The Assassin's Dragon (Fire and Valor Book 3) by W. M. Fawkes & Sam Burns

Author:W. M. Fawkes & Sam Burns [Fawkes, W. M. & Burns, Sam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-23T03:00:00+00:00

33

Bet

Tornheim had magic the likes of which hadn’t been heard of in Llangard in centuries. Athelstan had raised his allies—mages he trusted—in court when he’d taken lands south of the mountains. For generations after, the practice in Atheldinas had flourished.

But it was nothing like this. Athelstan had been warlike; his son, Brandon, had not, and he led the mages of Llangard toward gentler powers—the cultivation of the land, balance, philosophy. Llangard had had wars, certainly, and mages capable of doing battle. But warrior mages weren’t encouraged. Not to the exclusion of all else. They had still relied on traditional knights to defend the realm.

His skull throbbing, Bet had scrambled between the rocks. The young dragon, dark gray with enormous silver eyes, followed him on four paws, their claws scraping over the stone pathway. The Torndals hadn’t come for him and seemed to have little interest in creatures smaller than houses while mightier dragons fought back against them, so as they crept through the shadows between cliff faces away from the village, no one noticed.

Bet’s breath came ragged and sharp, every gasp a strain. It felt like every organ in his body had been fried, each movement now threatening to pull him apart. He could stop there, rest, wait, and regroup. But he heard a roar that shook the cliffsides, little pebbles skipping over the stone above.

When they settled, Bet squinted up. In the night sky above, he could only see the shadows of flying dragons blotting out the light from stars.

The dragon following him growled, nudging Bet on with their snout. That press, knowing there was another being depending on him to escape, was all that kept him moving.

They came out the other side, and Bet slumped against the sheer rock wall and shut his eyes. He braced his hands on his thighs and hung his head, dusty hair hanging over his forehead. Even free, the dragon pressed their snout into his side.

“I’m sorry,” he rasped. “I need . . . just a moment.”

It wasn’t the fighting that’d gotten him, but the blow to his head had made him dizzy. The mage had struck him with lightning, and Bet was not entirely sure he should still be alive. He touched the back of his head to find his black curls matted down with blood.

Slowly, he lowered himself to the ground. But the dragon only allowed him a few seconds before they nipped his hand.

He hissed, snatching it back. “Watch the teeth.”

The dragon glared right back at him, silvery irises catching the moonlight. “You can’t sleep,” they hissed. “The mages will find us.”

Bet’s lips pressed into a thin line. He’d hear anyone who came after them, but there was no sense making an uneasy child feel even more afraid. Were they old enough to have heard the stories of what mages did to dragons? Their fear seemed sharp and pressing, and Bet remembered all the things he’d heard as a child that people had told him for entertainment or to get him to behave how they wished.

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