Page 124 of Crown of Betrayal and Blood

I’mthe one who’s going to die.

ChapterForty

The air crackles with tension, and the pre-storm humidity carries the scent of earth and fire.

I swallow back the terror that’s liquifying my bones and try to embrace a sense of calm. “Get what started?”

“Ah, you are but a naïve child.” He makes a sweeping gesture to the eyril field. “This ground remembers the past blood spilled. You may not remember your history, but I was there when it happened. The last great battle. The earth ran red with blood. It soaked in it. Idied. And that night, I was reborn.”

The king of Aclaris is out of his godsforsaken mind. What the hells is he talking about? “You think just because this land was soaked in blood it somehow became sacred?”

Sterling stands back, face stoic as he stands at attention by Xenon.

“That land wasalreadysacred. But the sheer amount of blood…the sacrifice…woke what had been sleeping for centuries.” In the moonlight, Xenon’s gray eyes glint with something inhuman. “The almighty Narc, god of nightmares himself, stirred. He revived me, giving me new life. Out of gratitude, I formed an alliance with him. He lent me the use of his creation, what you know as the drachen.”

I open my mouth, but no words come out. Xenon revived the drachen? The same creatures Queen Aero defeated all those years ago?Holy shit.

How is that possible?

“But after many years of slumber, they were weak. Narc was weak. They needed more blood to get stronger. Powerful blood.”

My eyes widen, and I hear a soft curse somewhere in the direction of my friends. “Dragons’ blood.”

“Precisely.” Xenon’s smile turns my blood cold. “Now you’re catching on.”

My gaze drifts to the dark, writhing shapes among the eyril.

They’re here. Drachen. Dozens of them.

Even from this distance, their palpable hunger is a primal warning to stay the hells away.

Xenon stares right at them. He holds up a hand, and the creatures still. Every oozing black head snaps in his direction, like dogs obeying their master.

I tear my gaze away from that disturbing display and consider the king. “Why?”

“Peace. What else?” He shoots me an incredulous look, like I should already know the answer. “Peace through enforced order. A world without chaos. Without disobedience.”

Peace? In what world does slaughtering innocent people and removing their free will equate to peace?

“You mean without choice.” Anger spreads like a virus. “You’d strip humanity of its very essence.”

“Correct again.” His smile is cold, unforgiving. “They’ll do as they’re supposed to do and quit with these ridiculous scuffles.”

Fire hums in my veins, begging for release. “Over my dead body.”

“Now you’re catching on.” The gleam in Xenon’s gaze is predatory. “For Narc to awaken fully and rule both gods and mortals, he requires a great sacrifice. The lifeblood of a dragoncaller, according to the prophecy.”

Good gods.

My anger morphs into horror as I glance at my ice-encased friends. Even if I somehow manage to melt the ice, they’re in no shape to help me.

I’m sorry, I mouth to Agnar, the one who seems most coherent.

“Okay.” I turn to Xenon. “I’ll do it. On one condition. You have to let them go.”

He considers my terms, then nods. “You have a deal.”

That was surprisingly easy. Now if?—

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