The Last Dragon King (Kings of Avalier #1)(20)
It took me two tries, but I finally did it, unprepared for the wind trying to knock me back again.
‘I’m standing,’ I told the king.
‘Good. Now crouch down and grab my sword from the saddlebag to your right.’
His sword? The dragon king wanted me to take his sword?
‘Umm, I’m not sure—’
‘That’s an order. Take my sword now!’ he barked into my head and I jumped, quickly crouching to flip open the clasp that held the flap of the saddlebag shut. When I reached in and came out with the sword, I could barely heft it with one hand. I had to re-sheath my own knife so I could hold the king’s blade with two hands. When I held it more confidently, I stared in awe at its beauty. It was covered with more rubies and jadestones than I could ever imagine would fit in the hilt of a sword.
‘Got it.’
‘Good. Now stab anything that tries to drop on my back. I’ll take care of everything else.’
His words didn’t feel real. Was he serious? Prepare to… stab a man? I mean, I had pulled out my blade for self-defense, but now that I was confronted with the idea of killing a man I felt sick. Elkin, rabbitin, cougarin, ratin, I’d kill any animal that walked, but a man? I’d never killed a man before. I’d never killed anything that wasn’t going to feed my family.
The king started to turn, veering to the right, and I realized he was going to attack them head on.
‘Your Highness, I’ve never killed a man. Only animals. Only for food.’ My chest heaved as I fought for breath.
‘Then pretend they’re animals. It feels the same,’ came his reply.
Before I could dwell on it any longer, the fight was upon us.
SEVEN
The king flew right at the bird men from Nightfall and I steeled myself. There were six of them, all fanned out in a V formation of varying heights. Just as I was worrying how we would survive these odds, a stream of dragon fire flew from the king’s mouth in a blaze of glory, drenching two of the men completely. The heat from the fire warmed my face but did not hurt me.
I flinched as their screams of agony caused bile to creep up my throat. The two men tumbled in the air, and started to spin in an effort to put out the flames. Within seconds they dropped like stones towards the ground, their winged contraptions no longer able to hold them.
I couldn’t dwell on the horror of it too long, because one of the flying men who’d been higher above was now dropping right over us.
I realized now that his sword was so long it would have gored me before I’d have been able to even scratch him with my small hunting blade. I was lucky the king had offered his, but I was also about to kill a man, or severely injure him. Or die myself…
He’s an animal, he’s an animal… I told myself as he inched closer.
The man wore a menacing snarl, and as he neared I noticed the Nightfall crest upon his breastplate. He was human. Someone we were taught was a poor defenseless soul when matched with a magic wielder. But he didn’t look so helpless to me now. No one from the Nightfall army was, human or not. For one thing, he was flying, and looked like he wanted to take off my head.
His wings retracted suddenly and then he dropped down like a stone.
I was used to sudden movements—the cougarins that prowled the backside of Cinder Mountain were fast—but I was faster. With a battle cry, I lunged upward to meet him, ramming the sword right into his gut as I simultaneously ducked out of the way of his sword. It cut through him like butter, but then the weight of his body knocked me back. I fell hard against the saddle and the cut on my back reminded me it was there with a fresh wave of pain. The man groaned as my blade went deeper into him, then Kendal started screaming bloody murder. She must have looked up. With a burst of adrenaline, I pushed off of the basket, ignoring the fiery pain on my back. Keeping my hands firmly on the hilt of the sword, I used the momentum to toss him over the side, clutching the sword so that I didn’t lose it.
His body slid from the blade with ease and down towards the earth. I tried to catch my breath.
‘Are you okay?’ The king’s voice came to me just as he released another stream of fire at two more advancing bird men.
‘Fine,’ I told him, looking at the blood-soaked blade and the splatters it had left on my new hunting outfit.
I killed a man. I killed a human.
My beating heart and the rushing wind were the only sounds I could sense for a few moments. I found myself offering up a prayer of forgiveness to the Maker. I didn’t think protecting my life was wrong, but at the same time I didn’t relish what I’d just done.
The prayer settled my nerves and I looked up to see that there was only one man left. A very smart man who was now retreating.
Sitting back on my butt, I let the sword rest across my lap and stared in shock at my hands.
Kendal chose this moment to lift her head. She caught an eyeful of all the blood and let loose with another blood-curdling shriek before fainting.
‘What’s wrong?’ the king demanded, his flight movements jerky as if evading attack.
‘Nothing, Kendal just saw all the blood. She’s easily frightened,’ I muttered, and his body relaxed beneath us. His flying evened out, and once again we were heading for Jade City.
I stared at the dragon king’s neck, the shiny black scales and the way they reflected the morning sun. They almost looked metallic, which had me transfixed. I reached out timidly, unsure if I was allowed to, and stroked the skin. His body shuddered beneath my touch, and I snapped my hand back, eyes wide.