The Dragon Queen (Death #4)

22. Talon

Chapter 22

Talon

I was shoved into the chair at the head of the table, the empty bowl on the surface before me. I’d been dragged here many times and subjected to his torture, the act of ripping my soul from wherever it was so he could devour it. It hurt every time, like skin being stripped off my body to expose the blood and muscle underneath.

Bahamut’s hand erupted in flames before he smashed it into my chest, adding another layer of burns to my flesh. Instead of riveting colors of red and orange, the flames were black and gray like in the sconces on the walls.

I suppressed the scream as I felt his tendrils dig into me, digging deeper than ever before, desperate to find my soul and rip it free. With more force than he’d ever exerted, he ripped my insides to pieces, shook the contents of my body like items locked in a trunk.

I will not let him take you.

Bahamut let out a growl so loud it shook the walls. He yanked me even harder, and if I weren’t already dead, the action would have killed me.

Hold on, Talon. They are coming.

The pain subsided for an instant when I heard his words. I was desperate to ask what that meant, but I refused to open the gates of communication, to let him know how much I suffered. Queen Eldinar would never break her promise to me, so he didn’t know where I was—and he would never know.

This time, Bahamut released a scream of frustration before he slammed me into the back of the chair. “Let him go.” He gripped me by the neck and squeezed me then slammed me into the chair.

I will never let him take you, Talon Rothschild.

Tears pricked behind my eyes, but not from the pain Bahamut inflicted.

“Release him.” He slammed his fist into my face, hitting me so hard that the world turned black for seconds. “Release your dragon.”

“I can’t. He’s the one with the hold, not me.”

He punched me again, more frazzled than I’d ever seen him. He was anxious and desperate for my soul, like a starving animal that hadn’t eaten in a week. “Then I’ll have someone kill your dragon.”

I felt a flush of pride for the way Khazmuda held on, the power of his fire and scales enough to challenge the God of the Underworld. “Good luck with that.”

He punched me so hard the chair knocked over and I hit the stone.

They are coming, Talon. Hold on.

Black blood dripped from my face to the stone floor. I spat blood from my teeth, felt my body grow so weak it didn’t want to rise again. I knew Bahamut wasn’t done with me, that he would never be done with me until he got what he wanted.

The ground trembled. My hands shook as the floor suddenly became unstable. In the years since I’d been a prisoner in this forsaken place, that had never happened before. When I turned over to look at Bahamut, he didn’t look at me.

His black eyes scanned the room then looked into the doorway that led to the hallway—like the shake of the stone concerned him.

They are coming.

Another force shook the castle, this time strong and long enough to make the bowl slip off the table and smash into pieces on the floor.

I pushed myself to my feet, blood dripping from my nose and my temple from where Bahamut had struck me. The weakness I had felt vanished into thin air when I knew something important was about to happen.

Bahamut left the room and headed down the hallway.

I can no longer feel her mind—so she’s arrived.

I’d vowed not to speak, not to engage in conversation that would torture my dragon, but I lost my strength. Who?

There was a long pause, as if Khazmuda was savoring the sound of my voice in his head. Calista .

I stood alone in the room and felt my body sway even though the ground remained even. My dead heart suddenly burst into an inferno of flames once I felt life return to my body. Tears stung my eyes and broke free, streaking down my cheeks to cleanse the blood that I’d shed. I’d had no one to speak to for years, and now that I had the chance, I had no words.

With Riviana and Queen Eldinar, she comes for you.

I’d never felt tears more painful. “Baby…”

Riviana is the only being strong enough to face Bahamut. While she engages him in battle, you’re to flee with Calista.

I can’t let her do that ? —

Trust us, Talon.

She doesn’t understand what she’s up against.

As a god, I’m certain she does. Now move, Talon.

I wiped my tears and the blood with my forearm before I stepped on the shards of the bowl, leaving the room where I’d suffered endless torture, leaving behind the life that I accepted in exchange for the power of Bahamut himself. I don’t understand how this is happening ? —

Because death is no match for the love of a dragon.

