Page 3 of Oath of Betrayal
Dragon riders. Our saviours had arrived to rescue us. My sobs didn’t stop. I didn’t care about their arrival. It was too late to save those I loved. I saw the rock wall crumble, but I didn’t move, didn’t call for help, hoping to find oblivion in death.
The enormous muzzle of a black dragon, its skin marked with blue stripes, appeared, eyes filled with compassion. My unbound magic reached for him, searching for a new Anchor, almost forging a connection, and his vertical pupils widened.
Exhaustion washed over me as the darkness enveloping me grew deeper, my breathing now ragged. When I took my last breath, I welcomed it, hoping that somewhere on the other side, I would meet my men again. They held the pieces of my shattered soul, and with their deaths, I had nothing left to live for.
I was ready to die.
Ten years after the Lost Ridge incident
Irubbed my temples, attempting to focus on the soldier reading out today’s reports. It was difficult, as a slew of sleepless nights had sapped my strength and ability to concentrate.
Since I’d taken command over the Lost Ridge five years ago, we hadn’t had such a terrible year as the one we were facing now. I performed my duties with due diligence, and sleepless nights were no excuse to miss the morning brief.
My eyes watered as I fought a terrible headache, trying to hide a grimace at the pain to maintain the decorum expected from Ormond Erenhart, Lord Commander of Varta Fortress. There wasn’t much in the report to capture my attention. It was thesame rambling minutiae, day in and day out.
Undead ghouls, strigae, and remnants were swarming us, a never-ending stream of Vel demons created by foul or wild magic and violent deaths. Or at least Ihopedit was wild magic because the other alternative was much more terrifying, meaning the keystone had cracked further, allowing the Lich King to gain more access to our lands.
What I really cared about was the report from Tomma, my lieutenant, who’d led a recent patrol. ‘The last patrol behind the Barrier. How far did they get?’ I asked my adjutant, grinding my teeth when he shook his head.
‘Not far, sir. The spectrae were closer than ever. The dragons had barely flown across before they had to retreat behind the Barrier. We … lost one rider. Tomma has gone to inform his family. That’s why the report is delayed. Poor boy, no one noticed he had broken from formation until it was too late, and the spectrae had already latched onto his dragon, draining his life.’
I exhaled slowly, feeling the tension in my body increase tenfold. ‘Fucking vampire ghosts. How many were there?’ I asked when I was finally able to control my voice. I was worried because the spectrae rarely appeared alone. They were the main threat to dragons and their riders when we travelled over the Barrier to patrol the Barren Lands, and now they had killed one of my men.
‘May I speak freely, sir?’
‘Yes, what is it?’
‘Why? Why are you trying to go deeper into enemy lands than the previous commanders have, especially with how dangerous its become?’
‘Because I want to see Katrass and confirm that the former capital of the Ozar Kingdom is still the smoking ruin the warchronicles describe, but the spectrae always force us to retreat. Why do you think that is?’
‘I don’t know, sir.’
‘Me neither, and I can’t defend my people from what I can’t see. None of those lazy bastards at court seem to be concerned with how dangerous the Lost Ridge has become recently.’
I made a mental note to train my riders in techniques used to deal with swarms of spectrae and began drafting another hopeless letter. Despite my countless pleas to the king and the Council of Mages alerting them to our plight, no one believed that the spell on the Barrier keystone was failing. I had begged them to send a representative to investigate time and again, all to no avail.
I had one decent mage, a few healers, and a bunch of criminals for soldiers, with no hope it would ever get better. Ever since the avalanche caused by a rookie mage had changed the topography of the Lost Ridge, creatures mad with bloodlust had been descending on the borderlands, and it felt like the Crown had simply abandoned us.
Everything had changed after the opening of the small crevasse on the border of the Barren Lands, becoming increasingly dangerous. My unit had been the closest when it happened, and my dragon, Vahin, had rescued the sole survivor. The woman he’d dragged from the pile of rocks had looked more like a rag doll than a person, too filthy to even identify.
‘Tired already, Commander?’ Alaric walked in with a predatory grace and an all-knowing smile before standing beside me. I felt the touch of his magic as his hand effortlessly slid over the back of my chair, only for his fingers to brush against the base of my neck.
He was the only one who knew about the headaches that plagued me. Of the frustration of having to use all my self-control to tame the wild magic in my soul to prevent it fromrising and making me go berserk. It was a small, covert gesture he did every morning to check on me, and as much as it had felt strange at the beginning, I was used to it now.
‘Ari. What are you doing here? I thought you were busy today,’ I snapped, wondering what had brought the dark fae to the map room after he had refused breakfast. ‘Shouldn’t you be digging through old manuscripts trying to find a way to replace the keystone?’ I grouched, still annoyed about the reports and our hopeless situation.
In spite of my attitude, Alaric simply shrugged, settling in beside me, unfazed by my outburst.I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on him, I thought while my fist closed over the parchment before me, obscuring its bleak figures.
I’d really needed his company. He was the only person apart from my brother who made me feel like I could be myself without judgment. Just like I didn’t judge him whenever he’d place a hand on his chest, his mischievous smile darkening before excusing himself to head to his workshop. It was just another of his mannerisms I’d gotten used to after so many years in his company.
My tone was harsh, my words petty, but I was grateful for the moment of distraction his presence had gifted me. I’d lost several men yesterday, but losing a rider and his dragon pained me the most. We didn’t have many of them left.
Despite several attempts, dragons didn’t want to bond outside of certain families, and the spark of wild magic needed to bond with the beasts seemed to diminish with each generation, especially since some men had begun to marry outside of families with known dragon rider ancestry.
‘What set you on edge?’ Ari asked, and I pointed at the stack of papers.
‘That. If our losses keep piling up like this, I will have to ask for reinforcements before the regular draft. A request that willprobably be denied,’ I said, not even trying to hide the bitterness in my voice.
