Page 61 of Zar

Chapter Seventeen

Naxon took out another dagger, then stepped backward so that Zar was forced to pull his sword from his belly. It left a gaping wound. Naxon took to the sky and Zar followed. When his brothers moved to cover his back, Zar shook his head. “No, this is between us.” He looked down at the ground where Callie sat, rubbing her head. “Be sure there isn’t any explosives, then get her to safety. And find Larz.” His brothers hesitated and the control Zar had on his temper snapped. “Now!”

He didn’t wait to see if they would comply. Instead he followed Naxon through the night sky to an area at the edge of the woods. Naxon barrel-dived towards the ground and nearly lost his footing when he landed. The wound was slowing him down. Zar hit the ground inches away from Naxon and slammed his sword into his chest. He didn’t give him time to react as he pulled it free and impaled him with it once more. Naxon’s eyes widened in shock as he looked down at his body. Blood seeped out of his wounds and Zar knew he wouldn’t recover. Not even a Zenarian could survive the damage Zar had inflicted. Naxon fell to his knees and looked up at him. A sickly grin spread across his face and he wasn’t fighting back. It disturbed Zar to realize Naxon was all but letting Zar kill him.

“You have no idea the destruction my death will cause. All you’ve done is create a martyr of me.”

Zar leaned down and lifted Naxon by the front of his shirt. “Who besides Larz follows you?” Naxon began to laugh. “Tell me!”

Suddenly the laughter died and his gaze filled with remorse. “I should’ve killed her. I would’ve enjoyed watching you suffer for once, brother.”

The thought of Naxon harming Callie tore a hole through his heart. He could still see her lying on the grass, that horrible look of terror in her eyes. It would be in his nightmares for years to come. Zar’s creature stirred at the mention of his ofelia. “Touching Callie has brought you death,” he growled, as he lifted the dagger and sliced Naxon’s neck from ear to ear.

Zar watched the life drain out of him and his body went limp. He dropped him to the ground. So much hatred and despair had filled Naxon until it had twisted him up inside. Zar knew the source of all that pain: King Arlias. He’d destroyed more than one life when he’d rejected Naxon’s mother. If he’d had any kind of honor at all, he would’ve claimed Mordana as his ofelia and raised Naxon to be the future king. It sickened Zar to see his father for the selfish man he truly was.

Zar pulled out his cell phone to send a quick message stating Naxon was dead. He received a text from Flare almost instantly letting him know Callie was safe, but Naxon had indeed placed an explosive device in the ground near Callie’s feet. Dyre had just finished diffusing it. Flare was about to fly Callie back. Zar instructed Flare to contact their healer to see about the drugs in Callie’s system. Zar asked about Larz next. Flare explained that Dyre, Brasius and Trask were going after him now. Zar knew they would capture the traitor. Soon, Dyre would begin interrogating him. As king it was Zar’s job to deal with Larz, but nothing would keep him from going to Callie’s aid.

He looked down at the lifeless Naxon and sighed. He wanted to be angry at Naxon for what he’d done to Callie, but most of the blame lay at King Arlias’s feet. If Naxon was telling the truth and he had other followers that would want vengeance for his death, then the body count would only grow. Naxon might be dead, but Callie wasn’t out of danger. Naxon’s vendetta against him and the rest of the royal family would be passed on, but to who?

A thought struck and Zar bent down to pick up Naxon, then cradled him in his arms. Delivering death was never easy but knowing Naxon was his blood made it even harder to bear. He flapped his wings hard several times, then lifted into the air, carrying Naxon with him. Several minutes later and Zar had reached the building they used as a prison. He strode through the doors and spotted Brasius and Trask standing guard outside one of the rooms they used for interrogation.

“Larz?”

“Dyre has him inside, my king,” Brasius answered, as he reached for the doorknob and opened it for Zar to enter.

Dyre turned his head and his eyebrows rose when his gaze landed on Naxon cradled in his arms. All of Zar’s attention was focused on Larz, the betrayer. He strode across the room, then dropped Naxon at Larz’s feet, satisfied when Larz paled and began to shake.

Zar dragged him out of the chair and held him in the air with a hand around his throat. “You will tell Dyre everything you know about Naxon’s plans. You will give him the names of everyone in league with Naxon. And maybe you will escape my sword.” Zar let him go, satisfied when Larz slumped to the floor and struggled to breathe. An image of Callie’s delicate face filled with fear sped through his mind. His anger surfaced and Zar stepped over Larz, then punched him. Blood spurted from the man’s nose. The sight gave Zar a modicum of justice. “You broke the first law when you put your hands on Callie. May Garra have mercy on you because I will not.”

He spared Dyre a quick look. “Do whatever it takes to get those names. You have free rein.” Zar heard Larz whimper. “Keep me updated.”

Dyre chuckled. “And what are we doing with Naxon?”

Zar looked down at the man who’d spent his entire life hating him. His brother. Zar still couldn’t fully wrap his mind around it. “I will contact Queen Lyria. Perhaps she will want to give him a proper burial.”

With that, he left, taking to the sky once more. When he arrived at his balcony, he found the doors open, Venn standing guard on the other side. Therius and Kade stood with daggers in their hands on either side of his bedchamber door. They all looked his way when he entered the room. Zadoc came out of the kitchen carrying a cup of something. He stopped when he saw him. “Naxon?”

Zar narrowed his eyes. “Dead,” he answered as he stared at the cup in his brother’s hand. “What is that?”

“Tea. I was going to bring it to Callie, but now that you’re here…” He held the cup towards him and Zar took it.

“Thank you,” Zar said, as his chest filled with warmth. He looked around the room. “All of you.”

The door to his bedchamber opened and the healer walked out with Flare in tow. Zar stiffened. “Callie?”

“The drugs are out of her system and I gave her an herbal mixture to help her rest. She was quite upset and it was difficult to calm her.”

The thought of Callie in tears, caused him to nearly drop the tea in his haste to reach her side. Flare stepped in front of him, preventing him and Zar glared. “Move,” he ground out.

Flare’s gaze softened. “She wasn’t in tears, she was angry.”

“Well wouldn’t you be if someone drugged and paralyzed you and left you in the woods?”

“She was angry at us, my king.”

That stopped him cold. “Huh?”

Therius chuckled from his position next to the doorway. “She was pissed that we hadn’t gone with you as backup. She kept calling us names and promising to do some horrible things to our lower regions.”

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