I rarely left the castle because Bahamut preferred to keep me as his personal servant. So the sight of the courtyard was still new to me, the stone and the decayed trees, the place that could hold dinner parties no one would ever attend.

When I arrived there, I saw Bahamut, no longer the monster that he showed me, but the handsome man in the midnight-blue armor with his heavy sword across his back. He could change his appearance instantaneously, but ever since I’d been down here, I’d only seen the hideous version of him.

A blackness appeared before him, the texture different from the rest of the darkness, a substance that looked like the surface of a dark lake that sometimes reflected the moonlight. With so much adrenaline in my body and nowhere for it to go, I stood there with shaky hands and heavy breaths, waiting for what was to come.

Then a light that was brighter than the sun itself emerged from the darkness, a brilliance so powerful it made me look away out of fear of becoming blind. It pierced the castle and turned the black stone to white, made the dead trees suddenly have green leaves and healthy bark. Life entered the crypt of the cursed and made death wither.

With my hand shielding my face, I looked again.

Bahamut had stumbled back in the light, his hand up the same way mine was, clearly shocked by the events that unfolded.

There she stood, her brilliant red hair flowing in the invisible wind, a golden sword in her hand. Her brilliance immediately faded, tarnished like rust on metal, but her beauty was fiercer than the hottest fire.

Bahamut lowered his hand as the light diminished. “Riviana, God of Caelum, God of Life and Light, has set foot into my eternal night.” He reached for his blade across his back. “And she comes as vulnerable as any mortal.” He stepped forward, his sword held at the ready, his cape billowing in the wind she produced. “What have I done to earn such an opportunity to strike down my greatest enemy?”

Queen Eldinar emerged from the abyss, in her elven white armor, her golden hair brilliant as ever. General Ezra was there too, protecting her even in a place where no protection would ever be enough.

And then came…Calista.

In the armor I’d gifted to her, her sword across her back, her dark hair a contrast to the other women. Like she knew exactly where I was, her eyes found mine, and a rush of emotion followed, a desperation in her gaze that I could see even when we were fifty feet apart.

She waved me toward her. “Run!”

I looked at Riviana, her sword held at the ready, prepared to face off with a god, a battle she couldn’t possibly win, not when she fought with honor and he fought with fallacy and lies.

“Talon!”

Bahamut spun his sword around his wrist then lunged for Riviana. Once their swords touched, they were locked in a battle that was too fast to be watched with the naked eye. Swords clashed and danced, and both opponents moved around each other like they anticipated each other’s moves.

Calista screamed again. “ Talon !”

Bahamut’s servants emerged from the castle with their swords and shields, answering their master’s call. In just a few seconds, we would be overrun, and no god would be able to withstand the odds.

I sprinted—but not for the portal that opened out of nowhere. I sprinted for Bahamut’s back, seeing the dagger at his hip. I slammed into him from behind, pulled it from the sheath, and then stabbed him hard in the back of the shoulder.

Caught off guard by my attack, he hit the floor and released a scream that rivaled a dragon’s. Then he changed, his armor shifting from blue to black, turning into the monster that I had to see while under his captivity.

I got to my feet and sprinted to the opening where Calista stood.

Riviana was smart enough to understand a distraction, so she ran with me, her golden sword in hand.

I snatched Calista’s hand and threw her into the portal with me, unsure where we would land on the other side. Forces unlike I’d ever felt flung me back and forth like Bahamut still had his grip on me. I felt Calista’s hand slip from mine. Felt a rumble and heard a hum that grew in intensity, the sound getting louder until my eardrums were about to split open.

Then everything went still.

I hit the ground, grass cool to the touch, the sounds of birds immediately noticeable. My eyes remained closed as I lay there, aware of the warm sun on my skin, aware of the comfortable heat that had been absent in Bahamut’s domain. I breathed hard from the exertion and the adrenaline, but it still took me a moment to gather the strength to open my eyes.

There she stood—Riviana, in a white dress that blew in the breeze. She looked down at me, the tip of her golden blade piercing the soil, both of her hands holding on to the hilt.

