Dragon Slayer
Page 26
My gut clenched. Did the king know I had just fucked his daughter? If so, he was going to be pissed. Probably more pissed than when I’d showed up in his palace courtyard with a fucking dragon. But then again, if I had failed to take care of Frosdar and Riamod, his daughter would probably be dead, and his kingdom in ruins.
If he had a problem with me sleeping with his daughter, I could just remind him of everything I have done for him, his daughter, and his kingdom.
“Let’s go,” I said with confidence. I dragged on my boots but didn’t bother to tie the laces before following the messenger out of my chambers and through the corridors of the palace.
The king was in the same study where I had first met him, but he was alone. He sat in the reading nook, a piece of parchment in one hand and a goblet of wine in the other. His face was drawn and pale, but his eyes were inscrutable as he looked at me.
“Sir Ethan,” he said in a flat voice.
“Hey,” I said. “What’s going on?”
The door closed behind me as the messenger departed. For a long moment, the king stared at me, and my heart began to beat a little faster. He had to know about the princess and me, and I prepared myself to argue with the man.
“Tell me the truth,” King Obragar said, his gaze locked onto mine. “My daughter tells me you used magic to save her from being burned alive. Is this true?”
“Oh,” I sighed and tried to keep from laughing.
“How?” the king asked, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “No human has wielded magic for four centuries. Not since the wizards of ancient Starcastle fell to Riamod’s fire and Curym’s floodwaters. So, tell me, how do you come to wield magic powerful enough to bend two dragons to your will?”
I didn’t answer him right away but considered how best to respond to his questions. Arieste had mentioned human wizards when we were hunting Riamod, but I knew nothing about them or what sort of powers they possessed. Did I dare tell the king the truth? How could he possibly understand that I had been summoned from another world by the Silent Guardian to destroy the dragons?
“If you do not wish to tell me, that is your right,” King Obragar said before I could find the right answer. “But I do expect you to answer this question: can I trust you?”
“Absolutely!” I said without hesitation. “I was telling the truth when I said I had come to Whitespire to hunt dragons. That’s exactly what I’m going to keep doing until the people of Iriador are free.” I met his gaze, and an unspoken understanding passed between us.
“So be it.” The king held out the message for me. I took it from his hands, and he took a long drink from his goblet as I read its contents.
“Are you sure?” I asked, and I felt a tightening in my gut.
“As sure as I can be,” King Obragar said, and I understood the reason for his pale, drawn face. “Emroth the Dusky has destroyed the warriors of Kingshome, and there are not enough men preventing the black dragon from laying waste to the capital city of Windwall. King Astralon has requested our aid.”
“Let’s go help them,” I said. “I can be there in—”
“That is not all,” the king cut me off with a dour frown. “News of Frosdar’s death has somehow reached Curym Waterblade and Zaddrith the Caustic. My scouts along the borders of the blue and green dragons’ lands report movement among their minions. The dragons prepare to attack the lands of men, and we are ill-prepared to deal with it.”
I digested his words. No wonder he’d summoned me in the middle of the night. Things were urgent and dire, indeed. Three dragons were on the move, and the balance of their power was beginning to shift as they prepared to battle each other.
“But you, Ethan,” the king said, and there was a pleading tone to his voice, “you have defeated two dragons and bound them to your side. You are the hope of Whitespire, and all the free lands of men.”
I took a long, deep breath. It was a heavy burden to bear, but I had been summoned to Agreon because Barodan believed I could save it.
“Well,” I said, and a grin split my lips, “Looks like it is time for me to take care of three more dragons.”
End of book 1
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Editing by Ginger Earle, Nick Kuhns, Diane Velasquez, Jacqueline Miles (who also edits my audio books), Holly Lenz, Cody Elyko, Jay Taylor, Lucas Luvith, Anthony DePaolo, Kenneth Smith, Alex Hyde, and Zach Summers.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright 2018 by Michael-Scott Earle