Page 99 of Shadow Throne King
A fire dragon drew itself the rest of the way up, its massive wings closed tight against its body. Where Naî was all white scales and downy tufts of fur, this creature was scales made of metal, molten orange exposed every time it shifted.
Finally, it was free, curling atop the dais. It blinked eyes as black as the stone the Shadow King had so prized.
“You dare to come into my domain and use the magic of ice?” Its voice was massive, so loud I wanted to cover my ears, but I was exhausted and had no energy to do any such thing.
“Naî,” I begged. “Can you get us out of here?”
Naî turned her head, rubbing her face into Iradîo’s shoulder. She shook her head slowly. If she was even half as exhausted as I was, she didn’t have the energy to move independently, much less grow to her full-size and lead an escape from the vengeful fire dragon in front of us.
From behind us, Lerolian said quietly, “The hallway is clear, if you can get away from it.”
That was a bigif. Maybe Iradîo could get Naî out of the room, but the dragon was large and fast and I was too injured to move that fast.
“This is a new offense, even for you, Centipede,” the fire dragon said, his eyes fixed on me, and I knew in one terrible moment that he could hear the voices in my head too. The fire dragon began to move, its massive paws leaving behind footprints of lava as it descended the stairs.
Tallu dragged me up, pulling me away, shoving me behind him.
“No. I can taste the ice on you. You think that cold will help you escape me?” He chuckled, the sound turning into a roar.
I leaned heavily on Tallu’s back, and he shifted his position so his arm was around my waist, mine draped over his shoulders.
“We mean no offense,” Tallu said, every inch the Emperor of the Southern Imperium.
The dragon swung its massive head to glare at Tallu. “I have no use for you, patriarch of House Atobe. I can smell the murder of the One Dragon on your soul. It will live forever in your blood. You will never be rid of it. Butyouwere not the one using ice atop my home, defiling the mountain built with my rage.”
“Great One,” I said, figuring the honorific would never go wrong. “We apologize if we have offended. We were not in your territory by choice. The King of the Shadow Throne took the heir of the Imperium. Now that we have fetched him, we are leaving.”
The dragon had reached King Inor’s fallen body and nudged it with one of his claws. “It appears you have done more than simply retrieve the boy prince. You have killed the dwarven king, and that is despicable, even for you, Centipede.”
“You keep giving me that name,” I said, “but we killed the creature. We killed the animalia that had taken hold of General Maki. Centipede is no more.”
The dragon chuckled, its hot breath stinking of sulfur as it ruffled our hair. “You think I cannot feel you inside this boy, Centipede, already lying through his lips? I have killed you a thousand times, and I will kill you a thousand more. I may not be animalia myself, but I was given this job by the One Dragon, and I will fulfill it.” The dragon blinked at me, its jaw opening to reveal a tongue made of fire and teeth made of black stone.
For a second, I hesitated, because deep in my soul, I could hear the whisper:Let me out, and I will defeat him. With your magic and ice power, he will not stand a chance. If you don’t, he will kill you, but I will still live. I always live.
Don’t you want to survive?
The Dragon breathed out a hot breath of flame, and instinctively, I raised my hands, desperately calling for the ice, begging it for what I needed. A wall of ice formed around the four of us, protecting us from the heat of the dragon. My legs collapsed under me, my breath coming in short gasps. I could barely hold myself up, and Tallu held tighter.
The only reason I didn’t buckle to the floor was because of his arm around my waist.
The dragon stopped breathing fire, raising a claw and tapping it delicately against the ice I had pushed into existence between us.
“This is quite good,” he commented. “Do you think it is good enough? You know me, and you know how far I will go to fulfill my duty.”
“Idon’tknow you,” I said, my voice rasping over my dry throat. “Please. I am a northern prince trained as an assassin. I was given this magic by the last ice dragon after losing my own power of animal speak. I am not who you think I am.”
The dragon gently tapped his sharp claw twice more against the ice. His talon broke through, cracks spiraling out like spiderwebs. When he withdrew the claw, he pressed his mouth against the weakened ice, flames licking through, melting our shield too fast for me to repair.
“I will have you,” the fire dragon said.
Let me out,the voice deep inside me begged. I shut my eyes, trying to resist, but I could feel the fire drying my skin.
Tallu dragged us backward, but I was no more than deadweight, and Iradîo yelped as the doorway fell away, lava spouting up into the open space. Lerolian shouted for Tallu to run, even as he came close to us, keeping himself from getting trapped on the other side of the lava we couldn’t cross.
My skin blistered, the inverse of the frostbite I was familiar with.
We were going to die.