I climbed to my feet and faced her, seeing the stoic expression I remembered from our last conversation. I regarded her wild air and fierce eyes, the words not coming to me even though I should suffocate her with my gratitude.

“We all returned from Bahamut’s domain because of your distraction. Thank you,” she said. “That tells me you really were worth the exception I made.”

“The only person who deserves gratitude is you.”

A subtle smile moved over her lips.

“But I feel inadequate giving it, because no words can do it justice.”

Her smile widened. “This moment wouldn’t have come to pass without the women who love you. Queen Eldinar and Calista passed into the Realm of Caelum and begged for my intervention. They were quite insistent.”

My eyes dropped, knowing that Calista’s insufferable grief had driven her to limitless bounds. It must have been the reason Queen Eldinar had betrayed my trust and shared the secret she’d promised to take to the grave.

“But I denied their request.”

My eyes flicked back up to hers. “Then—then what made you change your mind?”

Her eyes narrowed as she regarded my face, studying me like she could read my past, present, and future in just a single look. “Because your wife got on her knees— and begged .”

My lungs gasped for breath, and my eyes moistened in raw pain.

“And the others begged too.”

All I could do was breathe, breathe through the pain that made me choke.

Riviana stepped forward. “Bahamut claimed your life and brought you to his domain. Now you stand in the Realm of Caelum, a land of eternal healing and peace, because I brought your soul here.”

It took me a moment to understand. “Because I’m still dead…” That was the last moment I would have with Calista when I’d grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Khazmuda’s voice was quiet, so I assumed he couldn’t reach me here.

She gave a slight nod.

“I see…” I should only feel grateful in that moment, but I was disappointed. Disappointed I couldn’t give Calista a proper goodbye and thank her for what she’d done for me. Couldn’t do the same with Khazmuda.

She watched me for a long time, observed me as I processed these emotions. “Bahamut is the God of the Dead. I’m the God of the Living. Which means it’s in my power to return the soul to the body. It’s an act I’ve never performed before because that’s not the natural way of things—but I’ve agreed to make an exception for you because of the exceptional heroism you’ve shown in your short life. If that’s what you wish.”

I felt my heart start to race in my chest. Felt the adrenaline return.

“Your time in the underworld will leave a permanent mark on your vessel. The scars you’ve received in captivity will be a part of you forevermore. As a mortal, you’ll carry that anguish for as long as you live. But if you choose to remain in my lands, my light will heal you and make you whole. It is a heavy decision, Talon Rothschild—because it is irreversible.”

I felt the sky fall on me with the weight of the decision.

“Do not make your decision yet—because someone wishes to speak with you.” Riviana pulled her sword from the ground then cradled the hilt to her chest before she stepped away, most of her leg exposed in the high-cut dress, her heels as golden as her sword.

Then she suddenly appeared before me, midnight-black hair with crystal-blue eyes identical to the cerulean waters that surrounded the cliff of our homeland, her gaze full of the same love that she showed me when we were both alive.

I choked on my breath and felt the tears I didn’t hold back. They dripped down my cheeks and reached my chin before they fell and dropped to the grass below. Every breath hurt because there wasn’t enough air for what my lungs needed. “Vivian…”

She stood in a blue dress similar to the one she wore when we lived together in our home, the color beautiful with her brilliant eyes and dark hair. Her eyes watered like mine, her love enduring despite my failure.

I moved toward her but stopped before I reached her, unsure if I would feel flesh or mist when I tried to touch her. She’d haunted my dreams for so long, accompanied me in my solitude as I sailed across the sea, remained a part of me even years after she was gone. This felt like a dream—and I wanted it to be real.

She raised her hand, her lithe fingertips moving for my chin with painful slowness.

I held my breath as I waited, as I hoped for something I could feel.

Then I felt her touch, felt her cool skin, felt her love transcend through our flesh.

I closed my eyes and let the tears cascade down my cheeks, gave in to the painful sobs that racked my soul. My arms circled her, and I pulled her hard into my chest, my chin resting on her head just as I remembered, our bodies fitting together exactly the way they used to. I sobbed as I held her. “I’m so sorry I failed you.” The last memory I had of her was being dragged to the stake to be burned. At least now that memory had been rewritten with this one. “I’m so sorry.”

