Page 50 of The Dragon Warlord

It does beg the question of, “where the fuck is the army?” because while Tristan may not have authority over them at this time, Father does, and he should have his generals leading a charge against this thing.

There isn’t a warrior in sight.

A hand grabs me from behind and since I know that no one is foolish enough to touch me on purpose after the Warlord’s warning, it has to be either foe or my father.

“Come with me,” he demands into my ear.

“But, Father.” He’s not supposed to do this. He’s not supposed to do a lot of the things he does.

“Just for a minute. It’s important.”

I give him a stare to convey how deplorable I think this is, but I follow. I’m already going to have to find another way to get to Tristan. The mob has closed the space between us, and Tristan is actively blocking dragons from the beast with his body, figuring out how to use his jacket as a shield as he goes.

“He might die today,” is the line Father opens with.

My throat thickens and I choke on the immediate sorrow. “What do you mean die?”

“Lady Amira saw it in the waters. He dies today.”

“That sounds like it’s certain.” I’m flooded with all kinds of regrets. All kinds of plans we had we’ll never get to do.

We never got to have our kiss.

Father flicks his long-fingered hand across the stale air. The beast’s stink has infested everything. “You know how much stock I put into prophetic words. That sentence could mean anything.”

“Then why are you burdening me with this?”

“Because it could also be a literal interpretation.”

Gah! Drakon, he’s frustrating sometimes. “It seems to me you should have the army charging in here. That could prevent his death and a lot of others.” A few dragons already lie dead on the ground, their corpses cooling as their family members scream over them.

“There won’t be any help for him other than you and that’s why I’m here, to relieve you. If he dies today, the bond will be broken, and you will be free. Let him go. I could survive losing him, but not you.”

What is wrong with him? That’shisfucking omega out there. The bond won’t allow him not to care. It should drive him to want to save Tristan no matter the cost. He’s got to be lying … unless he needs to believe he doesn’t care?

The flick of his blue-fire eyes in Tristan’s direction paired with the nervous scent currently overpowering underworld reek gives him away. He’s afraid he’s going to lose Tristan today more than he expected he would be. Try as he might to be blasé about my bond breaking upon Tristan’s death, he knows it’s not that simple.

If he loses his omega today, he’ll never be the same. He might even throw himself off the edge of the tower, which is exactly what I’m prepared to do should this be Tristan’s last day with the living.

It’ll be mine too and he knows it.

“Please reconsider sending the army, Father. I’m sorry, but I must go. My alpha needs me.”

The beast decides to climb up the tower by hopping from level to level, tearing off chunks of balconies as it goes, which crash to the ground in spectacular fashion. The dragons below have to dodge out of the way or be crushed.

Analyzing the pandemonium, I spy Tristan immediately and my heart smiles when he doesn’t hesitate, taking a running jump and using his powerful dragon legs to leap off the wall to the first level. Another burst of force allows him to thrust himself from the ledge of the first balcony to the second, following after the beast. It’s a difficult climb, even for a dragon, but he makes it look easy despite the heavy sword on his back.

Still, all it would take is one slip from several floors up and no dragon would survive a fall from that height. Is that how he dies? I don’t wait around to find out and take my own running leap, charging into danger with him.

7

Tristan

It couldn’t have been as simple as another screeching, could it? It had to be this grotesque thing. Four times the size of me. Lightning fast. Wings that blast me with air if I follow too close behind. And curse the Gods, it stinks to high heaven, so foul that I gag as I climb and I’m glad River and I didn’t have time for lunch.

River. The same River I almost kissed. Fuck, what is wrong with me? For that, I’m grateful for this beast. It saved me from making a huge mistake. That cannot happen. Nothing in the realm of me kissing River can ever happen.

Of course, he would have reciprocated. Would the bond allow for anything else? It already makes us crave the other to no end. That’s what tells me how unnatural our feelings are—the fact that we can’t do anything to stop them. I see no issue with loving him. Love comes in many forms. I just can’t allow us to move toward beinginlove.