was quiet for a long time. He seemed to be soaking in his surroundings, even if most of it was scorched to nothing.

“I’m the one who made this deal. I’m the one who must suffer the consequences.

” His voice shook as he spoke, an invisible doom cast directly over him.

My father had never sounded so wounded, like his entire body was pierced with little daggers.

It was hard to watch. “I can’t let her take my place. ”

“So be it.” Within the blink of an eye, Bahamut changed, shedding his human form for the monster underneath.

His skin was gray, the muscles exposed without skin, his dead heart visibly beating on the surface of his chest. He was suddenly two feet taller, with his eyes a solid black color.

He pressed a palm to my father’s chest and broke through the armor.

Tears burst into my eyes, and I looked away, unable to watch what came next. “Stop. Make it stop.”

It suddenly went silent.

All I could hear was the sound of the torches and braziers.

But my eyes were still clenched shut, and I was afraid to breathe.

Wrath moved in front of me and gently grabbed the tops of my arms. “It’s gone.”

It took several breaths before I had the courage to open my eyes. They were wet, wet enough that tears dripped.

“You know how this story ends. It’s okay, Xivin .” His hands went to my cheeks, and both of his thumbs caught the tears as they streaked to my lips. He was Bahamut’s replacement, but he was so gentle and tender.

“So…what happened?”

“After your father lost his family, he sought out Bahamut on the seas. When he found him, he made a deal. He would forfeit his eternal soul in exchange for the power to reclaim his kingdom and avenge his loved ones.” His hands slid down to my neck and cradled my face.

“That’s what gave him the power to command the dead. ”

“So Bahamut…took him to the underworld?”

He nodded.

“How—how did he escape?”

“Queen Eldinar and your mother petitioned Riviana, the God of Caelum. Your father had previously saved the Great Tree in Riviana Star, the gateway to the Realm of Caelum, so Riviana opened the portal that separated the realms and freed him from his imprisonment. But when she did so, the portal remained open, and Bahamut became mortal and led his army to the Great Tree to take the Realm of Caelum for himself. A great battle took place, and your father prevailed with the aid of the dragons he saved.”

“I didn’t know any of this.” I felt like an immense piece of my family history had been kept from me.

“It was a victorious time—and also a painful one,” he said. “I was appointed as Bahamut’s successor shortly afterward. Your father made a deal and didn’t uphold his end of the bargain, and that has angered me for these last decades.”

“Why?” I stepped back and let his hands fall from my body. “Why is that so egregious to you?”

He stared at me for a long time before he finally blinked. But he didn’t blink again.

“Why?” I remembered his anger when he’d spoken on the island. How he would enforce my father’s oath if I didn’t comply with his demands. He was so angry it seemed like a personal slight to him.

“Because everyone else who’s ever made a deal has been bound by it.

How many have come before and after Talon Rothschild, asking for a pardon for a deal they were delirious enough to make?

How many souls begged for a reprieve and received none?

Talon Rothschild not only got what he wanted, but he also got his soul and his life and his family.

He’s the only one who ever has, and it’s an insult to all those who weren’t so lucky.

” His tenderness evaporated, and a potent anger remained behind.

He’d stared at me as his lover a moment ago, but now, as his enemy.

My instinct was to snap back, but the clouds parted in my mind, and I suddenly understood. “You’ve asked for freedom…and were denied.”

“I’ve asked many times. And even when my debt was fulfilled, Bahamut denied my request—and smiled as he did so.

Your father was fortunate enough to have his soul guarded by a ferocious dragon that would not let it be taken by the forces of evil.

He was fortunate enough to be loved by a woman who would risk her own soul to free his.

He was fortunate enough to have earned the friendship of a queen who would risk her life for their friendship.

I had none of that. And all those I left behind were led to believe the worst about me…

” He inhaled a short breath, and a mist appeared in his eyes.

“It’s a weight I’ve carried alone for three hundred and seventy-seven years, and just when I think the weight has lessened, it comes back heavier than before. ”

He still didn’t reveal the details of his imprisonment, but the lack of information was somehow worse. I wondered what he had forfeited his soul for. What continued to haunt him hundreds of years later. “Wrath?—”

“Why does Talon Rothschild deserve peace, and I don’t?” he snarled. “Why does he deserve to be pardoned, while the rest of us suffer for all eternity? His request was selfish—mine was sacrificial.”

I stepped toward him. “Wrath?—”

He was gone. Disappeared in the blink of an eye.

I wondered if he was still there, watching me from the shadows, but I didn’t feel his presence. Didn’t feel his invisible shroud of safety that cocooned me wherever I was.

He was gone.