We stood that way for a long time, gripping each other tightly like the gods would try to rip us apart.

She was the one to pull away first. “It wasn’t your fault?—”

“Yes, it was.” I shook my head as more tears came. “It was.”

“No.” Both of her hands went to my arms, squeezing me like she had when she’d consoled me after a hard day.

“I could have done more?—”

“A horrible man betrayed us all, and the responsibility lies with him.” She squeezed me again. “You were an honorable man. A great prince. And an even greater husband. I do not hold you responsible in any way—and neither does your family.”

I closed my eyes when I pictured their faces, knowing they were somewhere there, somewhere in the sunshine and the beauty.

She waited for me to look at her before she spoke again. “You slew him. You freed our kingdom from a violent tyrant. You avenged us all. And we’re all so deeply proud of you.”

I bowed my head as I heard the praise I never thought I’d earn.

“Now we know peace—because of you.” She pulled her hands away from my arms and gave me that affectionate smile, like all she wanted was for me to feel better, like she would say and do anything to make that happen. “You’ve been burdened with pain and regret for so long. Now it’s time that you know peace.”

I still felt undeserving of it, but I nodded anyway.

“Riviana has offered you a choice. To remain here and heal in her light—or return to the land of the living.”

I inhaled a deep breath, feeling the unease grip me once more.

She watched me with those beautiful eyes, drinking in my stare just the way she did when we spotted each other across the room, when we made love in the firelight. A connection that couldn’t be severed by any passage of time. “As much as I want you here with me, I know you belong to someone else now.”

Guilt rushed through me, the kind that made me grind my teeth to stop the pain. I couldn’t look at her, and my eyes flicked elsewhere because of the shame.

Her fingers found my chin and gently tugged me back to her. “Do not be sorry. Love is a beautiful thing, and I’m glad you found it again.” She didn’t smile at me the way she did when she tried to comfort me, but her eyes showed her sincerity. “My interaction with Calista was brief, but I know her love for you is as pure as Riviana’s light. She is worthy of your love—and that’s all I can ask for.”

“Vivian…” Tears continued to drip down my cheeks. “I waited a long time after I lost you…decades.”

“I know.” She cupped my cheek as her eyes watered. “I know you carried a vigil for me in your heart that burned so hot I could feel it from here. I felt you enter Bahamut’s lands and tried to stop you with my voice, but you couldn’t hear me.”

“I did it hear it…” But I’d ignored it. “I didn’t deserve to see you again, not after how I failed you and…Lena. I wanted to be condemned to the underworld as punishment for what I’d done.”

Her eyes watered more. “You did not fail us. Forgive yourself.” Her hand went to my chest. “Forgive yourself and be in peace, Talon.”

My hand went to hers, and I gripped it tight. “I never thought I could love again. I had no intention of it.”

Her watery eyes remained on mine. “Then she really is special, Talon.”

I didn’t want to hurt her by talking about my love for someone else. I felt like shit for every word that came out of my mouth. “I’m sorry?—”

“Don’t be.” She squeezed my hand. “Our love will endure as it has all this time—but now it has to change. I want you to be happy, to love someone with all your heart, to marry and have children.”

I bowed my head because the guilt was overwhelming. She’d wanted to be a mother as much as I wanted to be a father. It wasn’t right that I got to enjoy that happiness and she didn’t, not when she was more innocent than I would ever be.

“And I know if this were reversed, you would feel the same way.”

I shook my head. “I would beg you to stay with me.”

A painful smile moved on to her lips. “You would want to, but you wouldn’t.” Her eyes watered further, but no tears fell. She suppressed them as much as she could. “It’s time to go, Talon.”

I gripped her hand tighter before it slipped. “You will always be in my heart, Vivian.”

She pulled her hand from mine, but let our fingers brush before she drew away for good. “And you will always be in mine, Talon.” She let our skin touch, smiling through the tears the came down her cheeks, her light burning brighter. She let the touch linger for another instant before she severed our contact. “It’s time for us to let go.”